This report on my recent birding trip to Australia is being started before the trip, to explain planning the trip. That is what I had hoped to get help with, but didn't really. I am 63, still working because I have to, losing physical abilities and acquiring a few unmentionable traits. Before I could decide about even going at all, I needed something of an itinerary.
I started collecting from websites for tours by Field Guides and VENT and Wings. There were others, including Bluebonnet, Emalee Tally, BaladeOrnothologique, SurfBirds, TropicalBirding, and FollowThatBird. The awesome Aussie AirPass allows actually eighteen days, and it was scary to see what Field Guides did in that time: five flights! Tours go in Sept.-Oct. for spring activity and using tapes. All tours relied on staying at O'Reilly's, Kingfisher Park, and Cassowary House, making feeder birds a big part of their list. They all went to Michael's Cay for snorkeling and pelagics, which costs as much as an extra plane flight and does not interest me enough. Although going to Tasmania was part of most tours and on my wish list, that and Melbourne were eventually cast out as taking too many flights and cars and days for not enough.
My trip would start from Sydney with five days for Blue Mtns., as far "outback" as I could get, and Royal N.P. to be close to the airport. Then, taking the three included flights to Cairns with five days for Daintree and Tablelands; to Darwin with five days for Kakadu N.P. and maybe a glimpse of the Red Center; and Brisbane for Lamington N.P. before leaving. The first of May would be past their long Easter at the beginning of the cheaper "shoulder" season, and hopefully past "the Wet" season since I would have to be tenting and eating out of cans. I decided in time to get all Aust. departures safely in mid-morning with arrivals before car rental offices closed, and most on weekdays with time to be somewhere before dark. It all cost only US$1,115 and was the biggest reason I decided to go.
Getting an e-visa took a few minutes and $20. I used Orbitz to most easily select cheapest US flights, making sure that connection times did not favor losing luggage: I was frantic about preventing disasters. Looking next at trip insurance, I found that CSA and HTH also cover rental cars for no extra. The virtual extortion with liability had almost kept me from doing the trip. Reserving cars was as horrible an experience as I have ever suffered on the Web. I tried Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National, RedSpot, and Thrifty. Others that were on the big jobbers did not offer anything that kept them on my list. Hours of waiting and frustration and waiting, with Budget the worst. I was not going to drive Left and shift and bird, so took quotes for a Compact with Auto/Air and unlimited kms (which in fact was pointless), keeping all data in a chart.
Europcar was cheapest, but real bitchy with Terms and Conditions. It was going to be Hertz, surprisingly the next cheapest and does not forbid unpaved ("unsealed") roads (which in fact was pointless) -- until it all took so long that the exchange rates had changed and the numbers shifted to favor Budget. Not finding their Terms and Conditions, I finally called Budget, and was so relieved to get a nice voice so late at night and to learn of no road restrictions and no deposit or cancellation fee, that I booked all four locations, and even got (supposedly) all the same model 4-door hatch. I was on hold a bit; but it was done in a few minutes, with email confirmations for guaranteed prices waiting after the calmest night's sleep in three months.
It had taken that long, from scrounging old Nat. Geographics with maps, to reading through all the travel guides from the library, other library books including an older Slater bird guide with range maps to be studied, lots of websites including their National Parks accounts along with trip reports, buying a road atlas that shows distances and which are paved/unpaved and where camping is, to worrying about "petrol" prices. But finally, I was going to Australia!
With less than a month to go, I sent off for the Slaters bird guide, which came in a week, brand new with a rain cover. I ran into a flurry of work, that would pay for the trip but kept me too busy to ever make a real itinerary or to work out realistic packing. Getting a tent and swimming pool air mattress and packable sleeping bag was as far as I got until the day before leaving! Frantically, I simply put too much of everything, even spare boots, in the bag big enough for the tent but not over the fifty-pound limit (which I assumed I could still carry easily, and there were wheels on the bottom), and was rushed to the airport for the start of a way-too-long day.
I had convinced myself that disasters would be the way it would be, and the first one was leaving my brand-new bar-coded passport at the curb-side luggage check-in. It was still there when I rushed back, and actually things went fairly smoothly -- except for hauling around all that luggage, with the little wheels slamming the big bag into my leg every third lunging step, through miles of interminable terminals and parking lots, which was almost the worst mistake I made. The worst mistake was not understanding what "jet lag" really means.
