Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thanks Chosun.
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Touring Australia (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Maroon Jay
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Maroon Jay
Airborne
Allen S. Moore
Well-known member
A fine photo. I remember Willie Wagtails as being characters!
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I had plans to go to Lamington and other places between Brisbane and Sydney but I am running out of time. I decided to head to Sydney to get the vehicle sold. I am worried about getting it sold before I leave at the end of August. That has to be my priority at the moment, although I would rather be birding. If I can sell the vehicle quick enough, I would still like to make a short trip to Tasmania.
Allen S. Moore
Well-known member
Lamington is worth the detour, perhaps more than anywhere else on route. You can see lots of interesting species even on a day trip. Of course, it depends on whether or not you have seen all or most of the specialities earlier on the trip. Perhaps you should save Tassie for another visit, I know that I am!
Maroon Jay
Airborne
I really wanted to go to Lamington but I was very concerned about getting the vehicle sold. So I went straight from Brisbane to Sydney without stops. It took more than a week to sell the camper but that is done which is a big relief. Less than one week to go now. Now sure what I can do around Sydney without a vehicle. Need one day for paperwork and banking for the vehicle sale which I will do tomorrow.
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
a long time ago I went on the train to the blue mountains, over-nighted at a couple of spots and saw loads of birds. Can't remember what you might still need that's up there. Back then I saw Lyrebird, Origma, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Satin Bowerbird etc.
As I recall the birding was good immediately around the town of Katoomba, where there's a train station and plenty of accommodation, ranging from bring your tent to hotels. We then went on the train back downhill to Sydney and hopped off the train on the way down (Lawson?) where we stayed in a campsite and birding was really good in the forest around there (that's where we had lyrebird, origma, wonga pigeon and the heathwren, and I seem to recall Yellow-tufted Honeyeater....but we're taking more than 20 years ago so I'd need my notebook for the details.
...or how about seeing if there's a pelagic trip from Woolongong, or wherever the other one goes from?
plenty within striking distance of Sydney on public transport given a week I reckon.
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Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
ok, found my notebook, it was March '98, so actually only 18 years ago
Walks around Katoomba produced: Aus King Parrot, Yellow-tailed Black and Gang-gang Cockatoos, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Lyrebird, Eastern Whipbird, Little Lorikeet, Crimson Rosella, Brown Gerygone, Brown and Striated Thornbills, Rose Robin, Black-faced Monarch, Bell Miner, Crescent, Yellow-faced and Lewin's Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebill, Bassian Thrush, Large-billed, Yellow-throated and White-browed Scrubwrens etc.
the place lower down I called Glenbrook in my notebook, and that produced: Bell Miner, White-eared, Yellow-faced and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters, Origma, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Wonga Pigeon, White-throated Gerygone etc
Easy sites to get to on train from Sydney.
Walks around Katoomba produced: Aus King Parrot, Yellow-tailed Black and Gang-gang Cockatoos, Satin Bowerbird, Superb Lyrebird, Eastern Whipbird, Little Lorikeet, Crimson Rosella, Brown Gerygone, Brown and Striated Thornbills, Rose Robin, Black-faced Monarch, Bell Miner, Crescent, Yellow-faced and Lewin's Honeyeaters, Eastern Spinebill, Bassian Thrush, Large-billed, Yellow-throated and White-browed Scrubwrens etc.
the place lower down I called Glenbrook in my notebook, and that produced: Bell Miner, White-eared, Yellow-faced and Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters, Origma, Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, Wonga Pigeon, White-throated Gerygone etc
Easy sites to get to on train from Sydney.
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Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thanks Socksitis, went to both the Botanical Gardens and the zoo. No new birds but both are nice places. I really like the Botanical Gardens. Great place, lots of birds and it is free. The zoo is overpriced at $46 plus the cost of the ferry.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thanks Larry, the past week has been very bad weather. Raining and gloomy most days. I had to spend a couple of days doing paperwork and banking for the sale of my vehicle. Then I went to the Botanical Gardens and the zoo. Also toured the Governor's House at the Botanical Gardens which was interesting. Only a couple of days left and to tell the truth, we are worn out after seven months of non-stop touring and camping. Not looking forward to 24 hours of travelling to Edmonton, Canada.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Back in Canada now, I will write a summary of the trip. I went for seven months of which one month was for buying and selling a vehicle and touring the city of Sydney and nearby parks. This left six months to tour Australia. It is possible to do this in six months but it was a bit rushed. I never made it to Tasmania and I had to skip the area between Brisbane and Sydney as I ran out of time.
It took me longer to buy a vehicle and get going out of Sydney than I expected. I got trapped in the city of Hamilton for five days because it was Easter and every campground and hotel was booked solid months in advance. If your tour of Australia is over Easter, you will need reservations and add an extra week to your trip. I was very lucky to get anything at all. I thought for a while we would be camping in the street until we found one campsite that had a cancellation.
