Birding New South Wales Tour

Birding New South Wales Tour

Birding New South Wales

This tour makes a loop through eastern New South Wales.  Distance between lodging locations is never more than a 2-hour drive.  These short distances allow for maximum birding time to visit a large variety of habitats.  

• Travel Dates: December 1 – 11, 2027
• Group Size: 5 travelers
• Trip Length: 11 days
• Rate per person:  $6,150 per person (based on double occupancy), an extra $1,050 for single occupancy.
• Rates include:  Lodging, breakfast, lunch on days 2 - 10, dinner on days 2 - 10, daily birding tours, airport transfer to/from Sydney Airport, basic travel insurance.
• Not included: Airfare to the Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), snacks, alcohol, dessert, lunch on days 1 and 11, dinner on days 1 and 11, and trip cancelation insurance.
• Adventure level:  Easy, please check the "Welcome" page for definition
• Reservations: To reserve a spot on the trip, a non-refundable 30% deposit is required, and the non-refundable balance is due six months prior to the trip.  

Birding and wildlife:  We expect to see about 200 species of birds. On this tour we have seen kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, flying foxes, and reptiles.

Photography:  This tour moves at a pace that is perfect for photography.  You will be able to take your time to get great photos of birds and wildlife.

Tour Vehicles:  We will travel in two large SUVs.  This allows for everyone to have a window that opens and to be able to get out of the car quickly.  We will also be able to travel on "rougher" dirt roads than a van could handle. 

Itinerary

Day 1:  Arrival in Sydney
If you were on the Part 1 tour, this day you will be on your own for this day because some guests might be leaving, and some guests might be arriving, and that will be the activity for the day while we get reorganized in between tours.  Your hotel will be included for the night and breakfast, but lunch and dinner are not included.  Shuttle transfer from the Sydney Airport (SYD) to the Paradox Sydney Hotel, where we will stay for 1-night. The Sydney Airport is a 20-minute drive from our lodging.  No activities for the day. Meals on your own.

Day 3: Newcastle
A full day of birding areas in and around Newcastle:  Birding the hotel property, Glenrock State Conservation Area, Awabakal Nature Reserve, Belmont Wetlands State Park, and Hunter Wetlands Centre.

Day 4: Sandy Hollow
From Newcastle it is a 2-hour drive to the small village of Sandy Hollow, where we will spend 1-night. Stops along the way include:  Hunter Wetlands (various locations within the complex, Walka Water Works, Quarry Wetland, and Giant’s Leap Walking trail.  Lodging for 1-night:  Sandy Hollow Retreat

Day 6:  Mudgee
From Sandy Hollow, it is a 2-hour drive to the town of Mudgee where we will spend 2-nights.  Stops along the way include:  Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve, Castle Rocks trail, and Goulburn River National Park. Lodging for 2-nights at the Horatio Motel

Day 7:  Mudgee
A full day of birding the Mudgee area:  Putta Bucca Wetlands, Mellissa Harwood Memorial Park, Rare Dog Name National Park, and Lawson Park.

Day 8:  Mount Victoria
From Mudgee it is a 2-hour drive to Mount Victoria.  Stops along the way include:  Turtle Island Park, Lake Windamere, Lithgow Wastewater Treatment Plant, Marrangaroo National Park, Lake Wallace, and Lake Lyell.  We will stay for 2-nights at the Victoria and Albert Guesthouse. 

Day 9: Mount Victoria
Our lodging in Mount Victoria is a 20-minute drive from Blue Mountains National Park. We will spend the day birding area in and around the national park. 

Day 10:  Sydney
Mount Victoria, it is a 2-hour drive back to our hotel close to the airport.  Stops along the way include:  Blue Mountains National Park (westside stops), and numerous short stops along the route back to Sydney, where we will stay at the Brighton Hotel for 1-night. Our hotel is a 10-minute drive from the Sydney Airport.

Day 11:  Fly Home
No activities schedule for the day.  There will be a shuttle to the Sydney airport for your flight home.

Deborah Metters:  An environmental scientist who has worked in conservation for over 25 years and is passionate about landholder-led ecological restoration. She lives near Brisbane, coordinates a wildlife conservation program in south-east Queensland and manages a Nature Refuge near Toowoomba. She is also an avid birder. She was introduced to birding about 30 years ago when she was a camp cook for a tour company that took birders to remote locations across Australia. She learnt Australian birds with a field guide and binoculars; prior to the wonderful apps and online resources we have now.  Deborah is a proficient birder and field ecologist who does regular bird surveys for Birdlife Southern Queensland and the Queensland Wader Study Group. She delivers workshops to improve the bird identification skills of other ecologists and landholders.

Alex Rossi:  A red-headed woodpecker first seen when living in Chicagoland re-sparked Alex’s long dormant passion for nature, generally, and birds specifically. She has entered lists into eBird daily ever since that first encounter. She enjoys her role as a citizen scientist. Lucky encounters in the bird world means she is more involved than ever with eBird and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Alex is a bird sound annotator for eBird. A life-long educator, Alex has lived and worked on every continent bar Antarctica. She has called Australia home since 2006. Guiding marries Alex’s love of birds, science and education and she looks forward to helping visitors, whether they are scientists, researchers or tourists, discover the wonder and diversity of Australian birds.