Take Only Pictures - Australia 2026

Toolbrunup Road, Stirling Ranges, WA

We had postponed an earlier trip to Australia because of lockdown, but once retired, we resurrected our plans and less than a year later were boarding a plane in Heathrow (our first flight in 10 years!). The plan was to fly into Perth, spend some time travelling around Western Australia before flying over to Adelaide to meet up with family and spend time with them in South Australia. We would then part ways and travel south to Victoria before flying up to Sydney to reconvene.

Day 1 to 12 - Western Australia

We had two reasons for visiting Western Australia this time. Firstly, we had spent all of our other visits in the eastern half of the country. But, secondly and more importantly, WA is the most biodiverse of Australian states - around 150,000 species are packed into 45 million hectares, of which over 75% are endemic - they are not found anywhere else in the wild!

Following a couple of days in and around Perth, we spend 10 days travelling around the south east corner of the state in a rental camper van. Highlights of our time here included Rottnest Island (a stronghold for quokkas, but also many bird species); the thrombolites of Lake Clifton (some of the most primitive lifeforms on earth); D'Entrecaseau National Park (118,000 hectares of pristine wetland and coastline); Cheynes Beach (20 km of unbroken white sand); and the Stirling Ranges (1,159 square km of rocky mountains, and one of the most biodiverse areas in Australia).

The birds of Perth

Australasian darter

Nankeen night heron

Laughing kookaburra

Rainbow lorikeet

Reed-tailed black cockatoo

Eastern osprey

The City at night

Elizabeth Quay Bridge, Perth

Elizabeth Quay, Perth

Rottnest Island

Leaving Freemantle or Free-o

Rottnest Island quokka

Rainbow bee-eater

Crested tern bathing

Silver gulls

Australian raven

Southeast WA coast

Our home for ten days...

Thrombolites, Lake Clifton, WA

Nankeen night heron, Australind, WA

Sunset, Hamelin Bay, WA

Red-winged fairy wren, Beedlup National Park, WA

Western grey kangaroos at dawn, Windy Harbour, D'Entrecasteaux NP, WA

Cathedral Rock, D'Entrecasteaux NP, WA

D'Entrecasteaux NP from Mount Chudalup, WA

D'Entrecasteaux NP coastline, WA

South west WA is the Country of the Noongar peoples. They have been custodians of this land for millennia, To them, Country is not simply the physical ground on which they stand, but a living being or identity, comprising interconnected land, water, wildlife and people. This guides a very different relationship with the land to that of the predominantly European settlers (and indeed Western civilisation). Compare and contrast these two quotes from interpretation boards it different tourist sites. I'll leave to to decide which is on the right side of the earth's natural history.

Mainland quokka, Valley of the Giants, WA

Green's Pool, William Bay NP, WA

Nankeen night heron (jus.), Denmark River, WA

Australian pelican, Denmark River, WA

Silver gull, Cheynes Beach, WA

Sunset, Cheynes Beach, WA

Sunrise, Cheynes Beach, WA

Stirling Ranges from Cheynes Beach, WA

New Holland honeyeater, Cheynes Beach, WA

Porongurup National Park and the Stirling Ranges

The Balancing Rock, Granite Skyway, Porongurup NP, WA

Crevice skink, Porongurup NP, WA

Road to Mount Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges, WA

Sunsetting over Mount Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges, WA

Mount Success, from Bluff Knoll, Stirling Ranges, WA

Cloud wave, Stirling Ranges, WA

From Bluff Knoll summit, Stirling Ranges, WA

Mount Toolbrunup, Stirling Ranges, WA

Backlit Gullah, Stirling Ranges Retreat, WA

Horsepower Highway, WA

Day 13 to 18 South Australia and Kangaroo Island

Fast forward a couple of days and we had flown to Adelaide and travelled onwards to Kangaroo Island, then a night on an old paddle boat on the River Murray estuary. There were so many highlights from just four wonderful days.

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, KI, South Australia

Remarkable Rocks, KI, South Australia

Koala, KI, South Australia

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo, KI, South Australia

Black tiger snake, KI, South Australia

Shy albatross, Backstairs Passage, South Australia

Rakali, Goolwa, Murray River, South Australia

Black swan, Goolwa, Murray River, South Australia

Welcome swallows, Goolwa, Murray River, South Australia

Australian pelican, Goolwa, Murray River, South Australia

Day 19 to 24 - Adelaide to Phillip Island, via the Great Ocean Road

Returning to Adelaide, we travelled south east through South Australia and Victoria, heading for Phillip Island. Again, lots of highlights and spectacular wildlife encounters - more pelicans, the only mainland gannet colony in Australia, the seascapes of the Great Ocean Road, wallabies, echidnas and koalas, and best of all, the penguins of Phillip Island.

Post-script - I have heard this week of the first case of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a little penguin on Phillip Island. Having spent some of my working career responding to incidents of HPAI, I know how devastating this news may be. All because of our insatiable appetite for chicken...!

Long-billed corella, Meningie, South Australia

Lake Albert, South Australia

Australian pelicans, Lake Albert, South Australia

Koala yawning, Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, Victoria

Emu, Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, Victoria

Bay of Islands, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

the Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Swamp wallaby, Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island, Victoria

Short-beaked echidna, Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island, Victoria

Surfing competition, Phillip Island, Victoria

Australian fur seal, Summerland Beach, Phillip Island, Victoria

Little (fairy) penguin, Summerland, Phillip Island, Victoria

Day 25 to 43 - Sydney and New South Wales

We spent the remainder of our time in Australia in and around Sydney, including a few days in the Barrington Tops rainforest and several trips out to the Blue Mountains.

Sydney and around