I did not really sleep the night before or on the way over, but felt fine. And kept on all the next day in Sydney, pushing past many many close calls with the maddening driving and city traffic and my elderly confusion and panic generally, all the way to the Blue Mtns. as planned. Somehow, I decided that I had to leave the rest area where I had meant to camp, and had a wreck. The advice to sleep off the inevitable jet lag, which I knew, I insanely neglected. No one was hurt, and they were very nice about it, even the policeman. I don't know yet how I will be billed, other than $2750 right away, with possible reimbursements and possible trip insurance coverage; but possibly costing me more than the trip itself. And costing me liability reduction fees for all the other cars, just in case.
My report is not about the birds I saw. Rather, it is that expensive tours are not necessary for seeing Australian birds, or going in their spring -- unless you want the sort of list that the name tours claim. What my little list really shows is an easy itinerary for tenting or campervan, and what birds are very likely for anyone. With better binoculars, better skills, and better stamina on better trails (and there are rarely shoulders for pull-off road birding), anyone else should expect a much better list and certainly no less satisfaction. I spent a lot of concentration and time with plants, and butterflies, and just scenery, as intended. I missed a lot of places, not getting anywhere close to big kangaroos or mulga or the reef. Yet I got to see a lot of what Australia is, within what I can afford, for the trip of a lifetime, with nobody to blame, or to credit, but myself.
I had been intrigued by the Morcombe bird book website. I looked at the "compact edition" while at Royal N.P. (a major gift shop), and thought it barely usable. I have not seen the strongly recommended Pizzey/Knight tome. I had been given the previous Pizzey/Doyle, and relied on that for working out puzzles each night. I saw a Simpson/Day open on the counter at Springbrook N.P. and thought it superb; but it shares a critical flaw for all the above: no seasonal coding for range maps, as all US field guides have and would be as useful in Australia. I remain very glad to have the Slaters guide.
One personal tip: in May, it was cold in the Blue Mtns. I'm talking all layers of clothing inside the 45 deg. sleeping bag, and cotton gloves some times on the trail. Given I'm old, still it was jeans and flannel shirt, and jacket or two, for all mornings and nights in all mountains. I did get down to "shorts and shorts" some days in the northern flats, and would not drive without a/c near Katherine; but I did not even shower except in the warmer lowlands. Variety was far more useful than quantity of any clothing other than underwear/socks. Backpackers set a very low dress code; and the Aussies outdoors are often a drab and unshaven lot themselves, however wonderfully friendly and helpful they are: "No worry, mite."
My bird list, if you are still interested, will follow in pt. 2.
"Aussie AirPass" pt. 2: bird list (at present)
from first sighting or first assignment
May 4 Sydney
Homebush Bay, Olympic Park, Bicentennial Park
Aust. Magpie
Pied Magpie-lark
Little Pied Cormorant
Pied Cormorant
Crest Pigeon
Aust. Grebe
Aust. White Ibis
Aust. Wood Duck
Chestnut Teal
Purple Swamphen
Eurasian Coot
Dusky Moorhen
Rainbow Lorikeet
Noisy Miner
Welcome Swallow
Aust. Raven
Pacific Black Duck
Great Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Spotted Turtledove
Willy Wagtail
Silver Gull
White-face Heron
White-breast Eagle imm.
Pied Currawong
Black-face Cuckoo-shrike imm.
(a long-tail wren fem.)
Aust. Pelican
Aust. Darter
Euro. Starling
Common Pigeon
Common Myna
May 5
Hwy 32, Woodford Bends Rest Area
Yellow-tail Black Cockatoo
Crimson Rosella
White-throat Treecreeper
Eastern Yellow Robin
Laughing Kookaburra
Olive-back Oriole
Red Wattlebird
New Holland Honey-eater
Eastern Spinebill
Sulfur-crest Cockatoo
Grey Falcon
Wentworth Falls
White-brow Scrubwren
May 6
Megalong Campground, Blackheath
"Boobook Owl"
Lewin's Honey-eater
Red-brow Treecreeper
to Ilford
Pied Butcherbird
Aust. Hobby
Aust. Black-shoulder Kite
May 7
Royal Nat. Pk., Winifred Falls Tr.
Yellow-face Honey-eater
Little Wattlebird (per Pizzey '80)
May 8
Royal N.P., Bonnie Vale c/g
Little Egret
Intermediate Egret
Royal Spoonbill
R.N.P., Lady Carrington Dr.
