Innholdsfortegnelse for July August 2021 i Australian Geographic

MANY THINGS have surprised me during the past year, as COVID swept around the world. One was how quickly vaccines were developed to protect against the disease. Another was “vaccine hesitancy”, which describes how not everybody shared my desire to be vaccinated as soon as possible. We humans do have an excellent and complex immune system that can fight o. most diseases. The problem is that it needs time to respond at full force. It usually takes your body a few weeks to manufacture brand-new chemicals and cells in response to a new infection – and in that short time, you could be dead. Vaccines are designed to give your immune system a head start. They provide a tiny taste of the bad-guy germ to trigger your immune system into…

THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM is presenting one of the most significant exhibitions in its long history – Unsettled. Indigenous voices tell stories in this extraordinary showcase of Australia’s foundations and the resilience and survival of First Nations people. Personal recollections are presented through historical documents, large-scale artworks, immersive experiences and never-before-seen objects from the museum’s collections. Unsettled provides an evidence-based journey for visitors that begins with the signal fires lit by Aboriginal people as a warning when Cook sailed up the east coast in 1770, and highlights the resistance and strength of First Nations people since colonisation in 1788. Featuring more than 190 objects and images and at least 100 contributions by First Nations people from across the country, Unsettled illuminates the power of truth-telling. Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt, a Eualayai…

Conservationists and ecologists are desperately trying to rebuild populations of the endangered numbat which have been decimated by feral foxes and cats. The Numbat Task Force is monitoring the recovering population in the Dryandra Woodland in Western Australia, one of only two places where the species survives naturally, and a reintroduced population in Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve, 232km east of Dryandra. Help us raise funds to support this crucial work. They’ll be used to buy sensor cameras and associated equipment, which can detect animals 365 days a year, and also help pay for a flight in a small aircraft to document the survival of radio-collared animals. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PLEASE DONATE TODAY Funds raised will help save and support numbats in their native habitats. Visit australiangeographic.com.au/fundraising…

FATAL SEA SNAKE bites are extremely rare in Australia. But circumstances were tragically against 23-year-old prawn trawler deckhand Harry Evans, from Dorset in England, when he was bitten just over two years ago while plying his trade in remote waters in the Gulf of Carpentaria. An inquest in January last year documented the tragedy. It noted that the ship was north of Vanderlin Island, more than five hours from onshore medical assistance, when shortly after 8am on 4 October 2018, the nets were lowered back into the vessel and the captain noticed Harry shaking his hand in pain. Looking in the nets, the skipper found what he guessed to be an elegant sea snake, about 50cm long. He grasped it by the tail, tossed it over the side and made…

“IT’S BEEN A TREND over the past few years – new people are moving to the region, which is putting it on the map,” says the owner of Braymont Gardens, Chris Brayne. “Attitudes are changing because the demographics are changing. Established in August 2013 at Maragle (near Tumbarumba), Braymont Gardens is home to a unique tree church, formed almost entirely from living trees. It’s one of only four in the world. The 2.4ha property was originally a bare stock paddock until Chris, blessed with seemingly unlimited energy, drive and enthusiasm, transformed it into a vibrant open garden. One hundred Manchurian pear trees line its driveway, and, at an elevation of 850m, the views are magnificent: Round Mountain, Mt Jagungal and Mt Black Jack are prominent alpine features on the horizon.…

IN EARLY NOVEMBER last year, Australian fishers watched in horror as tonnes of live western rock lobsters, worth an estimated $2 million, sat on an airport tarmac in China. Chinese authorities wanted, they said, to arrange testing of the shellfish for the presence of heavy metals. The delay meant that, although the lobsters had been carefully packaged to arrive live, many perished, making them inedible. Fishers here suspected the precious cargo had become another casualty in the recent China–Australia trade spat, in part sparked by tensions rising from questions and accusations about the origins of the COVID pandemic. Some of the stranded lobster consignment survived to eventually make it to Chinese consumers, but a total import ban by China on Australian lobsters followed. And COVID went on to ultimately have…

