The Great Pouched Critter Safari of 2025

Logistics

Master Species List (below)

Transportation and Lodging

Out of the 54 days on this expedition, I slept in my rental cars most of the time. Not all mini-SUV’s are created equal however - see the images below for brief commentary. Sleeping in the car not only allowed for a massive savings of money, it allowed total freedom for me to keep going when I wanted and stop when I wanted. The good news is Australia is generally very safe and of all the places I parked my car and got some zzzz’s I never felt I was in any sort of danger at all. While I did not sleep in any cringy neighborhoods, I did sleep in cities from time to time. I always opted for well-lit areas where other cars were parked overnight. Out in the bush, I parked anywhere I pleased for the most part. This allowed for some outstanding outdoor experiences, far from humanity. I don’t easily scare in nature so being alone in the bush was a very comfortable experience for me. But I do understand it may not be for everyone. Now, the fact that I was traveling alone made this mode of lodging possible. No way I would have tried this with my family.

There were a few nights planned with proper lodging. All of these pre-planned lodging options included mainly eco-lodges: Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge , Chambers, Mumbrumby Possum Valley were the only four I’d booked ahead of time. All of these offered outstanding wildlife experiences on site and made the decision to stay there logical. And surprisingly, while nothing is cheap in Australia, these awesome state-of-the-art ecolodges were often cheaper than more conventional options. Saving money was secondary to the freedom car-sleeping allowed me. When I found my targets and had my fill of a location, I could simply start the car and move on. Coversely I could stay a bit longer and not have to worry about trying for more reservations… And the cost of hotels in Australia….quite high. Well, perhaps about the same as the USA but having lived in Thailand as long as I have, paying $200 a night for something that would be about $17 here in Thailand is painful. And the closer you got to the airport there is an exponential increase in price. For example in Adelaide, the airport that literally kicked women and children out in to the freezing cold at night offered a nearby hotel charging a mere $500 a night. No joke.

I used East Coast Car Rentals for all of my segments for this trip. Their cars were generally fine, well maintained and their customer service was very good. I had many conversations in real time with their Facebook Messenger customer service app. There are two issues to consider with East Coast however. First is their off-site locations. Their rates are quite a bit cheaper than other companies as they are saving loads of money not having kiosks and rental car parking at the airports directly. Consequently you need to call them on arrival for a shuttle bus. So long as you are in their office hours there is really no issue at all - a call is followed by a 10-15minute wait and you’re on the way to the rental office. Now, this leads to perhaps the main issue I have with East Coast - their hours of operation. If you arrive after 7PM in any of the airports I visited, you would have to wait until the next morning at the soonest to get a car. They offer absolutely no late pickups. This was a major hassle for me causing me to sleep at airports on four occasions! (I wasn’t going to fork over $250-500 a night for a hotel that’s for damn sure!). And in locations like Darwin, they don’t open until 10AM! What the hell is that all about? Initially I had all of my flights booked at convenient times but as the trip approached every single leg of my journey experienced schedule changes resulting in loss of field time wasted at the airports….( I think a figured it was 2-3 full days lost with this BS). So think this through - I am thinking I did not save that much money when I consider the lost field time and extra expenses incurred at airports,e etc. simply waiting for East Coast to open.

Warning: I think all companies in Australia say they limit your use of their rental vehicles. Some say absolutely sealed roads only (which is absolutely impossible to abide by). Some simply say, don’t go crazy on the 4X4 tracks. I suspect if you were to have trouble on any of those sorts of roads, you’d be liable for any damages and your insurance may not work? I’m kinda guessing. I did use these mini-SUV’s intelligently but for sure I did some roads that were the only roads to my target areas and animals. No way did I go too far in to the wild outback though. The companies often give you a map that limits how far away from the rental city you can actually go as well. I was told no conventional rental car company would allow you to take your car on a circum-Australia mega road trip for example. Something to consider.

Lodging

Planning

So much goes in to planning for trips like this. From trip reports to biodiversity websites to experienced friends and contacts, there are so many sources of excellent information. I am sure I am not alone in branding myself as a MammalWatching.com junkie. I’ve been following the website since Jon Hall made it a thing so many years ago. Without a doubt, that website has cost me more money than I care to count. And every penny has been worth it! So MammalWatching is my first stop for information. Reading the many trip reports with a pen and paper at hand is my first step. For this trip, I probably had a dozen reports by as many people giving the details and experiences in the areas I was planning on visiting. Another awesome source of real-time information as well as pre-planning information was Australian Mammal Watching Facebook Group, which is a very active group full of experts on everything furry in Australia! They never tired of my constant requests for information. The info prior to the trip was gold in my planning. And the information I requested live while on the trip always generated immediate responses. Here is the long series of my requests for information filled with responses to give you an idea.

