Going to Australia July-Aug 2025
Hello all! I am putting together a mega expedition to Australia for July and August of 2025 and would love to pick some of the amazing brains out there in mammalwatching land. As is normal for me, it is going to be overly ambitious – major miles and flyby visits to the hotspots. iNaturalist is a wealth of information but nothing beats this team of experts. I will post many questions as the months go on but today’s is pretty specific:
Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park
I was looking the 750km one way commitment to get to this park with 4X4 required. My goal is the Common Spotted Cuscus and others found there. I would love to here of anyone’s experiences traveling there and their thoughts about how likely it would be for me to encounter the cuscus and others in a two-three day visit – five including a long day travel getting there AND another long day getting back to Cairns. IS that road doable in a long day? Am I stupid to even think of trying without a 4X4? Is there a guiding service I should look in to?
Again, any info you could share would be awesome!!
Cheers,
Coke
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14 Comments
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Matt Pep
I drove all the way up there in july 2017. With my own 4WD and it took me about a day and a half starting from Cooktown. The road was quite decent up till Coen of i remember correctly. After that it is sandy and/or gravel. Including river crossings.
If you dont want to go all the way to the north you might think about the Mcilwraith ranges, there should be spotted cuscus there too and saves you some driving. Having said that: getting all the way up northt is definitely worth it.
Cuscus were quite easy back then and I saw multiple. There is a airfield there, but i dont know if flying in is possible.
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Murray Lord
I was there this time last year. A few suggestions:
A day and a half each way sounds about right, assuming you don’t get sidetracked looking for Golden shouldered Parrots etc on the way. When we were there the main road up to the cape had recently been graded. It would have been passable in an average small AWD car. However the road into Iron Range has some steeper drops down to creek crossings and would require more serious ground clearance. As noted you’ll need to check terms and conditions of car rental agreements. Some companies don’t let their vehicles go north of about Cooktown, and many have restrictions on what type of vehicles can be taken onto dirt roads.
We saw the Spotted Cuscus well, both in the day and at night. But that aside, we found it pretty dead for mammals. We spent quite a bit of time looking for the other cuscus and the various bandicoots and found none of either. There are a lot more mammals down around the Atherton tablelands region.
Where else in Australia are you going?
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PandaSmith
Thanks for that! Very helpful. I did see similar reports about other mammals being elusive there… I will definitely check in to the Atherton Tablelands more. My main reason for heading that far north to Iron Range is the cuscus, but the time, effort and expense may make it a bit silly…. Considering also that I can hop a flight from my home in BKK to PNG or Irian Jaya for an easier trip… My hopeful trip so far as planned is heading to: Perth/SW Australia – Numbat/quoll, etc.; Tasmania – full effort; Was thinking of Kangaroo Island but I think I may do better on the mainland….; Lammington NP; and Kakadu. I will be hitting the Cairns area – including Tablelands… Would love advice! Cheers
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Jane Kempler
We actually spent 4 weeks in Australia in July (trip report is still a work in progress, but it will be published here when I’ve finished going through the photos). We decided to fly up to Lockhart River from Cairns instead of driving. We then hired a car from Lockhart River 4×4 when we got there (use the email address on their website and not the contact us form) and we stayed at Greenhoose. We had excellent sightings of the female Common Spotted Cuscus who hangs out at Cook’s campsite, once in the late afternoon and once in the morning. Photos are here: https://www.facebook.com/jane.kempler/posts/pfbid02s1cLxA6YXpFFzo5onmoKxkjXqLHfukWECXMWtqqEFuYpBT2sZycmG4pWpXg5SNgJl
If you want more information, or if you want me to send you the work in progress trip report then let me know your email address and I’ll send it on to you -
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Bray
Hi Coke, I can basically confirm what others have already said. I visited in June 2021, not in my own car, and formed the opinion that I would not attempt several of the creek crossing in my own Subaru Forester AWD. It is a very long drive from Cairns and not feasible in a single day. Flying from Cairns into Lockhart River and hiring a 4WD is the usual means of access for many birdwatchers.
We camped at Gordons Creek and saw multiple cuscus along the road between Gordons and Cooks Hut campground. It rained quite heavily while I was there, so don’t assume the dry season will be dry. If you are interested in seeing the endemic birds while you’re there I’d recommend hiring a local guide – you don’t just spot them walking along the main road, and some are on private property.
Atherton Tablelands is fantastic for mammal watching.
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Jon Hall
Hi Coke. It’s a very long 2 days drive from Cairns if I remember right. I don’t think you could do it in a 2wd. At least 20 years ago it would have been very hard. I have heard now that Australian rental car companies have also cracked down on where even they let their 4wd go with gps trackers etc. So renting a vehicle to get up there might be a challenge in itself. If you do get up there then the spotted cuscus seems quite easy still. I think you’d want three nights minimum to do justice to the place given the difficulty in getting there. This company might be able to help. They have a trip in June. https://www.mammalwatching.com/community-post/advert-ultimate-north-queensland-mammalwatching-in-2025/