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10 Great Places to See Wildlife in Australia Responsibly

Platypus in Daintree Rainforest, Australia

In the 12 years since we launched Green Global Travel as one of the world’s first responsible travel blogs, we’ve been fortunate to have some incredible experiences in ecotourism destinations all around the world. 

 

 

But even after 12 years of travel blogging, there are still a lot of places left on our world travel bucket list. In terms of wildlife encounters, no destination ranks higher on that list than Australia, the only continent we’ve never visited.

 

I fell in love with wildlife conservation partly through watching Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin in the ’90s, so seeing the countless array of animals in Australia has been a dream I’ve harbored for several decades now. 

 

Sadly, the pandemic put that dream on hold. But we recently contacted Australian Wildlife Journeys (a conservation-focused collective of small eco-tour operators) to help us assemble this list of responsible ways to see wildlife in Australia. 

 

Read on for our in-depth guide to responsible Australian wildlife tours, from birdwatching in the Daintree Rainforest and safaris on the Murray River to incredible adventures on Kangaroo Island and Maria Island. 

 

Responsible Wildlife in Australia Encounters

  1. Birdwatching in the Daintree Rainforest
  2. Christmas Island Bird & Nature Week
  3. Go on a Murray River Safari
  4. Explore the Wildlife of the Eyre Peninsula 
  5. Hiking on Maria Island
  6. Look for Killer Whales in Bremer Canyon
  7. Swim with Whale Sharks in Ningaloo
  8. Take a Wildlife Journey in East Gippsland
  9. Whale Watching in Hervey Bay 
  10. Visit Kangaroo Island

READ MORE: The 20 Best Wildlife Parks & Wildlife Tours in the World

Platypus in the Daintree Rainforest, photo courtesy FNQ Nature Tours

1. Birdwatching in the Daintree Rainforest

One of the oldest and biggest forests in the world (180 million years old, 463 square miles), the Daintree Rainforest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in North Queensland, Australia.

It’s bordered by another world-class UNESCO Site, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and the 87-mile Daintree River runs through the lush forest. 

So perhaps it’s no surprise that this fertile ecosystem is home to an incredible assortment of rare flora (even more than the Amazon Rainforest), not to mention an array of interesting animals native to Australia. 

Visitors have great opportunities for birdwatching: There have been more than 450 species of Australian birds recorded in the area (more than half of the continent’s total number of…

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