HELP WILDLIFE on this incredible trip. Find koalas in magnificent stands of giant eucalypt forest, walk in rainforest listening for lyrebirds, watch sea eagles soar over untouched beaches and spot huge goannas beside secluded rivers and waterways. East Gippsland is famous for its forest wildlife, particularly big mammals, birds and reptiles. It’s a fabulous place for parrots and cockatoos – they are numerous, visible and noisy. Your experienced wildlife guide will also show you where to look for wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, parrots, cockatoos, black swans and many other animals. Departures & fares 3 nights Dates: 8–11 November 2021 $2135 per person twin share $427 single supplement Wildlife highlights • Mammals: eastern grey kangaroo, red-necked and swamp wallaby, wombat, koala, brush-tailed possum, sugar glider, echidna, platypus, grey-headed flying-fox. • Reptiles: goanna,…

Learn about Aboriginal culture while exploring the ancient rainforest of the Daintree, including Mossman Gorge, and the tropical savannah of Cape York. Traditional owners will teach you their coastal survival skills. Venture along the 4WD Bloomfield Track and gain an insight into Indigenous community life. Discover Cooktown and explore rock art galleries with Aboriginal guides at Normanby Station. Departures & fares 2 nights Dates: 26–28 July 2021 30 August–1 September 2021 $1650 per adult $280 single supplement Contact us today travel@australiangeographic.com Call 0413 560 210…

Join state-of-the-art expedition ship Coral Geographer on this Australian Geographic partner voyage. Experience the region’s spectacular landscape, rich history and unique food experiences. Here, sweeping beaches and idyllic seaside towns meld into sprawling agricultural lands and then remote national parks harbouring some of the world’s rarest species of flora and fauna. This immersive voyage will delight all your senses. Dates & prices 14 nights Dates: 1 March 2022 From $8920 per person twin share Contact us today coralexpeditions.com Call 1800 079 545…

1 STOCK EXCHANGE ARCADE During the Charters Towers goldmining boom, the centre of its financial district was the Stock Exchange Arcade at the intersection of Mosman and Gill streets. Built originally in 1887–88 as a shopping precinct known as the Royal Arcade, it became the Charters Towers Stock Exchange from 1890 to 1916. Designed by Sydney architect Mark Cooper Day, it featured a glass roof and large tiled floor space and was illuminated at night by gas lights. The Stock Exchange was established to raise capital for the area’s deep reef mines, with the public allowed to buy and sell stock at 8pm every evening during an event known as the Calling of the Card. The exchange closed in 1916 and is today used by local shops and administered by…

IT’S NOT OFTEN we run a cover and major feature using mostly images from an amateur photographer. But when we decided to do a story on numbats we knew we’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a portfolio of photographs of the little mammals as good as that of Rob McLean. He fell in love with numbats about 10 years ago and began taking a serious photographic interest in them from about 2013, after he bought his first digital camera. We first met Rob when the conservation group he and his mate John Lawson helped found, the Numbat Task Force, was awarded our 2018 Conservationist of the Year. Rob, a truck driver and former stonemason, has always been passionate about animals, particularly native ones, and his first photos were of…

SCIENTISTS AND WORLD Health Organization officials have been trying to control the COVID pandemic while attempting to understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for it. Where did it come from? And when did it first pass to humans? So far, they believe this most likely occurred in China in a market or farm trading in exotic animals, where many different species come into contact with people. Human diseases that originate in animals are known as zoonotic infections. Determining the origins of COVID may be critical to preventing the next pandemic. But SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t only afflict people: infections have been documented in many domesticated or captive animal species, including cats, dogs, minks, tigers, snow leopards, pumas and gorillas. “Habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade and other human activities have brought many species into…

EVERY SUBSCRIBER to this journal automatically becomes a member of the not-for-profit AG Society. Your subscription helps us fund Australia’s scientists, conservationists, adventurers and explorers. To subscribe, call 1300 555 176 Who are the Australian Geographic Society? Patron: Dick Smith AC Chair: David Haslingden Secretary: Caroline Fitzgerald Directors: Peter Anderson, Nick Croydon, Page Henty, Jo Runciman Advisory Committees: Chrissie Goldrick (chair), Chris Bray, John Leece AM, Tim Jarvis AM, Robert Purves AM, Anna Rose, Heather Swan, Todd Tai THE SOCIETY runs sponsorship rounds in April and November, during which it considers applications and disburses grants that are funded by the Australian Geographic business. The Society also awards the Nancy-Bird Walton sponsorship for female adventurers, and hosts annual awards for conservation and adventure. Each year it gives in excess of $100,000…

