Three Day Small Group Wildlife and Wild Coastline Great Ocean Road Tour

Tour Details

Operator

Echidna Walkabout

Destinations

Great Ocean Road and Western Plains

Departs From

Melbourne and Melbourne City

Tour Description

Absorb this dramatic coastline on a fully-inclusive small group journey (max 8 people.) See wildlife IN THE WILD with an experienced Wildlife Guide. Stay at 4.5 star accommodation in iconic locations. Dine as guests of the owners on a secluded farm overlooking the ocean. Join your Wildlife Guide to find wild Koalas, Kangaroos, Echidnas and birds – both of the sea and the land – in their natural habitats. Walk along the beach and feel the waves of the mighty Southern Ocean. Photograph wildflowers in species-rich heathlands. Let yourself be driven along a hidden river as it opens up into a wonderland of lakes and wetlands. View the plains from the top of an extinct volcano.

With 20 years of experience in this region, we can show you the highlights and the hidden secrets of this magnificent area. Tour includes 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner and 2 nights at friendly, owner-operated boutique properties.


DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Meal inclusions shown thus: B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner

Walk through natural bushland to meet wild koalas, then learn about their history and social life from your Wildlife Guide and Koala Researcher. After a substantial picnic lunch, 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. The natural environments we visit are also home to parrots, fairy-wrens, emus, honeyeaters, wallabies and lizards. Your Wildlife Guide will help you find and understand them. The evening is spent in the tiny outback town of Little River. (L, D)

Explore the rainforests of the Otway National Park, lunch in a seaside village then travel to the Great Ocean Road to see the spectacular sea stacks known as the Twelve Apostles set against a magnificent backdrop of huge limestone cliffs, overlooking the Southern Ocean. We take time to enjoy the abundant wildlife of the coastal area. The Great Ocean Road hugs this scenic coastline providing dramatic views at every turn. (B, L, D)

After a final visit to the coast, we return to Melbourne across the vast Western Plains. We drive to the top of an extinct volcano for expansive views across the plains. We pass volcanic lakes, including the largest permanent lake in Australia, all set in a sea of savannah grasslands - the richest wool growing area on earth. (B, L)


LOCATION

West of the city of Melbourne in south-east Australia. Visit Serendip Open Range Sanctuary or Mt Rothwell Conservation Park, You Yangs or Brisbane Ranges National Park, Great Otway National Park, the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles, the Shipwreck Coast, volcanoes and lakes of the Western Plains.


WILDLIFE

This tour is a great way to see wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Koalas, Swamp Wallabies and many birds – waterbirds and birds of the forests. We often see Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, corellas, Galahs, Laughing Kookaburras, Superb Fairy-wrens, White-winged Choughs, Emus, Cape Barren and Magpie Geese; Singing, New Holland and White-plumed Honeyeaters, ibis, ducks, cormorants, Whistling and Black-shouldered Kites, Nankeen Kestrels, Australian Magpies, Magpie-larks, Red-rumped and King Parrots, Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Bronzewing and Crested Pigeons, Red and Little Wattlebirds and Willie Wagtails. We sometimes see Echidnas, possums, fur-seals, Blue-tongue or Jacky Lizards, Rufous Bristlebirds, Wedge-tailed and Little Eagles, falcons, goshawks, Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos and Gang Gang Cockatoos. We occasionally see a Southern Brown Bandicoot or a whale. 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.


DETAILED ITINERARY/DAY BY 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

Meal inclusions shown thus B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner (2 courses)

DAY 1 WILDLIFE OF THE WESTERN PLAINS Koalas & Kangaroos in the Wild

Stroll through a national park looking for wild koalas, cockatoos and kookaburras. Your Wildlife Guide and Koala Researcher will explain the behaviour and individuality of each of the Koalas you meet. Walk quietly up to a wild mob of Kangaroos on the plains and in open Bushland. They are thrilling animals to watch. Their natural instinct is to flee humans, but with care we often get close enough to observe their complex social life. We may also find parrots, fairy-wrens, emus, honeyeaters, wallabies and reptiles. Your Wildlife Guide will help you understand them. A substantial picnic lunch is included. Accommodation tonight is at a 4.5 star boutique property in the tiny outback town of Little River. Dinner is at the local Pub – a real Aussie experience! (L,D)

Note: Little River B&B does not have twin share rooms – all rooms have one King or Queen-size double bed. Standard price listed is based on two people sharing one room/bed this night. If you must have one bed per person, a reduced single supplement price will be offered for this night only .

DAY 2 THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD and the Twelve Apostles

See some of the world's most spectacular coastal scenery. We follow the Great Ocean Road to the surging surf coast, and walk in the magnificent rainforests of the Otway National Park. Your Wildlife Guide will explain the formation of these mighty forests. Travel through Port Campbell National Park, looking out for echidnas, wallabies, lizards and colourful birds which make their home in the coastal heathlands. Linger a while to take in some of nature's handiwork at the Twelve Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge. Hear stories about the terrible shipwrecks of the past. Dinner and accommodation tonight are at our 4.5 star B&B near Loch Ard Gorge. (B,L,D)

DAY 3 THE EXPANSE OF THE WESTERN PLAINS - volcanoes and lakes in a great savannah.

This morning we have one last look at the coast in the dramatic morning light before returning to Melbourne across the vast grasslands of the Western Plains. Created by intense volcanic activity over the past 2 million years, the 7000 volcanoes of the Western Plains are now extinct but the resultant savannah is pasture to a rich wool growing area - a wonderful example of Australia's great range lands. We stop en route to drive to the top of an extinct volcano with spectacular views across the plains. From the summit we see some of the hundreds of volcanic lakes scattered across the plains. Later we pass Lake Corangamite, the largest permanent lake in Australia, often covered with prolific birdlife. We return to Melbourne in the late afternoon. (B,L)