Australia Islands
 

My husband and I are going to Australia in October of this year. I am trying to figure out whether to stay on Heron Island or Lizard Island or some place else? What is the water temperature there at this time of the year?

Also, I was interested in going to Kangaroo Island to view wildlife. Many guide books say this is a good "one stop shop" for this kind of activity. Any comments on Kangaroo Island? How are the B&B's/hotels there? If not, should I spend a few days on this island or take a ferry and go for one day?

Things we like:
1) Luxury hotels and fine dining at the end of the day
2) Nature
3) Neither one of us dives, but we snorkel
4) I am a wildlife photographer, so I like to see plenty of creatures in their natural habitat.

KI is over-rated as a destination for view wild-life I fell as there are only those animals from cooler climates. You can see heaps more in the tropics without the cost of going to KI.
Lizard is heaps better than Heron. I was on Heron Island last month and there is little else but a very small island although there is some nice snorkling but you can get that and more at Lizard and you are on the reef proper and not the tail end of it.

I'd recommend Tangalooma resort on Moreton Island. Moreton boasts the tallest sand dunes in the world. It's protected. Tangalooma is the only resort. The island is almost completely uninhabited. It's beautiful and only a short distance from Brisbane city.

We were on Kangaroo Island last October and absolutely LOVED it! It is somewhat difficult to reach, but we felt it was well worth it. We stayed at www.the-lookout.com.au and toured with them as well. We had the best meals of our trip there. Take a look at their website, it's a good indicator of what to expect. Many say skip KI, but for what you describe, I think it is a must.

Hi Shari - avg water temperature around Lizard in October would be about 80F - somewhat less at Heron which is a long distance south. October is usually a lovely month to visit Far North Queensland, its after the SE winds of "winter" and before the summer humidity sets in. Tangalooma is nice, but well south of GBR.

I liked Kangaroo Is but it took me years to get around to going. Camped so can't vouch for the quality of overnight accommodation in your chosen price bracket.

But in all honesty, if this is your first time to Australia, it is way down the picking list.

Shari...FYI check out this recent thread around Heron Island. Lizard Island would be the one to go to if you can afford it, but on the other hand Heron is still a wonderful place, Beemersgallore's comments aside. Sure it's not your classic resort with golf, stores, restaurants, water sports, etc, but there's no doubt it is a great place to experience the southern GBR. The snorkeling is fantastic and it's a great place for turtles, manta rays and, in season, humpback whales.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34546098

You don't have to go to Heron Island to see Humpback Whales in season as you can see them up close and personal in a lot of other and easier places to get to on the east coast of Australia.
I have been to Lizard, Green Island, Fitsroy, Hayman, Dunk, Hinchinbrook, several of the cays on the outer reef off Cairns/PD, Heron, Lady Musgrave. Whilst all have their good sides to them you really do have to be a diver to give justice to LM and Heron, and in the case of Hayman, Dunk and Hinchinbrook you need to go further out to a reef to do any snorkling and diving so that leaves places like the outer cays, Lizard and Green islands from which you can have a nice snorkle and actually see something. Then you would have to eliminate Green as it is so over-touristed that it is not an option anyway. Water temp at any of those Islands would be fantastic in October.
As for the suggestion of Tangalooma, all I could say about that is that there is obviously a troll on this forum as that is the silliest thing I have heard of for what you want.
Kangaroo Island is not for anyone with limited time and would be about 30th on your places to visit while in Australia. Sure there are people who have been there and said it was good but then they have not probably been to the other places which offer more and which are suggested by many on this site.

We found KI pretty forgettable, but we didn't use a guide, and several posters who did have given it high marks so I have to accept that we may not have given it a fair chance. All the same, I don't think I'd bother unless you actively wanted to combine it with a visit to Adelaide and its nearby winegrowing areas. Australia is not short if opportunities to see wildlife in their native habitats, including Far North Queensland. KI does have sea lions, but they struck me as unpleasant, quarrelsome creatures at close quarters.

