A spontaneous brush with any wild creature is a special event. While zoos will often allow you to get up close to the animals, there is something indescribable and uplifting when you come across a creature in its real habitat. At Byron Bay Adventure Tours we believe a traveller cannot say they have truly experienced a place until they have gotten in touch with its natural wonders. From cheeky and daring to shy and elusive, the creatures we encounter on our tours are all unique, marvellous and form a vital part of experiencing Byron Bay. From forest dwellers and ocean travellers, feathers, fur and fin, let’s take a look at some of the wildlife you might meet on a Byron Bay Adventure Tour!
Australian Brush Turkey
You’ll need no introduction; there’ll be no waiting in bushes in silence to meet one of these guys. The Australian Brush Turkeys (or Bush Turkeys as they are also known) will make themselves very familiar with you from the get go. From strutting around down near the beaches looking for a stolen snack to scratching through the leaf litter in the rainforest, they are quite common in Byron Bay. But here are some things you probably won’t know. Building a huge mound of leaves and mulch, the father turkey makes a giant nest which acts as an incubator to hatch the chicks. He will carefully monitor the temperature adding or removing leaves to keep it just right until the nestling emerge. Once they hatch, the young are entirely independent and fend for themselves. Seeing them on all of our tours is pretty much a given.
An Aussie Favourite
Everybody loves a Koala – but finding one in the wild is not always an easy task. Although they sleep for between 18 and 22 hours a day, they seem to be quite adept at disappearing. They can be very elusive one day and simply be there in plain view the next. This is what makes a koala encounter so magical and fascinating. Our Mt Warning Day Walk Tour and our Overnight Escape Tour are good choices if seeing a koala is high on your list of things to do.
Lounging Lizards
Powerful, fast and extremely suited to their habitat, the Lace Monitor (more commonly known as the goanna) will pop up on many of our hinterland tours. With sharp claws, it is an expert tree climber and runner – so look above and below because you can never be sure where they will pop up. They serve a much needed purpose in the forest ecosystem, acting as clean up duty and scavenging for what they can find in trees or on the forest floor. Try our Overnight Escape Tour and you’ll get many chances to get up close to one of these ancient reptiles.
Friends with Fins
The Cape Byron Marine Reserve is a haven for sea creatures of every description, but none so keen to interact with you than the dolphin. A number of dolphin species visit the bay and they are known for their love of catching waves just as much as the surfers. Intelligent, inquisitive and full of personality – get out on the water with us and we can introduce you to them. Our Earth to Surf Tour and Ocean to Summit Tours both give you the chance to feel the fresh salt air on your face and the buzz of getting close to these delightful characters.
Hiding in Plain Sight
A master of disguise, the Tawny Frogmouth flies on silent wings and can disappear before your eyes. With plumage made to beguile onlookers into believing it’s a broken tree branch, they are often called owls but in fact belong to the nightjar family. Keep your eyes peeled day and night on any of our Byron Hinterland Tours and you might be lucky enough to catch the small movement that will be the only giveaway that they are there. If you come with us on our Overnight Escape Tour or Mt Warning Sunrise Walk Tour you might also spot one around the campsite or hear its strange unmistakable low ooh-ooh-ooh in the night.
With Byron Bay and the surrounding hinterland teeming with a mix of environments, our area and its wildlife is like nowhere else on the planet. We’ve only touched on some of the most commonly encountered animal friends on our Byron Bay Adventure Tours, but for expert bird watchers to fascinated children, the chance of meeting up with many more is guaranteed!
