Join a Research Expedition and Ecological Tour

Planning a trip to Tasmania? If so, you can support our ongoing conservation work — and have a great time doing it — by joining us on a Tasmanian devil research expedition and ecological tour. These 14-day, 13-night trips are led by a professional zoologist with extensive experience working with devils and quolls.

Trips include eight days of fieldwork, trapping devils and quolls at one of our study sites in remote northwestern Tasmania. Interspersed with the field days are four full-day bushwalking, sightseeing and wildlife-watching excursions.

fieldwork

This trip really is a working holiday. We start early, the days can be long, and we work regardless of the weather. As a volunteer fieldwork assistant, you’ll record data as the trip leader processes animals, clean and disinfect traps, and do a variety of other tasks. If you have a low tolerance for animal feces, raw meat, or (especially in summer) flies, the trip might not be for you. But you'll get a real sense of what it's like to work as a wildlife biologist, and if you're anything like us, you'll love it!

During fieldwork, you’ll see plenty of devils up close — we average 10 to 12 captures per day at most of our study sites. Quolls are captured less frequently, so we can’t guarantee that you’ll see one on your trip, but there’s a very good chance.

excursions

In addition to eight days of fieldwork, the trip includes four full-day excursions to scenic and ecological highlights of northwestern Tasmania:

• Temperate rainforests of the Tarkine, including a 2-hour bush walk and several shorter nature walks

• Caves and waterfalls, including a tour of one of the glow-worm caves at Mole Creek Karst National Park

• Coastal landscapes, including a 2-3 hour bush walk at Rocky Cape National Park

• Bushwalking and wildlife watching at Narawntapu National Park, which has been dubbed “the Serengeti of Tasmania”

We typically see wildlife throughout the trip, especially during two evening spotlighting excursions. Common sightings include kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, brush-tailed possums and wombats, along with a wide variety of birds. If we’re lucky we might spot a bandicoot, ring-tailed possum, echidna or platypus as well. And in the summer months, we may see the highly venomous tiger snake—look but don’t touch!

itinerary

(Order of activities may vary)

Day 1      Pick-up at Burnie airport in morning; fieldwork preparation in afternoon (L,D)
Day 2      Tarkine rainforest excursion (B,L,D)
Day 3      Fieldwork; wildlife spotlighting in evening (B,L,D)
Day 4      Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 5      Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 6      Caves and waterfalls excursion (B,L,D)
Day 7      Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 8      Fieldwork; wildlife spotlighting in evening (B,L,D)
Day 9      Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 10    Coastal landscapes excursion (B,L,D)
Day 11    Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 12    Fieldwork (B,L,D)
Day 13    Narawntapu National Park excursion (B,L,D)
Day 14    Wrap-up; drop-off at Burnie airport in afternoon (B,L)

what's included

The prices listed below include all of the following:

• transfers between the Burnie airport and the field accommodation

• 13 nights’ accommodation at our large and comfortable fieldwork house

• all meals (13 B, 14 L, 13 D), featuring locally sourced meat, fish and produce

• a variety of Tasmanian beers, ciders and fine wines on offer every evening (unlimited, unless degree of consumption exceeds what is permitted under Australia's Responsible Service of Alcohol regulations)

• all excursions, including national park entry fees

• unlimited high-speed internet access

• unlimited laundry facilities on a self-service basis

• a souvenir memory stick with photos from the trip

• 20% discount on Carnivore Conservancy merchandise

2019 expediton/tour dates

• January 2–15. 2019

• Late February–early March, 2019 (exact dates for this trip are still pending)

• July 1–14, 2019

• Late September–early October 2019 (exact dates for this trip are still pending)

cost

The following prices are effective through 31 December 2019.

Basic accommodation

Twin bed, shared bathroom

• Per person (double occupancy): US$2990; total cost for two people is US$5980

• Per person (single occupancy): US$3380 (this includes a single supplement payment of US$390; on request, we will try to pair you with a roommate of the same gender, in which case no single supplement is charged)

INTERMEDIATE accommodation

Queen bed, private (but not ensuite) bathroom

• Per person (double occupancy): US$3290; total cost for two people is US$6580

• Per person (single occupancy): US$3940 (this includes a single supplement payment of US$650)

deluxe accommodation

Queen bed, large room with sitting area and walk-in closet, private ensuite bathroom

• Per person (double occupancy): US$3490; total cost for two people: US$6980

• Per person (single occupancy): US$4270 (this includes a single supplement payment of US$780)

maximum group size

Given the size of our fieldwork vehicle, each expedition/tour is limited to three participants. (We will consider booking four if it’s a single group; the vehicle has seating for four passengers, but three people in the back seat might be a bit too cosy unless you’re already good friends!)

inquiries

To inquire about the Research Expedition and Ecological Tour package or to make a booking, contact us using this form or email us at info@carnivores.co.

Photo Credits
Tarkine rainforest: Photo © M. Brown 2014.
Transferring devil to sack: Photo © M. Curotte 2014.
Liffey Falls: Photo by JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Tasmanian pademelon: Photo © S. Adamczek 2013.
Short-beaked echidna: Photo © S. Adamczek 2013.
Tiger snake: Photo © L. Verde Arregoitia 2012.