Oh it’s-a lonesome away fr om your kindred and allBy the campfire at night where the wild dingoes call.But there’s nothing so lonesome, morbid or drearThan to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer. Now the publican’s anxious for the quota to comeAnd there’s a far-away look on the face of the bum.The maid’s gone all cranky and the cook’s acting queerOh what a terrible place is a pub with no beer. Then the stockman rides up with his dry dusty throatHe breasts up to the bar and pulls a wad from his coat.But the smile on his face quickly turns to a sneerAs the barman says sadly, the pub’s got no beer. Then the swaggie comes in, smothered in dust and fliesHe throws down his roll,…

FOR DECADES, PARTS of rural Australia have been identified, often in a playful way, with ‘big things’. You know, those oversized pieces of fruit – the banana, pineapple and the like – proclaiming a town or region’s claim to fame. Perhaps you’ve seen the giant merino ram, Ned Kelly, a well-configured bull, jumping trout or rampant crustacean. Depending on your taste, you might have admired these fibreglass, ferrocement or fabricated metal colossi as exuberant naive folk art, or dismissed them as tawdry, tourist-trapping kitsch. But whatever the response such expressions of local identity have provoked, there is no doubt big things have secured a particular place in our cultural landscape. Across the country, keen travellers often seek out, and affectionately tick off, the next big thing as they ply Australia’s…

TURTLE-HEADED SEA SNAKE Emydocephalus annulatus Range: Found around Australia from the Timor Sea to the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Philippines and New Caledonia Length: 80cm–1m Threat status: Least concern This fish egg–eating specialist has relatively weak venom. Males have a spike-like, elongated scale on the upper lip, which is used to scrape eggs off coral, while a sharpened scale on the snout is used to prod females during mating season. STOKES’ SEA SNAKE Hydrophis stokesii Range: Found widely, from the coasts of Iran and India across Southeast Asia to PNG and Australia Length: Up to 1.6m Threat status: Least concern This, the heaviest of all sea snakes, looks more like a moray eel. It has the longest fangs and strongest jaws of any sea snake and feeds on…

There’s plenty to see and do in the Snowy Valleys, so the best way to experience everything is to hit the road on an old-fashioned road trip. Along the way you’ll discover pristine waterways, mountain vistas, rolling hills and world-class food and wine. Teeming with history, culture, local produce and natural beauty, the region also offers a variety of outdoor activities and watersports. 1 PADDYS RIVER FALLS Located 15km south of Tumbarumba, Paddys River Falls is an 18m gushing cascade with a deep alcove. A viewing platform provides vistas of the falls and downstream. A 150m track from the picnic area leads to the base of the falls where there’s a swimming hole. 2 SOUTHERN CLOUD MEMORIAL LOOKOUT The lookout commemorates the pilot, copilot and all six passengers who were…

AS WELL AS its tumultuous past, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands also boasts a historical event that is still fondly remembered by the older generation of today’s Home Islanders. In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh sailed to the islands to meet the Cocos Malay people. The visit followed the royal couple’s tour of mainland Australia, their party departing from Fremantle in Western Australia and sailing north-west to the islands on the liner SS Gothic, arriving on 5 April. It was reported to be a typical Cocos day – sunny with a few fair-weather clouds scudding along in the south-east trade wind. The royals invited on board for lunch a party that included John and Daphne Clunies-Ross, descendants of the first settler and developer of the islands’ coconut…

WITH ALMOST 300 islands dotted across the narrow stretch of water between CapeYork and Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands have a distinct and vibrant culture. An expedition by small ship is the ideal way to access these remote regions, visiting uninhabited sand cays, remote islands, and pristine reef systems. With decades of experience and deep respect for the communities of the region, Coral Expeditions will facilitate an enriching journey accompanied and hosted by local Elders who share the customs and stories of this ancient country. Departure & fares 10 nights | 3 November 2021 12 October 2022 from $10,900 per person Expedition highlights • Experience the vibrant art, culture and natural beauty of the Torres Strait Islands. • Land at the northern-most tip of Australia at Pajinka on…

