Date: 7/27/26 11:38 pm From: Lee Jaszlics via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Australia tips
I love birding Australia and I go back as often as I can. I lived in Sydney and rural Queensland, but most of my birding trips have actually been in Western Australia, which is my favorite state.
With two weeks, you will likely not be able to get both koalas and quokkas, as those live on opposite coasts, and I would recommend sticking to one side of the continent. If the GBR is a priority for you, the East coast is probably better (although Ningaloo Reef in WA also offers excellent snorkel opportunities). The East coast also offers some wonderful iconic Aussie birds like lyrebirds and kookaburras that are not native in the West.
December will be less brutally hot than February, so I would err that way if you can. Wildfire is unfortunately always a risk in the Australian summer.
Do you have any specific target birds? Any mammals that you definitely want to see? From what you've said, my tentative recommendation would be to fly into Sydney or Melbourne, spend some time in and around that area, before going North to spend time around the Great Barrier Reef. While you will be there in the middle of the wet season, there are some really excellent bird guides based out of Cairns who can organize trips into the Daintree Rainforest and Atherton Tablelands.
While you are on the North Island of New Zealand, take the time to go to Tiritiri Matangi. New Zealand has a large number of predator-free sanctuaries for native birds; this one was definitely my favorite when I went. If you can get onto a pelagic trip while you're in New Zealand, the seabirding is exceptional. (Also, while not strictly bird-related, the glowworm caves at Waitomo are close to the Hobbitton sets, and are well worth your time.)
I'm happy to offer more specific advice on localities, potential target bird and mammal species, etc. either over the listserv or email. I've been birding around Western Australia (along the coast from Shark Bay to Albany, and in Exmouth and Broome), NSW, Canberra and the ACT, around Brisbane, Kakadu and Uluru and in Far North Queensland.
Lee J.
On Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 22:33 Kathy Kaplan via Tweeters < <tweeters...> wrote:
> Hello! > I'm hoping to take my bucket list trip to Australia (and New Zealand) this > winter. I want to snorkel in the great barrier reef and see quokka and > koala and more... And I want to bird. A lot. I looked in the archive but > didn't see specifics of what I'm looking for, so figured I'd post for the > first time. > > I know it's the rainy and hot season and fires are also standard are now, > but I'm limited to when I go due to work. It will likely be mid January, > but maybe mid December or mid February could be options. After about a week > in New Zealand looking for hobbits, I will have about 1.5-2 weeks in > Australia with at least 1 day snorkeling and some days looking for mammals. > I'm open to single day or multi day bird trips while I'm there. > > 1. Does anyone have strong tips on birding locations, guides, trips, > itinerary suggestions, etc to recommend based on my limitations above? > 2. I'm also curious if anyone has strong opinions if my best time to go in > mid January is way worse than mid December or mid February if I can swing > either of those, and why? > 3. Also open to New Zealand single day guides or hotspot recs near > Hobbiton/Rotura/Auckland? > > Thanks so much for any tips and tricks! > Happy birding! > > Kathy Kaplan > :) > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > <Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
