qanda-with-guides
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Wetlands and Wine Tour with Peter Clutterbuck
When looking for a rural holding more than 30 years ago, Peter Clutterbuck, a long-standing guide with Australian Coastal Safaris, stumbled upon a property on the eastern tributary of the Big Swamp. “I wanted to get out of town and buy a few acres to pursue a more rounded lifestyle,”...
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Active Safari Across Kakadu National Park with Bianca Di Nuzzo
“Maguk is magical,” Bianca Di Nuzzo, the newest guide to join the respected team at Lords Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris says. “It’s a really interesting location to show guests, with a big and beautiful water hole positioned at the base of steep gorge walls, and top pools that always look...
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Tracking Powerful Owls with Martin Maderthaner
When you ask long-standing Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours guide, Martin Maderthaner, to describe the hoot a Powerful Owl makes, he doesn’t hesitate. “It’s a very loud and deep hoot, a double hoot, really,” he explains. “It’s a commanding sound and you immediately know it’s coming from a large bird, a...
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In Search of Tasmania's Endemic Birds with Danny Pulbrook
When you ask The Maria Island Walk guide, Danny Pulbrook, what he likes to do in his spare time, he doesn’t hesitate to answer. “I’m heavily interested in birds,” he says. “I watch them whenever I have a chance, often with my wife and kids.” Maria Island is a dream...
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Writing the Wildbook for Whale Sharks with Heather Kay
Ningaloo Reef is one of the best places in the world to swim with Whale Sharks, with hundreds congregating in the world- renowned marine park from March to early August. “I’m very fortunate to work in an area that has one of the highest interaction rates with Whale Sharks in...
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Observing Tasmania’s Nocturnal Marsupials with Karin Beaumont
“Dusk in certain locations is a wonderful time to start exploring,” Karin Beaumont, tour guide with Premier Travel Tasmania, explains. “When we visit the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, for example, it’s very interesting to go on an evening walk because of the quantity and diversity...
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Learning about the photo identification programs with Pia Markovic
There’s an iPhone feature that sorts photos using facial recognition, categorising frequently photographed faces into groups. Interestingly, it can work for Southern Right Whales too, albeit a little more haphazardly. “Basically, there are different ways of identifying all whales. And because Southern Rights have distinctive callosities (louse-covered callouses) on their...
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Kangaroo Island birdwatching expedition with Tim Williams
Kangaroo Island is home to over 260 species of birds and, according to long-standing birding and tour guide with Exceptional Kangaroo Island, Tim Williams, it’s easy enough to find 40+ species in the first few hours while exploring within a 10km2 radius. “We have so much habitat in a very...
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Exploring the Lower Eyre Peninsula on e-mountain bikes with David Doudle
Bicycle tourism is fast gaining popularity, as being in the saddle is a great way to see the sights. For David Doudle, founder of Australian Coastal Safaris, launching electronic mountain bicycle tours in December 2020 was a logical next step for the business. “It’s an affordable option for the domestic...
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Top End Birdwatching Expedition with Dean Hoath
It’s hard for Dean Hoath, longstanding guide at Lords Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris, to name just one favourite bird. “I love all birds, but one of my favourite birdwatching experiences is when we stay at the Lords Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris permanent bush camp in Kakadu National Park,” he says....
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Exploring the Impacts of Climate Change at Mungo National Park with Roger Smith
When you ask Roger Smith, co-founder of Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours along with Janine Duffy, about climate change at Mungo National Park, he cites an example. “To help people understand the impacts of climate change in a certain area, I usually profile a creature,” he says. “I’ve been visiting Mungo...
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Nocturnal Spotlighting for Tasmanian Devils and Marsupials with Holly Schorta
Maria Island is renowned for its abundance of wildlife, including a variety of both native and introduced species, some of which are more active when the sun goes down. “The island is nicknamed Noah’s Ark because in the 1960s a variety of threatened species, such as Cape Barren Geese and...
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Wildlife & Wetlands with Andrea Edwards
German-born Andrea Edwards was living in Queensland when she discovered the island paradise of Tasmania. “I came from Brisbane for a one-week holiday and fell in love with the island,” she says. “I moved here and have been living in the Tamar Valley for more than 20 years now. Stretching...