FROM SPECTACULAR coastal landscapes to the wildly beautiful outback, and the wildlife that call them home, South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has it all. Unsurpassed in its beauty, the region also teems with colourful characters. You’ll meet a host of locals during your visit to Port Lincoln, the seafood capital of Australia, and the stunning, ancient and geologically fuelled Gawler Ranges. Each day you’ll enjoy unique wildlife, geological, culinary, photographic and educational experiences, including swimming with Australian sea lions and dolphins (the only place in Australia you can do this). Departures & fares 8 nights Dates: 11–19 Sept 2021; 9–17 Oct 2021; 30 Oct–7 Nov 2021 $6395pp twin share $826 single supplement Expedition highlights • Sample the bounty of the ocean with oysters from local farms. • Visit Lincoln National Park…

Learn to dive on the Great Barrier Reef and become a marine conservation volunteer on a 12-day program that includes an Advanced Open Water Dive Course. No Limit Adventures has teamed with Passions of Paradise to help collect data for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority during 15 dives. Hands-on activities are also done at the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre on Fitzroy Island. Dates & prices 11 nights Dates: From 12 August 2021 From $3290 per person Contact us today nolimitadventures.com.au/marine-conservation-great-barrier-reef…

• The town is on the traditional lands of the Gugu Badhun people. • Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt camps in the area in 1845. • In 1861 Edward Cunningham takes up Burdekin Downs Station. • On 24 December 1871, Hugh Mosman, George Clarke, James Fraser and Jupiter Mosman discover gold. • Venus Mill begins operating in 1872. • Borough of Charters Towers is proclaimed on 21 June 1877. • In 1878 the Day Dawn Gold Mining Company Ltd is floated with shares of 10 shillings each. • By 1881 Charters Towers is Queensland’s second-largest town. • Stock Exchange building is erected 1887–88. • In 1893 Anderson Dawson is elected as the local member and in 1899 he becomes the premier of Queensland for a week. • Electric light installed in 1897.…

MAGNIFICENT MOUNT Just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful issue AG 161. The general articles are very interesting, but the one of greatest interest to me is War horse, and the story of their activities during World War I. I look up at the wall in my room every day and see my cousin Granville Ryrie mounted on a Waler. He was in the Light Horse Regiment and took part in the Battle of Beersheba. I thought the photo (above) might be of interest to you. John Ryrie, Vaucluse, NSW WRITE TO US! Send us a great letter about AG or a relevant topic. If it’s selected as our featured letter we’ll send you a copy of AG’s beautiful Australia’s Beating Heart poetry book. PROTECTION RACKET Your article…

AG SOCIETY SUPPORTED FRIENDS OF THE Koala (FOK), a volunteer-run grassroots conservation organisation based in Lismore, New South Wales, knows better than most just how badly the Black Summer bushfires of 2019–20 have affected koala populations in this former stronghold for the much-loved but beleaguered marsupial. FOK’s plant nursery and koala sanctuary in the Northern Rivers region has been selected to receive special funding and other practical assistance by the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW). This non-governmental body is the charitable partner of Australia’s national parks, and raising funds to buy properties is one of its many activities. Since its foundation in 1970 it has added 637,727ha to the national estate, to be protected in perpetuity. The FNPW’s bushfire recovery programs, including Healing Our Land and A Million…

STONES don’t bounce like tennis balls, do they? Try telling that to Colin Smeal of the ACT who could hardly believe his eyes while visiting Thornton Beach in far north Queensland. “Instead of bouncing with ever-decreasing height when thrown in the air, these stones miraculously bounced in varying ways, with subsequent bounces sometimes higher or longer than the first bounce – impossibly defying the physical laws of gravity,” Colin says. He isn’t the only baffled beachcomber to have experienced the geological phenomenon. Ever since the so-called bouncing stones featured in a Leyland Brothers television program episode in the 1970s, visitors have been drawn to the far-flung beach by the stones’ ‘magical’ qualities. A tell-all paper submitted by three geologists to the Geological Society of Australia, Queensland division, in 1984, said…

