1 day: Koalas & Kangaroos IN THE WILD

Tour Details

Operator

Echidna Walkabout

Destinations

Melbourne and Western Plains

Departs From

Melbourne City

Tour Description

Formerly known as Savannah Walkabout

See Koalas and Kangaroos IN THE WILD! Interact with wild animals in their natural habitats on this full day, fully-inclusive small group (max 10 people) eco-tour, led by an experienced Wildlife Guide.

Walk through natural bushland to meet wild koalas, then learn about each one's history and social life from your Wildlife Guide and Koala Researcher. Be a part of the 'Make a Home for Clancy Project' (see below for more details about this exciting world class conservation project) - help collect important data, remove Boneseed (a weed) and make a difference to koala habitat.

Join wild mobs of Kangaroos on the plains and in open forests. Their natural instinct is to flee humans, but with care we often get close enough to take photographs and observe their complex social life. While we walk, help your Guide record sightings of all native wildlife.

The natural environments we visit are also home to parrots, fairy-wrens, emus, honeyeaters, possums, wallabies and lizards. Your Wildlife Guide will help you find and understand them, and teach you survey techniques that will be useful to you wherever you go.

The tour is vehicle-based, with short walks during the day; includes a substantial picnic lunch and pick up/drop off to Melbourne city.


WILDLIFE

Wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Koalas are the main focus of this tour. We also see a large variety of birds, which often include Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Galahs, Laughing Kookaburras, Superb Fairy-wrens, Whitewinged Choughs, Emus, Cape Barren and Magpie Geese, New Holland and White-plumed Honeyeaters, Australian White Ibis, Whistling Kites, Australian Magpies, Magpie-larks, Red-rumped Parrots, Crimson or EasternRosellas, Crested Pigeons, Red Wattlebirds and Willie Wagtails. We sometimes see wild Swamp (Black) Wallabies, Common Brushtail or Ringtail Possums, Common Blue-tongue or Jacky Lizards, Wedge-tailed and Little Eagles, falcons, goshawks, other parrots and cockatoos. We occasionally see an Echidna. We rarely see snakes or spiders, though we are as interested in them as in all wildlife, and will look out for them.

Note: we go to enormous effort to ensure sightings of Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Koalas and have a very high success rate with these species. However, we do not guarantee sightings of any wild animal.


VOLUNTEER/CONSERVATION COMPONENT
MAKE A HOME FOR CLANCY PROJECT

Just by being there, all guests are helping wildlife. Part of each tour cost goes to Koala research and wildlife species atlassing. In addition, if you wish to do more, you will be offered opportunities to participate in one or more voluntary activities to help wildlife. Activities include: searching for koalas and other wildlife, recording of wildlife sightings and koala behaviour, hand-pulling of Boneseed (an invasive weed that threatens koala habitat), hand collection of rubbish. This work is important - if every one of our guests pulls out just one weed we will create a new koala home every year. These activities are completely optional, no obligation, very easy and take up very little time.

To safely and effectively conduct voluntary conservation activities, we provide protective gloves, garbage bags, wildlife lists, pens, share binoculars and the expertise of our Wildlife Guides and Koala Researchers. The activities are simple, non-dangerous, pleasant and do not interfere with guests' enjoyment of the wildlife and wild places we visit – in fact, the activities usually increase guests enjoyment through fostering a sense of contribution and greater understanding. Wildlife sightings are recorded on a prepared list – guests only need to tick a box under instruction from the Wildlife Guide or Koala Researcher. Wildlife Lists are later submitted to online atlasses that provide the basis for population density estimates and monitor changes over time that lead to special classification for threatened species listing and conservation efforts – your Wildlife Guide will show you how to submit the lists. Data collection and entry for our Koala Research is also simple – we provide a hard-copy map or tablet with tick boxes for guests to fill out in consultation with the Wildlife Guide or Koala Researcher. Rubbish collection is done whilst walking through the bush. Boneseed removal can be done easily whilst walking through the bush, and our recommended limit is 10 small plants per guest (on daily tours 363 days per year, at 10 plants per guest, we remove a lot of weeds, and no-one gets a sore back, tired, or misses out on anything!)


DETAILED ITINERARY/FULL DAY DESCRIPTION

NOTE: this itinerary is an indication only. Due to conditions on the day, weather or National Parks instructions, it may change to maximise wildlife viewing opportunities.

We depart Melbourne at around 9.00am to travel just 45 minutes to the west to the bushland of You Yangs Park. The park is home to a healthy population of wild Koalas, which we research and monitor to ensure the best possible sightings. We take a very easy walk through the gum trees, searching for koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and birds in their natural setting. Your Wildlife Guide will point out plants and features of interest, explain some of the history of the area and, where possible, introduce you to known, named Koalas that are part of our research project. At each koala, a guest is invited to fill out our koala behaviour datasheet, in consultation with the Guide, while another guest keeps track of all other wildlife sighted. At one of 5 Boneseed-removal sites we stop for 5 minutes to remove some of these noxious weeds to improve Koala habitat.

The area we walk through is of great significance to the local Aboriginal People of the Wathaurong Tribe. The granite rock formations of the You Yangs staged huge meetings of Aboriginal People from all over Southeastern Australia. Many signs of their occupation still remain. Your Guide will share their knowledge with you. Though we will not be meeting any Aboriginal People on this tour, we act with the knowledge, consent and support of the Wathaurong Community.

Our picnic lunch is usually served under the gum trees and includes gourmet sandwiches, fruit and cakes, and delicious Australian "Billy tea". Your Guide will explain the history and recipe for the traditional tea of the Swagmen.

Leaving the You Yangs, we travel just 10 minutes to Serendip Open Range Sanctuary where we are immediately amongst wild kangaroos and native birds. Often our entrance is heralded by the screeching of Cockatoos or the chattering of Honeyeaters. We drive, then walk through the gum trees and across grasslands in search of wild mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos. They are wild and secretive, and we often walk quietly along kangaroo tracks, using trees and bushes as shelter. Sometimes we find them before they see us, and we can watch completely natural kangaroo social behaviour. Other times they find us first, and we enjoy the magnificent sight of a wild mob hopping, fast and powerful, but silent as ghosts. We also look out for curious Emus, and take a short walk to the billabong, home to large populations of waterbirds. As we walk we collect rubbish, and take note of all wildlife seen for listing on our Wildlife Species List, and later submission to the online Atlas of Australian Birds.

We return to Melbourne between at approximately 4:30pm.