7 Day Bird Watchers Itinerary
Central Australian Bird Watchers Paradise Tour
7 Days / 6 Nights
Day 1 – Arrival Alice Springs
Those who arrive in Alice Springs prior to 1.30pm you will have the opportunity to join your Guide for an afternoon appetiser at the world acclaimed Alice Springs Desert Park.
Spend a leisurely afternoon strolling around this spectacular desert concept. Apart from the largest captive collection of our feathered desert species, there will be the inspirational nocturnal house and the famous Raptor display – an event not to miss.
Upon conclusion retire to your accommodation or, in traditional Alice Springs spirit, enjoy a pre tour drink (at own expense) at one of Alice’s many watering holes with your fellow travellers – “let the friendship begin”.
What a great way to commence your Central Australian Bird Watching experience.
Overnight Alice Springs accommodation (Twin share).
Note: Single accommodation is an additional $50 per night. If you are single and wish to share with another person on the trek of the same gender we will arrange this for you subject to availability. If no other single share available, single supplement is payable.
Day 2 (Lunch & Dinner)
It’s up with the birds as we depart your accommodation and suburbia at 6.00am in search of everything feathered. This is the beginning of an outback experience of immense variety as we travel north-west along the famous Tanami Track against the northern verge of the West MacDonnell Ranges to Tilmouth Well. A short rest break, coffee, a bite to eat and we travel on towards Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary with an expected arrival late morning.
An early lunch before preparing our camp and getting ourselves organised for our experiences around Newhaven with rock escarpments, red sand-hill Spinifex country and the Lake Bennett Salt Lake system. The variety of vegetation will promote endless stops and leisure time to observe our feathered entertainers.
As Daylight draws to an end, we’ll find a location to capture the imagination to observe a classic desert sunset. Back to camp for dinner cooked over the campfire as the outback stirs to life.
Day 3 (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)
Our morning reveille will be the birds as they break the chill and silence of the outback morning. A hearty breakfast before spending the Day travelling this enormous parcel of tranquil land in search of anything rare, unique, varied and beautiful that has wings. This will be a Day of group consensus, visiting places and doing things that you want to.
The Day’s end will be twilight full of activity with another typical outback sunset before a stunning evening meal and, no doubt, a few stories starting to flow.
Day 4 (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)
After another early rise and breakfast we will break camp and, dependent upon weather and track conditions, travel south via permitted Aboriginal Lands including Papunya and Haasts Bluff Communities and then via the Namatjira to Gosse Bluff (Tnorala) before arriving at the oldest Lutheran based Aboriginal Community in Australia – Hermannsburg (Ntaria).
Enjoy an introduction to Hermannsburg’s history, a stop at the local store for refreshments and an early lunch before continuing our journey along the Ellery River system. This passes through stunning gorge and ravine country towards the location of one of the Territories first remote Police Stations – Boggy Hole. This will be our location for the next two evenings. After preparing camp you can take a wander and make yourself known to this wonderful location.
Special Note: Should conditions or permission not be available to access the south track, our journey will require a return via our earlier route, travelling the Larapinta Road to Hermannsburg with a late afternoon arrival at Boggy Hole.
Day 5 (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)
At your leisure you can stroll your way around this amazing wilderness location. Sit by the water’s edge and be amazed at the resident bird life as the parrots chirp and flit from tree to tree. The Whistling Kites glide the face of the rock escarpment while Red Tailed Cockatoos leave their nightly perch in hunt of seeds in other locations. The clowning antics of the Babblers and the activities of a myriad of species will dominate a Day of pure solitude which is truly rare in toDay’s pace driven lifestyle.
Our last night under the stars of the Southern Milky Way, an open fire and discussions dominated by the Day’s experiences.
Day 6 (Breakfast & Lunch)
We break camp early, meandering our way through the creek bed system towards Running Waters, a smaller watering system along Ellery Creek. We emerge from the National Park where we join the Ernest Giles track at the junction of the Palmer River. We travel through open mallee and gibber country, home to the raptor and the larger ground birds – Emu and Bustard.
Lunch will be at a secluded and remote location for the last time. We continue to travel east and join the Stuart Highway approx 130km’s south of Alice Springs. Our next stop will be Stuarts Well Roadhouse, a small stopover before our last 90km leg into Alice Springs and return to your accommodation.
After a return to normality (a shower and modern conveniences) we will meet again for our last meal together at one of Alice’s finest to share in long lasting friendships and no doubt relive and have a laugh over the previous 6 Days experiences. Dinner at own expense.
Overnight Alice Springs accommodation (Twin share).
Note: Single accommodation is an additional $50 per night. If you are single and wish to share with another person on the trek of the same gender we will arrange this for you subject to availability. If no other single share available, single supplement is payable.
Day 7 – Depart Alice Springs
Check out is required by 10am. Own arrangements to be made for onward travel.
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