IN MY LAST column I touched on how immediately visible characteristics such as size, shape, and plumage can be used to identify a bird’s family affiliations and even aid identification to the species level. Size and shape usually remain constant in adulthood, but plumage can vary – often markedly – under hormonal or lifestyle influences. Most young birds look different to their parents. But in some species, both sexes resemble the mature female. In others, they di. er slightly from mature forms of the same sex in characters such as eye, beak and leg colour. In some species individuals can take years to reach maturity. For example, for its first six years, the male satin bowerbird looks female. Males and females of many species show significant variation – sexual dimorphism…

THREE MELBOURNE-BASED astronomers have shed light on two long-standing mysteries about black holes. For decades, we’ve observed these phenomena in two main categories – stellar-mass black holes that weigh as much as a few dozen stars, and supermassive black holes, each with millions or billions of stars. Astronomers have long speculated about the existence of so-called intermediate-mass black holes, weighing between 100 and 100,000 times the mass of the Sun. Yet only a few candidates have been observed. Moreover, black holes usually reveal themselves by their effect on their surroundings because radio and X-rays come from the highly energised disc of debris swirling around the hole. But there may be ‘quiescent’ black holes that are not actively consuming nearby stars and gas. This has led astronomers to wonder if there…

NT Congregating crocs, Kakadu National Park The dry season is a great time to spot Australia’s largest terrestrial predator, the saltwater crocodile. Dwindling pools and rivers cause them to concentrate in ever-shrinking bodies of water, while the cooler weather forces them to haul themselves up onto muddy banks to bask in the sun. Increase your chances by taking the Guluyambi Cultural Cruise, a unique Aboriginal-run boat tour on the East Alligator River. More info: Call Kakadu Cultural Tours on 1800 525 238 or visit kakaduculturaltours.com.au WA Blooming wildflowers, The Kimberley Southern WA is famous for wildflowers in spring and summer. But the state’s far north also has a spectacular, albeit slightly more subtle, floral display, that appears a little earlier. Look for fields of pink bachelor button flowers, roadside verges…

Online bookings are now open for the Australian Geographic Society Gala Awards, to be held on Friday 29 October at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney. It’s been two years since our last meeting of the brightest and best in Australian conservation and adventure and we invite you to come along and enjoy this always inspiring evening with us. General ticket price $295 per head; AG subscribers special ticket price $250 per head. Subscribers please email society@ausgeo.com.au for your discount code. Book your seat today australiangeographic.com.au/awards…

WHEN SLIM DUSTY released his iconic song “A Pub with No Beer” in 1957, propelling him from relative obscurity to country music star, no-one was more surprised by its success than Slim himself. Written by close friend and musician Gordon Parsons, The Pub, as Slim later referred to the song, was simply a B-side filler for his album. By 1958, the song had become an international hit, eventually reaching number one on the Irish charts, and number three on the British charts – the first Australian song to achieve such a feat. It also became the first and only 78 RPM record in Australia to achieve gold status for its soaring sales. Initially unaware of his rising stardom, Slim and his family – wife, Joy McKean, and daughter, Anne Kirkpatrick…

IT’S 9.30AM ON A CLEAR, late-autumn morning in Dryandra Woodland, just over two hours drive south-east of Perth, and I’ve just seen my first-ever numbat. “See!” Rob McLean says in an almost reverential whisper. “I said you’d be hooked!” In my role as AG’s science and environment editor, I see a lot of furry little creatures, and they all seem pretty special to me. But I agree. There’s something about a numbat that draws you in and keeps you transfixed. Rob first saw one 10 years ago. He’s since spent a lot of time watching then in this remnant 28,066ha patch of trees at the western edge of the Western Australia wheatbelt. And he’s got some 200GB of photographic and video footage to show for it. When he’s not here…