One cannot forget iNaturalist, perhaps the most useful website for wildlife watching in general on the planet. The data on that website when used in conjunction with the Google-Maps app is a great way to add success potential when searching for your target species. One limitation for Australian fauna however is many of the species are considered very rare and endangered, iNaturalist blurs their precise locations, I suppose for good reason. But for much of what I was looking for, using iNaturalist as a supplement for the data I gleaned from trip reports was very useful indeed. Now, ebird is another great app, although it is specifically bird-oriented. Often, when I exhausted my mammal targets and had a day to kill in a metropolitan area, I would go to ebird to see if there were any good hotspots in such cities as Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart…. Very useful and helped me get for example my final Spoonbill species - now I’ve seen them all!!

Local experts and friends: I had such awesome advice from my friends down under, such as Alan Gillanders, a world-class expert in Australian Flora and Fauna. Alan did in fact guide me for three half-days and made sure I nailed quite a few of the Atherton Highland species. The following were folks who helped me along the way from the pre-planning stage to the real-time in the field stages: Jon (Spiritually Australian) Hall, Ry Beaver, Iain Campbell, Keith Barnes, Ben Weil, David Diller, Craig Smith & Bret Hartl. I’m sure I’ve missed some but seriously, nothing beats local knowledge, especially from experts who’ve been there recently.

Food

I ate well although I ate food that would not have passed the “wife and daughter” test. I ate a lot of sandwiches with fresh coldcuts and lettuce and tomatoes, and decent bread, etc. Fresh ingredients. A lot of western fruits like apples, grapes and oranges, etc. I did eat some canned food which I heated using the vent heater in the car running at full blast for about 10 minutes while driving or parked. Never got hot but warm enough to be palatable. I ate fast food once - Hungry Jacks, which I believe to be Burger King in Australia. I ate a proper sit-down meal in South Australia with friends, but that was it! I did spend money for a proper cup of mocha every day and I would not change that for the world! Again, this was a strong positive for traveling on such an expedition alone. I am one of those wildlife-oriented travelers who often actually resents spending time eating three meals a day. I prefer graizing and eating when I am hungry and doing it quickly. An hour and half waiting for a restaurant lunch is something that drives me crazy actually. A nice dinner followed by spotlighting isn’t bad…

Costs

I think the issue that keeps many people from planning major trips to Australia is the costs of such an expedition. I sure do consider that a limiting factor for sure. Nowadays wildlife intensive trips tend to run about $300 to $500 USD a day at the very least. Not complaining as I know many guides in particular who are working a righteous job trying to make a living and I do like to support that every chance I can. Now a 54-day mega expedition to Australia can rack up a hell of a bill with a conventional trip. My trip on the otherhand ended up being a grand total of $7500 (all inclusive from Bangkok and back) ranging approximately $135 a day on average for the 54-day expedition. A bargain! I always weigh that I am giving up on a self-drive/guide trip like this. If I had a guide, I suspect I would have ended up with at least 10% more species, perhaps more. but considering that sort of professionally guided trip would range around $26,000 to $30,000 at least, I had no choice really. And I loved being on my own during this trip.

Communication

People have asked me how I got on being away from my family for so long. Good question! Actually, my “Alo eSIM” allowed me to have live conversations with my partner, son and daughter most of the day. If I had service, we’d have the phones on and we’d just carry on as if we were in the same room. Several hours a day! I know for westerners this is strange but here in Asia, it’s not unusual at all to keep the phone one while just carrying on about your day. Alo eSIM was ok overall. The service was a bit spotty in some locations. For example in Pine Creek and the Kimberly area, it was useless as it was connected to the “other” carrier. I’m not sure how you could ever know this during your planning stages really. It’s just kinda hit and miss.

Routes

Great Pouched Critter Safari of 2025 Mammal Species List

(Bird List for the Entire Expedition)

Marsupialia

Macropodidae

1. Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis jardinii) QLD

2. Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis agilis) NT

3. Bennett's Wallaby  (Notamacropus rufogriseus rufogriseus) TAS

4. Red-necked Wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus banksianus) QLD

5. Kangaroo Island Tammar Wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii eugenii) SA

6. Western Tammar Wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii derbianus) WA

7. Western Brush Wallaby (Notamacropus irma) QLD

8. Whiptail or Pretty Face Wallaby (Notamacropus parryi) QLD

9. Allied Rock Wallaby (Petrogale assimilis) QLD

10. Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) QLD Captive

11. Eastern Short-eared Rock-Wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis) NT

12. Mareeba Rock-wallaby (Petrogale mareeba) QLD

13. Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) SA

14. Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) QLD, SA

15. Antilopine Kangaroo or Wallaroo (Osphranter antilopinus) QLD

16. Eastern Wallaroo (Osphranter robustus robustus) QLD

17. Euro or Western Wallaroo (Osphranter robustus erubescens) SA

18. Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) SA

19. Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus giganteus) QLD

20. Forester Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus tasmaniensis) TAS

21. Kangaroo Island Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) SA

22. Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) WA

23. Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) QLD

24. Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) QLD

25. Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis) QLD

26. Tasmanian Pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) TAS

27. Quokka (Setonix brachyurus) WA

28. Rufous Hare-wallaby or Mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) Captive WA

 