I would definitely pass on Green Island, unless we missed something. It seemed to me to be largely devoted to relieving large numbers of unsuspecting Japanese tourists of their hard-earned yen for little discernible reward.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Could someone please give me specifics as to an exact place I could go to see a lot of native wildlife (sea lions, penguins, koalas, kangaroos, platypus, lizards, possibly whales in October? etc.)in their natural habitats? I picked Kangaroo because guide books say this is the best place to see them. I don't want to go out of my way, though if there is another more accessible area.

Thanks!

Australia is a very big country and therefore you are not going to see the same animals everywhere in it.
In North Queensland there are some animals that are not in the rest of the country i.e. Tree climbing Kangaroos, Lemuroid Possums, Cassowary, Couss Couss ( spelling?????)Dugongs & Sugar Gliders to name but a few. You would not see whales from KI at that time of year and perhaps not penguins either so it would be best if you did a search of what you do want to see first.
There are 80 million Kangaroos in Australia. Koalas are not easy to see at any time but there are areas where you can i.e. south of Brisbane in one park there are 5,000. You could also sit beside a stream where a platypus lives for days on end and not see it.
Then again perhaps on another day you would see it several times.
There is a vast number of birds in Australia which are absolutely wonderful and they live everywhere - not all of them in the same place either though.
Lizards are everywhere as are goannas. There are a number of people who take tourists on wild life tours in the Cairns region and you can see a lot with them.

Shari, for some serious wildlife viewing in Far North Qld, check out Jonathan Munro of Wild Watch - www.wildwatch.com.au He covers nocturnal wildlife spotlighting; bird watching; platypus viewing; sunset kangaroo viewing; wetlands and wildfowl; reptiles and amphibians, butterflies; orchids and rare plant with 11 habitats from reef to rainforest. He'll tailor trips to your interests - half day to several days or longer. Although he's based in Tropical North Queensland he goes Australia-wide. also has his own private highland rainforest preserve, "Warrigal" - Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo, 9 species of possum, over 200 birds species, orchids and primitive plants. Jonathan has also had some glowing praise from posters here on Fodors.

And I meant to add, Jonathan has a sense of humour.

Dizzy, whilst I agree with you on Green Island, I disagree with your thoughts on Tangalooma. Ok the accomodation is not 5* luxury but the restaurant is good and the beach bar/restaurant is perfectly acceptable, its great for snorkelling there is plenty of nature and there are not too many places that can guarantee wild dolphins at the same time every day.
Its also a fantastic place for families.
You should withdraw your troll suggestion and apologise to AustraliaZooIsGreat.

Muck

>You should withdraw your troll suggestion and apologise to AustraliaZooIsGreat.

Thank you. I'd like to say in my own defence, i'd never comment on a place I haven't visited.

Moreton island is a wonderful island.

I agree, been there twice and spent xmas day 2003 there.
Good place to stay

Muck

I agree Tangalooma is a nice spot, though based on Shari's criteria, I don't think it's what she is looking for.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to look into the guide that was mentioned.

Again, I would like to stress that I just wanted basic ideas of areas to view wildlife. I am educated/worldly and fully aware that Australia is large. My question was to whether there was an exact area where it is easier to see animals. For example, Alaska is large, but if one wanted to view as many animals as possilbe in a short amount of time, they would go to Denali. Same thing. I do not have 4 months to cover every corner of beautiful Australia (I wish I did.) Therefore, I wanted to be in areas with large concentrations of animals.

Thanks!

Shari I think you have been given the information on where there are large congregations of animals. May I say yet again that the north of Queensland has more animals, birds and flora than the rest of Australia put together.
Mucky and others, I have not said that Tangalooma is not wonderful, it is, but it is NOT for the same reasons that Shari is wanting.

