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13 Days in Australia - Brisbane to Melbourne (1 Viewer)

HeadWest

Well-known member
Hi Everyone,

My wife and are going to be vacationing in Australia at the end of November for 13 days. We are landing in Brisbane and heading up to Noosa for a couple days. After that, the itinerary is pretty flexible. We fly out of Melbourne at the end, and think we will visit Sydney in between. Whether we drive or fly around is still yet to be decided.

We would love any advice as it pertains to birding in any of these areas. Along this route, are there any spots we should aim for? The only birding plans we have made so far is a guided day tour in Melbourne. Does anyone recommend any other guided trips? Perhaps around Sydney or Brisbane? We don't really have any "target" species. It will all be new to us, so we are just looking to get out and see cool areas and birds.

Also, what kind of birding can one expect at this time of year? Should we be aware of anything as it pertains to the birding environment or weather? Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Conor
 
Some great birding areas where you are heading. Was there in January and did exactly the same as you, whilst also visiting my partners family.

Brisbane/Gold Coast - Mt Tambourine, O'rilleys rainforest, Lammington National Park,
Further south - Port Mcquire
Sydney - Blue mountains, Wollemi national park
Melbourne - Phillip Island
 
Hi Conor.

if you have already headed to Noosa from Brisbane then you are not far from inskip point which is one of the best spots for Black-breasted button quail.

The best sights in south east queensland would be Lammington NP/O'Riliey's and Mt tamborine.

From Here down to Sydney I would head to the capertee valley to the west of Sydney and the Royal national park. You can do the Royal in a day but leave at least 2 days for the capertee. South of Sydney Barren grounds is worth a stop as long as the weather is good.

Heading south to Melbourne I'm not sure where to stop but there will be good birding on the way down, if you want to go the long way inland you could go via lake Cargelligo.

Once in Melbourne Weeribee is the best place to go, I don't know Melbourne that well but to the west of Weeribee you can see Rufous bristlebird at places like point addis.

Bare in mind Australia is a big place and there are a lot of long drive between the big cities, would you be able to take more than 13 for your trip?

Rob
 
Centennial Park in the middle of Sydney is easy to do for birdwatching. The central lake has islands which attract egrets,herons etc.
The Royal National park is pleasant to walk around. It's not far from the centre of Sydney.
You can get the ferry to Manly. Turn right thru the shopping centre and there is plenty of good scrubland to explore.
You'll see a lot of birds just walking thru the suburbs. We stayed in Waverley where you can access the coastal path-saw some decent birds there.
A trip to the Blue mountains is usually on the agenda so it might be worth trying.
 
Some great birding areas where you are heading. Was there in January and did exactly the same as you, whilst also visiting my partners family.

Brisbane/Gold Coast - Mt Tambourine, O'rilleys rainforest, Lammington National Park,
Further south - Port Mcquire
Sydney - Blue mountains, Wollemi national park
Melbourne - Phillip Island

Thanks for this input! You're the second person to mention O'Reilly's/Lamington. Looks great. Will definitely look into Philip Island and the Blue Mountains as well. I hope you enjoyed your trip! What was your favorite part of that route (birdwise or just in general)?

Hi Conor.

if you have already headed to Noosa from Brisbane then you are not far from inskip point which is one of the best spots for Black-breasted button quail.

The best sights in south east queensland would be Lammington NP/O'Riliey's and Mt tamborine.

From Here down to Sydney I would head to the capertee valley to the west of Sydney and the Royal national park. You can do the Royal in a day but leave at least 2 days for the capertee. South of Sydney Barren grounds is worth a stop as long as the weather is good.

Heading south to Melbourne I'm not sure where to stop but there will be good birding on the way down, if you want to go the long way inland you could go via lake Cargelligo.

Once in Melbourne Weeribee is the best place to go, I don't know Melbourne that well but to the west of Weeribee you can see Rufous bristlebird at places like point addis.

Bare in mind Australia is a big place and there are a lot of long drive between the big cities, would you be able to take more than 13 for your trip?

Rob


Thank you Rob. I wasn't aware of Inskip Point. Will look into that (only concern is heading more North than we were planning). Sounds like Lamington is a must-do. Capertee looks awesome. I hadn't heard of that, but will definitely do some research. In Melbourne we are planning on visiting Weeribee on our guided tour, so we'll definitely see that. Looking forward to it. You're certainly right that Australia is very large and these drives are long. We still might fly from city to city to save some time. I wish I could stay longer, but alas.


Centennial Park in the middle of Sydney is easy to do for birdwatching. The central lake has islands which attract egrets,herons etc.
The Royal National park is pleasant to walk around. It's not far from the centre of Sydney.
You can get the ferry to Manly. Turn right thru the shopping centre and there is plenty of good scrubland to explore.
You'll see a lot of birds just walking thru the suburbs. We stayed in Waverley where you can access the coastal path-saw some decent birds there.
A trip to the Blue mountains is usually on the agenda so it might be worth trying.

Thanks for these tips on birding in the city itself. Sounds great.
 
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