Western Australia

Western Australia is immense—one-third of the entire Australian landmass—yet its southwest corner contains an astonishing concentration of life found nowhere else. This new itinerary showcases the region’s famed endemism, sweeping scenery, and beautifully varied habitats in a compact and accessible format. With easy walking, excellent food, and very good accommodations, this tour blends the pleasures of natural history with smooth, comfortable travel.

Beginning in Perth, we explore botanical gardens, wetlands, and parks where many local birds are wonderfully approachable. From here, the route arcs inland toward the wheatbelt, a land of salmon gums, granite outcrops, and scattered woodlands that hold several of the southwest’s most cherished species. Dryandra, one of Australia’s premier sanctuaries for both birds and mammals, offers chances for the elusive Numbat, Short-beaked Echidna, Western Yellow Robin, Red-capped Parrot, and delicate honeyeaters threading through the open understory.

Farther south, the forests give way to the Southern Ocean’s windswept coastline. Around Albany and Cheynes Beach, we delve into heathlands and granite-fringed coves in search of the famous “Noisy Trio”—Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Bristlebird, and Western Whipbird—along with Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoos, Red-winged Fairywren, and Western Spinebill. Inland, the Stirling Range’s rugged peaks rise sharply from the plains, offering another suite of rare and near-endemic species in dramatic surroundings.

Continuing west, the landscape transitions into towering karri forests, some of the tallest hardwoods on Earth, before giving way to the famed Margaret River region and its coastal capes. Wetlands like Lake McLarty add an entirely new layer of diversity, rounding out a trip that often produces 120–150 species.

This southwestern circuit—rich, scenic, and delightfully varied—reveals a side of Australia that remains little-known but deeply unforgettable.

A remarkably diverse arc of landscapes: inland wheatbelt woodlands dotted with salmon gums; expansive kwongan heath rich in wildflowers; rugged, wind-shaped granite headlands battered by the Southern Ocean; cool, shaded karri forests rising like natural cathedrals; and coastal wetlands bursting with waterbirds. The blend of dry inland habitats, Mediterranean-climate forests, and maritime cliffs creates perfect conditions for Australia’s famous southwest endemics to thrive.