Day Tours from Brisbane, southeast Queensland
Birding, Wildlife and other Day-tours from Brisbane:
- Bird-watching: novice or experienced birders, learn about behaviour and ecology of the birds we see, view other wildlife along the way, visit rainforests and other habitats
- Bushwalking: gentle walking in the native eucalypt forests of the Greater Brisbane region
- Wildlife: seek wallabies, birds, reptiles, possums and koalas in natural habitats of the Greater brisbane region, watch thousands of large and noisy fruitbats take wing at dusk
- Rainforest, Glow-worms and WIne: the enchantment of thousands of luminous glow-worms in a dark cavern combines with a walk thourgh lush rainforest and the tasting of local wines
- Coochimudlo Island: blue soldier crabs marching across sandy beaches, red rocks used by the Aboriginals, mangroves, rocky shores with tidal creatures, coastal woodlands with many birds and butterflies
- See also Customized tour: for groups between four and ten (more by special arrangement) – let us know your interests
Prices are per person in Australian dollars, and include GST, lunch and refreshments
Children’s prices (to 16 years) are 2/3 the adult price.
Bird-watching day-tour
Satin bowerbird in bower
$143.00 including lunch, refreshments and GST
Around half of all Australian birds live in or visit the southeast corner of Queensland. This tour (as are most of our tours) is flexible to the needs of our guests and can cater for dedicated birders, novice birdwatchers, and those with a general interest in forests and wildlife but focusing mainly on birds for the day. We usually head to Lamington National Park to look for rainforest birds and bushland birds. Along the way we can also stop at wetlands and other habitats. You may instead opt for a day exploring coastal and wetland habitats (a good additional option if you are doing additional birding days with us). Ronda, the usual guide for this tour, has conducted field research on birds for several decades, so this tour provides insights into the behaviour and ecology of the birds we see and hear, and you will also hear how Australian birds differ from other world regions. There are plenty of bird photgraphy opportunties. Tell us your interests and your preferred starting time (whoever books first for the day gets to choose the starting time and the destination.
en route to Lamington National Park
Lagoon at Karawatha Wetlands, Brisbane
Bush-walking
$99.00, including lunch, refreshments and GST
You will hardly believe you’re so close to the city as you spend the day on an easy to moderate bushwalk (the pace is up to you) through a variety of forests and woodlands, and admiring the view from large boulders on the hillside or the reflecrtions of tea-trees in a quiet lagoon. Birds, butterflies, and (in warm weather) lizards are often encountered, as are a variey of wildliflowers.
Brisbane generally has good weather throughout the year, but some summer days are hot, so we may alter the starting time to keep the major part of our walk in the cooler part of the day: this also gives us a chance to see wallabies.
Wildlife-viewing in Brisbane
$99.00, including lunch, refreshments and GST
red-necked wallaby
See wild wallabies, many birds and thousands of noisy fruitbats, with a good chance of koalas and other nocturnal creatures, plus reptiles in warm weather.
Leave the city at mid-day and head to Redlands Indigescapes for lunch (choices include some delicious gourmet sandwiches and other meals with native fruits, nuts, herbs and spices), then a short walk through eucalypt forest seeking koalas, forest birds, waterbirds and (in the warmer months) reptiles.
Then it’s off to Daisy Hill State Forest to see wallabies (red-necked and sometimes swamp) and possibly wild koalas and frogmouths (the latter pretending to be part of the tree in daylight hours). We also visit the Koala Centre to see a couple of captive koalas and interpretive displays.
- grey-headed fruitbat unfolding ready for flight
The next activity is watching several thousands of large and noisy fruit bats hanging from the trees but getting increasing restless and vocal and finally taking off on their nightly foraging trips for nectar and fruit. After our own refreshments, we have a gentle stroll through another eucalypt forest seeking possums, gliders, owls and other nocturnal creatures (no guarantees: see below) before taking our guests back to their accommodation or transport.
We always see wildlife but don’t guarantee particular species for any one day, although we’ve never yet missed out on red-necked wallabies, fruitbats or a variety of birds. Nocturnal animal spotting is varied – some nights we see a lot, other times no birds or mammals make an appearance, but we still get to feel the atmosphere of the bush at night.
Coochimudlo Island
$121.00, including lunch, ferry, refreshments and GST
Enjoy a short ferry ride and an easy guided walk around this scenic little island so close to Brisbane, with wide sandy beaches, mangroves, rocky shores, coastal woodlands and the cliffs of red rock that give it its Aborignal name of “coochimudlo”. Look for crabs, molluscs, raptors, marine birds, mangrove kingfishers, bush stone-curlews, lizards and other creatures of land, sea and air. Swim in sheltered waters if weather permits. Back on the mainland we take a gentle stroll through Aussie bushland and look for koalas (we see them on more than 70% of these tours), bushbirds and waterbirds.
Scenes of Coochimudlo Island near Brisbane with Araucaria Ecotours
Rainforest, glow-worms and wine
$143,00 including lunch, refreshments, wine-tasting (or a fruitjuice), entries and GST
fig in in Tamborine Mountain National Park
Majestic forests, an endhanting display of thousands of glow-worms, and a taste of local wines and liqueurs combine in this experience-packed tour. LeavungBrisbane at 10.00am we head to Tamborine Mountain, where we start with the magic of the glow-worm caves at Cedar Creek WInery. The cave here is an initiative to take the pressure off the wild populations in local national parks, and by consulting glow-worm experts they have done this very well. Although the limestine cave is artificial, it looks very much like the real thing, with crystal-clear water flowing under the stalactities, and the glow-worms thesleves certainly find it convincing, having happily bred from a small founding colony to about 20,000. After allowing our eyes to adjust to the darkness of the cave and watching a short video about glow-worms, we don luminescent necklets and saunter down an otherwise dark cavern lit by thousands of these tiny creatures.
Into the glow-worm cave and theatrette
After lunch we walk through the rainforest to a small waterfall and lookout (the less fit can come part-way and return with one of our guides to the scenic rest area to wait for the others) and on past giant cycads, palm groves and a massive fig tree, then winding back up the hill through eucalyot forest, with banksias flowering in winter. Heading back to the Winery, we indulge in some wine-tasting (their cedar cream liqueur is delicious, and they have some fine wines not available elsewhere). Guests can then choose whether to visit a Distillery (additional $5 pp for tasting) with local products such as lemon myrtle schnapps in beautifully hand-painted bottles, an attractive botanical garden, or the arts and crafts shops of GAllery Walk before heading to a fruitbat colony in time to see them prepare for their nightly flights in search of fruit and nectar. Time of arrival back in Brisbane depends on the bats and varies from about 6.30pm im mid-winter to about 8.00pm mid-summer.
Scenes from the Araucaria Ecotours Rainforests, Glow-worms and Wine tour
Customized Day Tours
Conference delegates, study tours, photography groups, schools, families, seniors, any group of friends …. There are many possibilities for custom tours for 4 or more persons, with sufficient advance notice. Pick-up Brisbane, Gold Coast, other venues.
Contact us for further information: