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Educational Tours Australia

Educational Tours Australia (ETA) runs nature-based and other educational tours and programmes for schools, universities, colleges, and various special interest groups.

students at a waterhole

Tours and programmes include our 3, 7 & 10 day biology & ecosystems study programme , and our more holiday based activity & sightseeing tour . There are also some "Trip reports" of our previous tours and programmes.

We are a small company with biology and ecotourism qualified staff . When you make enquiries, you will be dealing with the guides directly. Apart from our set itineraries, given enough lead time we can also develop an itinerary for your group that focuses on many different special interest subjects, including ecotourism, birdwatching and geological study. We also hire out Damon Ramsey and Jane Moores to tour companies and organizations as Biology and Ecotourism guides & lecturers.

ETA is based in Cairns (North Queensland) and specializes in what we think is the best part of Australia. However, our itineraries have also included other parts of the country.

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Study Tours

  • Tour FAQs

    Included here are our most frequently asked questions. They are being updated and added to all the time; if you cannot see your particular question here, please feel free to email us .

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Plants

Cycads
Cycads belong to the division Cycadophyta. They were one of the dominant plant forms back in the Mesozoic, the 'Age of the Dinosaurs', when they would have comprised much of the forest as flowering trees do today. Many species of cycads are toxic, containing the lethal compound macrozamin, (including the species found in the rainforests here), and it has even been suggested that this high toxicity initially evolved in this ancient group to deter predation by dinosaurs.
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Birds

Boobies and Gannets
Boobie and baby
Boobie and baby
Boobies and Gannets are rather large, robust seabirds. They have big heads, strong beaks and look a little bit like a large, ocean going duck. Their feet are big and fully webbed. Their walk is a cute, duck-like waddle. When flying, their body is often described as ‘torpedo’ or ‘cigar’ shaped. The 9 species are found all over the world. While Boobies are more tropical in distribution, Gannets inhabit the colder, temperate seas. They are essentially an ocean going bird, and are only really found on land when nesting. They were given the derogatory name of ‘Booby’ from the Spanish word bobo which means fool or clown. They may plunge dive for prey from heights of up to 20 or 30 metres, with heights of 100 metres reported. Their nostrils are small and not externally visible and close to prevent seawater entering the nostrils when hitting the surface at high speeds. The air sacs under their skin are particularly well developed in the frontal region of the body and likely serve to cushion the body during their steep dives.
 

Mammals

Dogs
The first animal to be deliberately introduced to Australia by humans was probably the dingo. This 'Australian Native Dog' is, despite common misconceptions, like all breeds of domestic dogs, merely a type of the Grey Wolf,Canis lupus.
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