Shari: Australia's inland national parks are good places to see native animals in the wild. One in particular that comes to mind is Carnarvon Gorge in central Queensland. Been there twice, staying at the Oasis Lodge (3-star accommodation, perhaps). Kangaroos galore, emus, platypuses, gliders, possoms...not sure about koalas since I didn't see any there. Takes some walking (quite easy) to see it properly. Last year, spent a couple of days in the Warrumbungle Ranges in mid-western NSW...koalas, kangaroos (zillions), emus, etc. Keep in mind koalas are quite hard to spot in the wild. When we were hiking in the Warrumbungles, we could hear their loud grunts but finding them was frustrating. Other possibilities, to name a few: Lamington Nat'l Park, near Brisbane, Wilsons Promontory and the Grampians (Victoria), Kakadu Nat'l Park (NT), Undarra (N. Qld).

One year my wife and I did a combined Carnarvon Gorge-Heron Island trip, 5 nights each with a longish drive (5 hrs?) in-between. A wonderful trip.

>Lamington Nat'l Park

This place is beautiful. You can stay at O'Reilly's in 5 star luctury. My GF and I spent 2 nights in a canopy suite. We had our own spa in the room. Cost about €300/night but it was worth it.

They have wild wallabies (or maybe small kangaroos - not sure)

I strongly recommend it! Also, because O'reily's is in the mountainside, they bost it's 5 degrees cooler than brisbane which can get quite warm ;-)

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/home.asp?

have a look at this. Gorgeous!

Sorry didn't finish my list of animals before.

Wallaby/kangaroos
Brush tail possums
Bandicoots
Red Belly Black Snakes
Various Pythons
Various rain forrest birds
All very easy to spot. But the biggest reason to go there is the shear tranquility that the rainforest has to offer.

I know I sound like a brochure but lamington national park is my favourite place on earth.

Oh and lung fish. We saw a fight between 3 lung fish in a teensy little pond. Was quite dry when I was there. There was also a water fall, though the drought had left only a trickle. You should find in oct that the water falls are flowing freely.

Just the thought of going back excites me =)

Wow! Thanks. I cannot wait to visit!

Lungfish DO NOT live in or anywhere near Lamington National Park. They are ONLY EVER caught in the Burnett River and Mary River system which is a long way from Lamington. O'Rielly's is not 5 star and it does not cost 300 euros per night. I think that AZG has kissed the blarney stone or looked into a glass of Guinness too often.
Most or all of the Border Ranges in NSW/Qld are stacked with birds and beasts however for the most animals in the wild Carnarvon Gorge is the one or the Daintree/ Cape Trib areas.
The birds at O'Rielly's are not rain forest birds per se but are seen in everyone's backyard just about everywhere around that area. I have never seen a red bellied black snake there nor any pythons either. Yes it is nice and yes it is in the mountains but you can get that in a lot of other places which are not as costly and not as " one stop shop " place i,e, meaning that you can get around other places better.

>Lungfish DO NOT live in or anywhere near Lamington National Park.

I suppose they could have been eals but i've never seen an eel leap out of the water before. So I assumed they were lung fish based on taht.

>O'Rielly's is not 5 star and it does not cost 300 euros per night.

um.. maybe you should look at the web site I posted for O'reilly's. There is a variety of accomodation types. I was recommending the conopy suite.

From the web site...
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One Bedroom Canopy Suites

Three suites adjoin the luxuriant rainforest canopy and offer twice the space of our Mountain View rooms.

A comfortable living area features recycled timber flooring, lounge chairs, audio system, library and bar. The suites have four large balconies with spectacular views of the rainforest foliage and western mountain ranges.

A spacious bedroom features a king-size four-poster bed, sofa and a warming fireplace. To top it all off the bathroom has a spa bath with views through a full-length picture window of the breathtaking mountain scenery. Put yourself in this picture!
----------------------------------
http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...=Accommodation


>I think that AZG has kissed the blarney stone or looked into a glass of Guinness too often.
I think you're very rude and have no idea what you're talking about.