WA 1 NORTHAM Phlegm and HENSE/FORM CBH Group. Completed Mar 2015 2 MERREDIN Kyle Hughes-Odgers/FORM CBH Group. Completed Sep 2017 3 NEWDEGATE Brenton See/FORM CBH Group. Completed May 2018 4 PINGRUP Evoca1/FORM CBH Group. Completed Sep 2018 5 RAVENSTHORPE Amok Island/FORM CBH Group. Completed Sep 2016 6 ALBANY Yok and Sheryo/FORM CBH Group. Completed Mar 2018 SA 7 KIMBA Cam Scale Viterra. Completed Sep 2017 8 COWELL ! NITSUA (Austin Moncrieff) Viterra. Completed Sep 2019 9 TUMBY BAY Martin Ron Viterra. Completed Apr 2018 10 WIRRABARA Smug (Sam Bates) Viterra. Completed Oct 2018 11 FARRELL FLAT Jarrod Soden and Matthew Knights Private. Completed Nov 2020 12 OWEN Robert Hannaford and Cam Scale Viterra. Completed Apr 2021 13 EUDUNDA Sam Brooks Not yet complete 14 WAIKERIE Jimmy DVate and Garry Duncan…

FASCINATINGLY, SEA SNAKES are absent from vast tropical regions of the Atlantic around the east of the Americas and the west coast of Africa. Professor Harvey Lillywhite at the University of Florida believes the cold waters to the south of both continents have presented too much of a barrier to these cold-blooded reptiles. “The upwelling…at the southern tip of South Africa creates a large zone of [low rainfall] and cold [ocean] water that inhibits sea snakes that might [stray] from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean,” he says. “They cannot digest food or reproduce at the low water temperatures, and are susceptible to desiccation in the region of drought extending northward near Namibia.” The open ocean–living yellow-bellied sea snakes live and regularly wash up along the coast of Costa Rica…

VITAL CONSERVATION recovery projects are underway in the Snowy Valleys to save the critically endangered southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) and the endangered Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica). With its distinctive black and yellow stripes, the former is one of Australia’s most iconic frog species. However, a disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus, a newcomer to Australia, has brought the species to the brink of extinction. Many frog species are vulnerable to the disease. The Corroboree Frog Recovery Team is a partnership of organisations that includes government officers, park managers, zoos and scientists, all working together to save the species. David Hunter, a senior threatened species officer for the Department of Planning Industry and Environment and a key member of the team, is known locally as ‘Frogman’. “As a result…

Early morning sunlight dances across the lagoon’s rippling waves, casting disco-ball zigzags. It’s as though the ocean is flirting with us. The lines keep morphing into patterns resembling the shells of the turtles we are trying to find. But each turtle-shaped teardrop mound we spot turns out to be a solid rock, as if these gentle giants are turning into stepping stones on our approach. “There’s usually tons of turtles this early in the morning,” my guide, Kylie James, whispers as she cuts the canoe’s engine. We begin searching, drifting quietly through crystal-clear water in the South Lagoon (Telok Kambing) of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. At the sound of Kylie’s voice, a mammoth green turtle darts past, flapping its flippers like a pinball machine – and it doesn’t turn to…

CROSS THE Great Dividing Range and travel into the Victorian outback in search of birds and other wildlife that thrive in this region’s arid zones. Explore ancient granite outcrops, vast open plains, Ramsar-listed ephemeral wetlands, outback rivers, salt lakes, Mallee woodlands, saltbush scrublands, undulating red dunes, ancient lakes of the Willandra World Heritage Area, and the Lake Mungo Lunette (Walls of China). We will look for desert parrots and cockatoos, waterbirds, a host of honeyeaters, and the more elusive and conservation-dependent Mallee birds. Departures & fares 7 nights Departing Melbourne Date: 30 September–7 October 2021 $4595pp twin share $897pp single supplement Citizen science at its best • Guides carry a spotting scope and a small library of field guides. • Guests provided with species checklists, and invited to fill online…

THIS INCREDIBLE TWO WEEK birdwatching tour covers iconic areas such as Uluru and Watarrka NP in central Australia, Darwin and Kakadu NP in the Top End, and the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area of far north Queensland, including a reef trip and rainforest experience. Numerous species of endemic birds as well as other wildlife can be observed. The tour is led by renowned biologist Dr Tonia Cochran, who has more than 30 years of experience in ecotourism in Australia. She has extensive knowledge of Australian marine and terrestrial plants and animals, and draws on her decades of field experience to design and lead exceptional tours. Tonia will walk with you every step of the way! Departures & fares 14 nights Dates: 1–15 September 2021 $13,875pp twin share $17,175pp…