I lost several days for auto repairs and maintenance. Getting an oil change every 5000 km was required for my vehicle warranty. There are no fast oil change garages like they have in North America. Every 5000 km I had to spend a day driving around trying to find a place that would do the work. Most told be to make an appointment and come back in several days. When you do find a garage that will do the work, you have to get a licenced mechanic away from repairing someone's engine and it is very expensive. Over $200 for an oil change and minor inspection for a small four-cylinder engine. Everything in Australia costs about three to four times as much as North America. A small coffee goes for $4.50 that cost about $1.60 in Canada. $15 for a used paperback in a used book store, and so on. Fuel ranges from $1.00 to almost $2.00 depending on location.
I lost only a few days because of bad weather. Encountered little rain. Did run into a freak storm in Alice Springs where the normally dry river overran its banks into the town and some streets had to be closed. There was a huge hailstorm with golf ball sized hailstones. It thought it was going to damage my vehicle but it did not. The accumulation of hail looked like snow and when it started to melt, people were building snowmen in the desert. Strange.
Very hot in the north and very cold in the south. I had seen many films and documentaries about Australia and in these films it is always hot and people are wearing shorts. This is true along the north coast but the southern half of Australia is very cold in winter. Some nights we slept with sweaters on in bed.
Vehicle operation rules are very different than North America. At one point I got a speeding ticket from a camera although I did not know it. If you don't pay the find within a certain time, they cancel your vehicle licence plates and registration. I then got stopped by the police for driving illegally. If I had be involved in an accident, the insurance would not have paid out. A very dangerous practice. One I paid the fine, I was allowed to drive again. Looking at a licence plate, there is not way to tell if it is expired or not as you can in North America. Very registration and changing the paperwork into your name is very expensive. It is a percentage of the value of the vehicle which is not very fair because people with a cheap vehicle drive on the road and use government services as much as those with a more expensive vehicle. I intend to write an article on my website, when I get time, as I did when I was in New Zealand.
Government and bank services are very complicated compared to Canada. To get a new debit card in Canada takes minutes, in Australia, it has to be mailed to your home, which takes about a week and can be a big problem for travellers.
In short, you will probably need more time and more money that you had planned. As I said, you could do this in six months but 8 to 10 months would be better. Towards the end, we were getting very tired. It would have been nice to take a couple of days off every two weeks just to relax at the beach but I did not have time for that.
In spite of all that, it was a wonderful trip and I am glad I went. Australia is fascinating to explore. The people are very nice and friendly and helpful. If you stand on the street reading a map, often someone will come up to you and ask if you need help. Whenever I asked anyone for directions or information, they went out of the way to help.
I probably saw more of Australia than most Australians. I would like to go back again to see the few things that I missed but I think it is too expensive. The airfare alone from North America is usually over $2000.
I would like to go to Tasmania, the Simpson Desert and Cape York. Some places I had to skip because I did not have 4WD but you can go to most places (90%) with a regular vehicle. The roads, when you get away from major cities are poor. Paved roads are very narrow and non-paved roads are usually in very poor condition. There is usually no place to pull over if you get a flat or need to stop. Several times I got a glimpse of a bird but was unable to stop.
Some campgrounds are very nice and some are poor. Some are just a field of dirt and rocks. The price for good and bad campgrounds are about the same. Usually $35 to $40. There are many places for free camping but with no facilities such as electricity or water.
Bird summary to follow.
It took me longer to buy a vehicle and get going out of Sydney than I expected. I got trapped in the city of Hamilton for five days because it was Easter and every campground and hotel was booked solid months in advance. If your tour of Australia is over Easter, you will need reservations and add an extra week to your trip. I was very lucky to get anything at all. I thought for a while we would be camping in the street until we found one campsite that had a cancellation.
I lost several days for auto repairs and maintenance. Getting an oil change every 5000 km was required for my vehicle warranty. There are no fast oil change garages like they have in North America. Every 5000 km I had to spend a day driving around trying to find a place that would do the work. Most told be to make an appointment and come back in several days. When you do find a garage that will do the work, you have to get a licenced mechanic away from repairing someone's engine and it is very expensive. Over $200 for an oil change and minor inspection for a small four-cylinder engine. Everything in Australia costs about three to four times as much as North America. A small coffee goes for $4.50 that cost about $1.60 in Canada. $15 for a used paperback in a used book store, and so on. Fuel ranges from $1.00 to almost $2.00 depending on location.
I lost only a few days because of bad weather. Encountered little rain. Did run into a freak storm in Alice Springs where the normally dry river overran its banks into the town and some streets had to be closed. There was a huge hailstorm with golf ball sized hailstones. It thought it was going to damage my vehicle but it did not. The accumulation of hail looked like snow and when it started to melt, people were building snowmen in the desert. Strange.