Here is the pricing schedule. As you can see a 1 bed canopy suite costs $480/night.

At today's exchange rate that is...
288.233 EUR

I'd say €300 is a pretty good estimate.

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...p?name=Tariffs

You've done real well there Beemers! LOL...

The Queensland Lungfish is normally found in still or slow flowing pools in river systems of south-eastern Queensland. It occurs naturally in the Burnett and Mary River systems although has been introduced into other rivers and reservoirs in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fi.../nforsteri.htm

>I have never seen a red bellied black snake there nor any pythons either

I have and you cannot dispute they are not native to the area unless you'd like to further discredit yourself.

Oh and while you're at it take a look at this...

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...e=BirdWatching

Do you get lyrebirds, paradise riflebirds, rufous scrub birds in your back yard beemer?

http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/featur...s+porphyriacus

A map on this link clearly shows where in Australia you can find a red bellied black snake.

Beemer: Been to my mother in law's place on the Gold Coast a hundred times and have never seen some of the birds I've seen at O'Reilly's. Rosellas, currawongs, and kookaburras yes, but not satin bower birds, regent bower birds and king parrots.

Who on earth wants to wander around with red-bellied black snakes? When I was a kid on Sydney's northern beaches the school wouldn't let us go to the toilet without a teacher accompanying us because of the prevalence of these creatures, they're venomous and they'll bite when disturbed.

>they're venomous and they'll bite when disturbed.

They're beautiful creatues but also a reminder that you must be careful and watch your step. You pretty much have to stand on one to be attacked. You can step over the top of them and keep walking if you see on on the trail. Just don't make any sudden moves. They don't consider human beings to be a food source.

Pythons on the other hand are not venemous.

If in doubt take a guided tour.

I am presently doing my PHD on the distribution and evolution of native birds and mammals in Austro/Asia and I spend some time at Fleay's Fauna reserve on the Gold Coast and more time up in the border ranges and local ranges behind the Gold Coast. I ate regularly at a restaurant in Mt Tamborine as I was spending time with the rangers there and every time I was there the Regent Bower bird was in for lunch as well. Further I am convinced too that everyone has a Satin Bower bird in their backyard up there and there are plenty of Lyre Birds in the National Parks ( unfortunately so too are there dingos ). One day I counted 37 King Parrots in just a little area in the botanical gardens over a period of 1 hour. All these activities are what I mean when I say that you do not have to pay and stay in any one place in the ranges because these birds are everywhere. Also if you take a drive from Beaudesert to Kyogle via the now all sealer road ( Lyons Road ) you will go through one of the most wonderful places where the bell birds are in full song. There are some really wonderful wild-life areas if you do that loop back to the Gold Coast from say Tamborine or Canungra where I was actually staying. By the way in Canungra you can see platypus in the streams if there is enough water. I will also put in a plug for the Canungra pub here - its a great overnighter and has good food! So, to answer the question as to whether I have these birds in my backyard then while I am here, yes I do!

Getting back to your original question...We stayed on Lizard Island with our 2 young adult children (18 & 21) for 4 nights. It was heaven. We shared a "family" room. Kids had their own room with twin beds, we had our own room with a king bed. We all shared the bathroom. Food was fantastic, the staff was superb, and the surroundings beautiful. The snokeling right off the beach in front of the resort is unbelievable: sea turtles and giant clams with florescent colors. We took one of their little boats over to the "blue lagoon" for one day where we had our own beach to ourselves. Lizard Island is a piece of heaven!

Azg - I think everyone in Australia knows pythons aren't venomous. But where I live they can still reach 20feet in length - and mostly they crush their prey. However, they do have teeth, which are filthy -not a good idea to get too close to one.

I have to say that I loved Kangaroo Island. We also stayed at www.the-lookout.com.au The hosts were the greatest and they were able to view a lot of animals. To see the pictures that I took http://jasonmanderson.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=24