Green Catbird
R.N.P., Curra Moors
Silver-eye
Spot Kite
R.N.P., Garie Beach
Aust. Gannet
Superb Blue Wren
Square-tail Kite
May 9 Cairns
Kuranda Rainforest Accomodation Park
Silver-crown Friarbird
Aust. Brush-turkey
(many Flying Fox bats)
"Barking Owl"
May 10
Kuranda Rainforest Accomodation Park
Spot Catbird
Spangle Drongo
Diamond Dove
Little Kingfisher
at t/o to Mareeba Wetlands
Straw-neck Ibis
Black Kite
Lake Mitchell
Black-neck Stork (Jabiru)
East Mary Rd. side trail
Chestnut-breast Finch
Scarlet Honey-eater
Bridle Honey-eater
Yellow Honey-eater
Double-bar Finch
Brown Honey-eater
White-throat Honey-eater
Blue-face Honey-eater
White-belly Cuckoo-shrike
Peaceful Dove
Rufous Whistler
Pale-head Rosella
Atherton Scrubwren
Nankeen Kestrel
Brown Falcon
Mt. Carbine store
Galah
Rainbow Bee-eater
Julatten, Kingfisher Park
Macleay's Honey-eater (feeder)
Emerald Dove (feeder)
Tooth-bill Bowerbird (feeder, per Keith)
Orange-foot Scrubfowl
White-rump Swiftlet
Mask Owl (lighted by Keith)
Channel-bill Cuckoo (lighted by Keith)
Dollar Bird (lighted by Keith)
May 11
Kingfisher Park
White-breast Woodswallow
Bar-shoulder Dove
Red-brow Firetail
Brown Cuckoo-dove
Blue-wing Kookaburra
Mistletoe Bird
Creek Rd. to Ward Bridge
Graceful Honey-eater
Forest Kingfisher
Abattoir Swamp
Grey Fantail
White-cheek Honey-eater
Dusky Honey-eater
May 12
Cape Trib./Daintree jnct.
Tree Martin
Stewart Creek Rd.
Barn Swallow
Fairy Martin
Grey Whistler
Yellow Oriole
White-wing Triller
Yellow-belly Sunbird m.
Varied Triller
Great Egret
Black-front Dotterel
Wonga Beach
Eastern Reef Heron drk.
Lake Mitchell
Osprey
May 13
Whistling Kite
Lake Tinaroo
White-gape Honey-eater
fr. Tolga
Scaly-breast Lorikeet
Hastie Swamp Reserve
Swamp Harrier
Plume Whistling Duck
Wandering Whistling Duck
Black-breast Kite
Hard-head Duck
Lake Eacham
Grey-head Robin
Golden Whistler
Grey Shrike-thrush
May 14
Gordonvale
Brahminy Kite
English Sparrow
Cairns, Esplanade beach
Whimbrel
Black-tail Godwit
Sacred Kingfisher
Darwin, to Fogg Dam
White-neck Heron
rest area near Fogg Dam
Magpie Goose
May 15
Fogg Dam
Radjah Duck
Barking Owl
Black-neck Stilt
Pied Heron
Comb-crest Jacana (Lotusbird)
Crimson Finch
Little Corella
Whisker Tern
to Kakadu
Grey Goshawk
Great Bowerbird
Red-tail Black Cockatoo
S. Alligator R.
Richard's Pipit
Mamukala Wetlands
Mask Finch
Long-tail Finch
May 16
Kakadu N.P.
Grey-crown Babbler
Black-face Woodswallow
Kakadu, Anbangbang Billabong Tr.
Little Friarbird
Green Pygmy-goose
Kakadu, Nourlangie Rock Tr.
White-line Honey-eater
to Katherine
Torresian Imperial Pigeon
Katherine Gorge c/g
Red-wing Parrot
Shining Flycatcher
(Flying Fox roost = thousand)
May 17
Katherine Gorge c/g area
Sandstone Shrike-thrush
Apostlebird
Stuart Hwy. back north
Black Falcon
Wedge-tail Eagle
May 18
Litchfield N.P.
Partridge Pigeon
Yellow-throat Miner
Darwin, Lee Pt.
Black-face Cuckoo-shrike
Sanderling
Ruddy Turnstone
Great Knot
Marsh Sandpiper
Oriental Plover
Aust. Reed-Warbler
Brown Goshawk
Northern Fantail
May 19
Lee Pt.: Buffalo Cr. Rd., mangrove tr.
Yellow White-eye
Grenadier Weaver
Azure Kingfisher
May 20 Brisbane
Lamington N.P., Binna Burra
Satin Bowerbird
Regent Bowerbird
Rose Robin
May 21
Springbrook N.P., Purling Brook Falls
Russet-tail Thrush
Eastern Whipbird
Fan-tail Cuckoo
same, Rainbow Falls
Albert's Lyrebird
same, Natural Bridge
Grey Butcherbird