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Diving the Muiron Islands and Outer Reef with Mark Ferguson
For Mark Ferguson, co-founder and skipper of Exmouth Dive & Whalesharks Ningaloo, every day out in the water is a good day. “I learnt to dive when I was 24 and am in the water at every opportunity. I just love the sea and showing guests the underwater world,” Mark...
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Hear the tales of Naturaliste history film maker, Dave Riggs
What life is hiding on the sea floor? Naturaliste history film maker and Naturaliste Charters tour guide, Dave Riggs, will soon find out. “I’m in the process of sourcing camera systems that will be capable of withstanding water depth to at least 800 metres,” Dave says. “And when I do...
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Post Bushfire Surveys with Janine Duffy
Janine Duffy, founder of Echidna Walkabout Nature Tours along with Roger Smith, knows a thing or two about Southern Emu-wrens... but then she knows a thing of two about hundreds of wildlife species. “If it’s native and it’s wildlife, I love it,” she says. “I joke that my favourite animal...
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E-biking Adventure with Craig Wickham
It’s hard to pinpoint the best part of the day of the Exceptional Kangaroo Island e-biking adventure, although the cycle along the meandering Cygnet River, with massive sugar and red gums shading the bike path, is one of Exceptional Kangaroo Island Managing Director Craig Wickham’s highlights. “The riverside cycle is...
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Tropical Wetlands birding expedition with Matt Cornish
The smallest of the 10 species of Bowerbirds in Australia – the Golden Bowerbird – builds the largest structures of all the Bowerbirds to attract their female counterparts. “We call the structures bowers,” FNQ Nature Tours guide Matt Cornish explains. “The Golden Bowerbird formations are intricate assortments of sticks and...
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Making Citizen Science Count with David Doudle
When Australian Coastal Safaris' guests are out on the road, they are usually seeing an abundance of wildlife, so founder David Doudle approached the Eyre Peninsula Landscape Board in 2019 and suggested that both guests and guides could help out with the cataloguing. “It’s not physically possible for the Landscape...
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Take a private masterclass with Yale Norris from The Islander Estate Vineyards
Yale Norris and Jacques Lurton look upon winemaking as an art form, with Kangaroo Island as the main source of inspiration and drive. “We are both deeply connected to the land,” Yale says. “Making wine is our passion.” Yale Norris and Jacques Lurton. Image: The Islander Estate Vineyards The birth...
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Airboating across Bamurru Plains with Sab Lord
Thousands of Magpie Geese lift off into the candy-pink sky as the airboat skims along the mud-spattered surface of a gigantic floodplain. To the right, a Saltwater Crocodile lurks just under the water, its beady eyes popping up ever so briefly. To the left, water buffaloes stomp through the shallows,...
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Recording the Behaviour of the Earth’s Largest Creature with Pia Markovic
When you ask Naturaliste Charters marine biologist Pia Markovic what she loves most about Blue Whales, there’s no wavering when she answers. “Blue Whales are the largest animal on the planet – bigger than dinosaurs,” she says. “And learning more and more about them every day is both thrilling and...
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Photographing Birds of the Eyre Peninsula with Fran Solly
A group of keen birdwatchers recently named a bird after Fran Solly. The award-winning photographer – who escorts Australian Coastal Safaris guests on photography tours – explains that the Western Osprey chick was tagged in November 2020 as part of the South Australian Government’s Osprey and White-bellied Sea-Eagle Recovery Program....
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Low-light Photography Workshop with Kelvin Marshall
In the Far North Queensland Wet Tropics, rain is king. “The start of the Wet Season triggers a myriad of life cycle changes – chrysalis to butterflies, tadpoles to frogs, buds to flowers,” says FNQ Nature Tours photography guide Kelvin Marshall. Kelvin shares his love of both photography and the...
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Take A Bushwalk On Kangaroo Island With World Echidna Expert Dr Peggy Rismiller
When you join world expert echidna researcher Dr Peggy Rismiller (OAM) for a bushwalk, it’s no ordinary stroll. “I’ve been working with Short-beaked Echidnas since 1988, so I know a thing or two about them,” she laughs. “But there is still so much I’d like to find out.” Dr Peggy...