6-day birding and natural history tours
Barren Grounds Nature Reserve
Overview
Explore the beauty and diversity of Australian wildlife at Sydney’s doorstep on this 6-day tour with the knowledgeable guides of Inala Nature Tours. Visiting parklands, you'll see amazing birds, mammals and reptiles in their natural habitat.
- When
- Contact Inala Nature Tours for schedule.
- Where
- Barren Grounds Nature Reserve in South Coast
- Accessibility
- No wheelchair access
- Grade
- Easy. These comfortably paced tours cover moderate terrain and are suitable for a wide spectrum of ages and abilities
- Price
- Contact Inala Nature Tours for pricing.
- Bookings
- Bookings required. Book online or email or call Inala Nature Tours on 03 6393 1217.
- Please note
- Tours visit multiple parks and reserves, including the Royal, Blue Mountains and Capertee national parks and Barren Grounds Nature Reserve.
- Tour price includes accommodation, food and transport.
If you’re curious about the wildlife hiding amongst the beautiful scenery of Blue Mountains National Park and other wild places, this sweeping 6-day adventure with Inala Nature Tours is for you.
With their passionate guides, explore a wide variety of habitats in parks and reserves near Australia’s largest city to see the best of the region’s wildlife. Star attractions include superb lyrebirds, glossy black-cockatoos, eastern bristlebirds, southern emu-wrens and gang-gang cockatoos. You might even see a rock warbler, found only in New South Wales and nowhere else.
The tour features a boat trip onto the open ocean to spot seabirds, and even whales with a bit of luck. Also included is an exciting night-time excursion to see greater gliders, sugar gliders and other fascinating nocturnal animals.
Inala Nature Tours is a licensed commercial tour operator with a Parks Eco Pass.
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/guided-tours/6-day-birding-and-natural-history-tours/local-alerts
Operated by
Park info
- in Barren Grounds Nature Reserve in the South Coast region
Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about 6-day birding and natural history tours.
Getting there and parking
Get driving directions
Contact Inala Nature Tours for directions.
Parking
Contact Inala Nature Tours for information on parking.
Maps and downloads
Accessibility
Disability access level - no wheelchair access
Visitor centre
-
Fitzroy Falls Visitor Centre
1301 Nowra Road, Fitzroy Falls NSW 2577 - 9am to 4pm daily. Closed Christmas Day.
- 02 4887 8270
Learn more
6-day birding and natural history tours is in Barren Grounds Nature Reserve. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
Go wild for flowers
Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is famous for its heath wildflowers in spring and summer and flowering banksias in winter. The heathland is also one of only 4 large areas of heath on the NSW South Coast, making it an important habitat for many species of plants and animals. A large number of threatened or regionally rare ferns and other species also occur in wet sheltered sites below the escarpment, including several species of filmy fern. Around 180 bird species can also be found here, including honeyeaters, southern emu wrens, lyrebirds, crimson rosellas, cockatoos and grey currawongs. If you're really lucky, you might even spot the bright green ground parrot or an eastern bristlebird. In fact, it was to protect these two threatened heathland birds that Barren Grounds Nature Reserve was set up in 1956.
- 6-day birding and natural history tours Explore the beauty and diversity of Australian wildlife at Sydney’s doorstep on this 6-day tour with the knowledgeable guides of Inala Nature Tours. Visiting parklands, you'll see amazing birds, mammals and reptiles in their natural habitat.
- Cooks Nose walking track Stroll through the park's rich heathlands on Cooks Nose walking track and you’ll be rewarded with striking scenic views from the escarpment overlooking Kangaroo Valley.
Historic heritage
Barren Grounds Nature Reserve holds a very special place in the history of conservation in NSW, as it was the third faunal reserve to be gazetted under the Fauna Protection Act. Led by early conservation leaders like Myles Dunphy, Paddy Pallin and Allen Strom, it was protected in 1956. Since then, it has been an important place for researchers and students alike to record and learn about the incredible biodiversity of this area. The stone building at Barren Grounds picnic area - once known as The Lodge - was used for accommodation by researchers and honorary rangers.
Plants and animals protected in this park
Animals
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Spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus)
The spotted-tailed quoll is the largest remaining carnivorous marsupial on the Australian mainland. It’s protected as a vulnerable species in NSW.
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Eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus)
The endangered eastern bristlebird is a shy, ground-dwelling songbird. Less than 2,500 birds are left in the wild, restricted to 3 isolated areas in eastern NSW and southern Queensland.
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Eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus wallicus)
The eastern ground parrot is a beautiful, ground-dwelling native bird that lives in low heathland habitat along the NSW North and South coasts and escarpments. It’s listed as a vulnerable species in NSW.