Very hot in the north and very cold in the south. I had seen many films and documentaries about Australia and in these films it is always hot and people are wearing shorts. This is true along the north coast but the southern half of Australia is very cold in winter. Some nights we slept with sweaters on in bed.
Vehicle operation rules are very different than North America. At one point I got a speeding ticket from a camera although I did not know it. If you don't pay the find within a certain time, they cancel your vehicle licence plates and registration. I then got stopped by the police for driving illegally. If I had be involved in an accident, the insurance would not have paid out. A very dangerous practice. One I paid the fine, I was allowed to drive again. Looking at a licence plate, there is not way to tell if it is expired or not as you can in North America. Very registration and changing the paperwork into your name is very expensive. It is a percentage of the value of the vehicle which is not very fair because people with a cheap vehicle drive on the road and use government services as much as those with a more expensive vehicle. I intend to write an article on my website, when I get time, as I did when I was in New Zealand.
Government and bank services are very complicated compared to Canada. To get a new debit card in Canada takes minutes, in Australia, it has to be mailed to your home, which takes about a week and can be a big problem for travellers.
In short, you will probably need more time and more money that you had planned. As I said, you could do this in six months but 8 to 10 months would be better. Towards the end, we were getting very tired. It would have been nice to take a couple of days off every two weeks just to relax at the beach but I did not have time for that.
In spite of all that, it was a wonderful trip and I am glad I went. Australia is fascinating to explore. The people are very nice and friendly and helpful. If you stand on the street reading a map, often someone will come up to you and ask if you need help. Whenever I asked anyone for directions or information, they went out of the way to help.
I probably saw more of Australia than most Australians. I would like to go back again to see the few things that I missed but I think it is too expensive. The airfare alone from North America is usually over $2000.
I would like to go to Tasmania, the Simpson Desert and Cape York. Some places I had to skip because I did not have 4WD but you can go to most places (90%) with a regular vehicle. The roads, when you get away from major cities are poor. Paved roads are very narrow and non-paved roads are usually in very poor condition. There is usually no place to pull over if you get a flat or need to stop. Several times I got a glimpse of a bird but was unable to stop.
Some campgrounds are very nice and some are poor. Some are just a field of dirt and rocks. The price for good and bad campgrounds are about the same. Usually $35 to $40. There are many places for free camping but with no facilities such as electricity or water.
Bird summary to follow.
Maroon Jay
Airborne
One bird that I forgot to enter
269. Rufous Songlark, seen at Bustand Downs
269. Rufous Songlark, seen at Bustand Downs
Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thank you Socksitis
Bird summary. (see general travel summary in previous post)
I had hoped to see 500 birds before I started the trip. I saw 269 but I am happy with that. It is a few more than I have seen in Canada in 30 years.
Breakdown by state
Sydney area - 49 birds
NSW other than Sydney - 27
Victoria - 27
South Australia - 25
Western Australia - 57
Northern Territory - 21
Queensland - 63
Of the 269 birds I saw, 225 were lifers. The others I had seen before, mostly a couple of years ago in New Zealand. If you have not been to NZ, your Australian count will be higher that for people who have been to NZ.
My favourite bird by far was the Cassowary. Fabulous bird.
Other favourites include Emu, Apostlebird, King Parrot, Bush Stone-curlew and Beach Stone-curlew.
The Apostlebirds are funny. The all sit together shoulder to shoulder on a branch. They hate to be alone and don't like to be the one on the end. I have seem them walk over the backs of other birds and try to squeeze between two others in the middle of the row.
When we first saw the Stone-curlews, my wife thought it was plastic. They are mostly nocturnal and stand motionless under a bush during the day. A night they make a loud call that sounds like a person screaming.
Australia is definitely one of the best birding countries to visit. Far more birds than Canada. Parrots everywhere.
A dedicated birder could see 500 birds if he/she spend all the time birding and did nothing else. I also did some typical tourist stuff like touring cities and museums and spend some days searching for mammals and reptiles. Many days were used up just for driving. Especially between Alice Springs and Cairns which is a long stretch with less to see than other places. I drove a total of 25,000 km in six months.
In addition to birds, I saw 23 mammals and 12 reptiles. There are less reptiles in winter. I spent two days searching for the Thorny Devil without success because it was too cold for them. Apparently they are common when it is hot. My favourite mammal was the Tree Kangaroo.
Never saw a Dingo.
I still have more than 1000 photos to sort out so will continue to post a few now and then on this thread for a while. More photos and stories on my website.
I found it difficult to maintain this thread and my website and my Facebook due to lack of internet service in Australia. Free wifi is rare. Many campground, after charging $40 or more for camping, wanted an extra $5 per half hour to use the internet. Some did have free wifi included but the vast majority did not. Places like MacDonalds have free wifi but many of them did not work very well or were limited to 30 minutes.
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Maroon Jay
Airborne
Thank you very much to everyone who give me tips and advice. It was very much appreciated. Great people on Birdforum.
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