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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

  • Biology of Tropical Australia

    This tour combines marine biology, botany, zoology and ecology into a full 10 day tour programme of tropical ecosystems. It is designed to take in as wide range of ecosystems as possible, going from the deeper water reefs, along the coastal beaches and mangroves, into the lowland rainforest, up into the mountain forests, and finally into the savanna woodlands and wetlands of the outback.

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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

Pelicans
Pelican
Pelican
The seven species of Pelican can be found wherever there is water, all around the world. They are all huge, instantly recognizable birds, with large bills and big webbed feet. They are usually white, with additions of yellow, pink, grey and/or black. Pelicans feed mainly on fish. The bottom of the bill is extremely elastic and can carry large prey. When it is fully distended, pelicans have a larger bill than any other bird. Even though they look awkward on land, they are graceful swimmers. They are also magnificent fliers, and have been found at heights of 3000 metres. The Australian Pelican is Australia’s largest flying bird, with a wingspan of almost three and a half meters. It can be found wherever there is water all around Australia and New Guinea, being especially common around estuaries. Like many other pelicans around the world, they can become quite tame, and can be found hanging around fishing jetties and taking handouts. When not breeding, they are often nomadic, having been recorded in New Zealand when there are droughts in Australia.
 

Mammals

Rock Wallabies
There are about 15 species of 'Rock Wallabies', Petrogale spp. Many of them look very similar to each other, and before the use of genetic testing to determine species, there was were thought to be far fewer species. They are generally very small kangaroos that live within rocky outcrops.
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