Wildlife Tours
View images in the Wildlife Gallery and visit our blog story about Tiny Wildlife
Gippsland High Country Tours is now closed, but please read on and follow the links to various pages with suggestions of other similar tour options.
Wildlife encounters in the wild can leave lasting memories, especially when you have a guide to help you learn more about the animals you are observing. Gippsland has a wonderful range of native wildlife and on our nature tours, wildlife encounters are a regular joy. Watching animals going about their daily activities and understanding how they fit into the ecosystem will add to the richness of your tour experience. All our tours are wildlife tours.
Some native Australian wildlife can be quite secretive so we always see wildlife, we never guarantee sightings of any particular animals, but that makes it even more special when you walk out one morning and find a Wombat nibbling the grass near your accommodation! It won’t always be a cuddly looking mammal like a Koala or Kangaroo, the wildlife you encounter may include beautiful butterflies, curious lizards, rock pools full of colourful creatures or some birds collecting food for their young. We respect wildlife and make every effort to minimise disturbance to their behaviour in our encounters.
Imagine sitting and listening to a chorus of frogs at night, unseen but very present. Maybe your ecotour is along the coast and you are treated to a display by migrating whales or see a mass of tiny soldier crabs scampering along a beach. The natural world is full of surprises!
Learn about local threatened species and hear success stories where actions are contributing to their recovery. We can’t always view threatened fauna in the wild, but we can visit their habitat and take away some messages about conservation.
In Australia many wildlife species are nocturnal and only active at night so sometimes we venture out in the evening for a night walk to look and listen for the local night-life. Maybe we will see Bogong Moths flying around our ski lodge in the Australian Alps or hear a distant owl calling.
Part of our commitment to conservation and ecotourism is to gather data on wildlife observed during our ecotours and walks. This is entered into databases like the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas to increase knowledge of species distribution and assist in monitoring threatened species. We’ve been submitting data from Gippsland High Country Tours since 1992 and occasionally, we offer opportunities to participate in specific wildlife research activities.
All wildlife encounters are in the wild and we view wildlife on their own terms, so we can never guarantee sightings of any particular species, but your guide will know when and where you are most likely to see them. We must always respect their “escape distance” and if wildlife move away, we ask you not to chase them or persist in approaching too close for photos. Its always best if we can look and enjoy, then leave them undisturbed. We never feed wildlife on our tours.
Wildlife Tour Favourites
All our tours are wildlife tours, but we have suggested a few that offer a greater range of habitats and therefore give you the best chance to see more variety of wildlife species.
