Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
increasing numbers to give birth.
The long journey from Antarctica
brings them up the coast to frolic
with their young for several
months before making the return
trip. Hervey Bay's many cruises
can bring you closer to these gen-
tle giants than you'll ever come
elsewhere. See “Fraser Island:
Ecoadventures & Four-Wheel-
Drive Fun” in chapter 6.
•
Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
(Kuranda, near Cairns, QLD):
Walk through the biggest butter-
fly “aviary” in Australia and see
some of Australia's most gorgeous
butterflies, including the electric-
blue Ulysses. See many species of
butterfly feed, lay eggs, and mate,
and inspect caterpillars and pupae.
Wearing pink, red, or white
encourages the butterflies to land
on you. See p. 281.
•
Wait-a-While Rainforest Tours
(QLD): Head into the World Her-
itage-listed Wet Tropics rainforest
behind Cairns or Port Douglas
with this ecotour operator to spot-
light possums, lizards, pythons,
even a platypus, so shy that most
Aussies have never seen one in the
wild. About once a month one
group will spot the rare, bizarre
Lumholtz's tree kangaroo. See
“Cairns” in chapter 6.
•
Heron Island
(off Gladstone,
QLD): There's wonderful wildlife
on this “jewel in the reef ” any
time of year, but the best time to
visit is November to March, when
the life cycle of giant green logger-
head and hawksbill turtles is in
full swing. From November to
January, the turtles come ashore to
lay their eggs. From late January
to March, the hatchlings emerge
and head for the water. You can
see it all by just strolling down to
the beach, or join a university
researcher to get the full story. See
“The Capricorn Coast & the
Southern Reef Islands” in chapter
6. Mon Repos Turtle Rookery,
near Bundaberg in Queensland
(see “Up Close & Personal with a
Turtle” in chapter 6) and the
Northwest Cape in Western Aus-
tralia (see “The Midwest & the
Northwest: Where the Outback
Meets the Sea” in chapter 9) are
two other good turtle-watching
sites.
•
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
(The Gold Coast, QLD): Tens of
thousands of unbelievably pretty
red, blue, green, and yellow rain-
bow lorikeets have been screech-
ing into this park for generations
to be hand-fed by delighted visi-
tors every morning and afternoon.
There are 'roos and other Aus-
tralian animals at the sanctuary,
too, but the birds steal the show.
See p. 355.
•
Kakadu National Park
(NT):
One-third of Australia's bird
species live in Kakadu; so do lots
of saltwater crocs. A cruise on the
Yellow Waters Billabong or aboard
the Original Jumping Crocodiles
cruise en route to the park, are
some of the best places to see
them in the wild. See “Kakadu
National Park” in chapter 8.
•
The Northwest Cape
(WA): For
the thrill of a lifetime, go snorkel-
ing with a whale shark. No one
knows where they come from, but
these mysterious monsters (up to
18m/60 ft. long) surface in the
Outback waters off Western Aus-
tralia every year from March to
early June. A mini-industry takes
snorkelers out to swim alongside
the sharks as they feed (on plank-
ton, not snorkelers). See “The
Midwest & the Northwest: Where
the Outback Meets the Sea” in
chapter 9.
•
Tangalooma
(QLD),
Bunbury &
Monkey Mia
(WA): There are sev-
eral places you can see, hand-feed,