Peramelemorphia (Bandicoots, Bilbies)

29. Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) TAS

30. Southern Long-nosed Bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) QLD

31. Northern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) QLD

32. Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus affinis) TAS

33. Southwestern Brown Bandicoot or Quenda (Isoodon fusciventer) WA

34. Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) Captive WA

35. Northern Long-Nosed Bandicoot (Perameles pallescens) QLD

 

Diprotodontia

Vombatidae

36. Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) SA

37. Tasmanian Bare-nosed Wombat (Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis) TAS

38. Flinders or Bass Strait Wombat (Vombatus ursinus ursinus) TAS

 

Phascolarctidae

39. New South Wales Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus) NSW

40. Queensland Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus) QLD

41. Victorian Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus victor) SA

 

Phalangeriformes (Possums, Gliders)

Tarsipedidae

42. Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) WA

 

Phalangeridae (Possums)

43. Coppery Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus johnstonii) QLD

44. Short-eared Brush-tailed Possum (Trichosurus caninus) QLD

45. Southeastern Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula vulpecula) QLD

46. Southwestern Brushtail Possum or Koomal (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus) WA

47. Tasmanian Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula fuliginosus) TAS

 

Petauridae (Gliders)

48. Krefft's Glider (Petaurus notatus) QLD

49. Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) QLD

50. Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) QLD

 

Pseudocheiridae (Ringtail Possums)

51. Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) QLD

52. Western Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) WA

53. Green Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirops archeri) QLD

54. Herbert River Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirulus herbertensis) QLD

55. Lemuroid Ringtail Possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides) QLD

56. Rock Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirops dahlii) NT

 

Acrobatidae

57. Narrow-toed Feather-tailed Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) QLD

 

Hypsiprymnodontidae

58. Musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) QLD

 

Potoroidae (Bettongs and Potoroo)

59. Boodie or Burrowing Bettong (Bettongia lesueur) Captive WA

60. Woylie or Brush-tailed Bettong  (Bettongia penicillata) WA

61. Rufous Bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens) QLD

62. Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) TAS

 

Myrmecobiidae

63. Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) WA

 

Dasyuromorphia (Marsupial carnivores)

Dasyuridae

64. Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) TAS

65. Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) QLD

66. Western Quoll or Chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii) WA

67. Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) Captive TAS

68. Fawn-footed Melomys (Melomys cervinipes) QLD

69. Grassland Melomys (Melomys burtoni) QLD

70. Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) TAS

71. (Eastern) Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes rubeculus) QLD

72. (Western) Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes leucogaster) WA

 

Monotremata (Monotremes)

73. Western Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus acanthion) WA

74. Eastern Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus) QLD

75. Tasmanian Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus setosus) TAS

76. Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) QLD, TAS

 

Pinnipedia

Otariidae

77. Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) TAS

78. Long-nosed or New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) TAS

79. Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea) SA

 

Bovidae

80. Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) NT

81. Feral Goats (Capra hircus) SA

 

Equidae

82. Feral Horse or Brumby (Equus caballus) NT

 

Suidae

83. Feral Pig (Sus scrofa) NT

 

Chiroptera

84. Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto) QLD, NT

85. Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas) NT

86. Northern Broad-nosed Bat (Scotorepens sanborni) QLD

87. Large-footed or Southern Myotis (Myotis macropus) QLD

88. Grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) QLD

89. Spectacled Flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) QLD

90. Little Red Flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus) NT

91. Common Tube-nosed Fruit Bat (Nyctimene albiventer) QLD

92. Eastern Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus megaphyllus) QLD

93. Little Brown Cave Bats (Vespadelus troughtoni) QLD

94. Diadem Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros diadema) QLD

95. Little Bentwing Bat (Miniopterus australis) QLD

 

Cetacea

96. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) TAS

97. Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) SA

98. Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) SA

99. Southern Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) SA

100. Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) TAS, WA

 

Canidae

101. Dingo (Canis familiaris dingo) QLD

102. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) SA

 

Lagomorpha

103. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) TAS, QLD

 

Felidae

104. Feral Cat (Felis catus) TAS

 

Rodentia

105. Rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) QLD

106. Australian Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes) QLD

107. Eastern Chestnut Mouse (Pseudomys gracilicaudatus) QLD

108. Australian Giant White-tailed Rat (Uromys caudimaculatus) QLD

109. House Mouse (Mus musculus) QLD