Quoll Patrol & Platypus Wildlife Tour | Pepper Bush Adventures

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Quoll Patrol & Platypus – Australian Wildlife Tour

Spectacular Tasmanian wildlife and platypus viewing with campfire dining

The Experience – Private Charter Tour – 1 day / 2 nights
View a platypus in it’s natural habitat followed by our Quoll Patrol wildlife tour which is Internationally reviewed as one of Australia’s best nature experiences. We start the day with a hunt for the fascinating and elusive platypus before moving on to discover the wilderness, wildlife and tastes of Tasmania on this afternoon/evening tour. Enjoy the ambience of superb campfire dinner followed by sensational wildlife viewing which focuses on the antics of the eastern quoll in its natural habitat. Dine with the forester kangaroos, see brush-tail possums, eastern quolls and Tasmanian pademelons while wombats and Bennett’s wallaby graze close by. We combine this day experience with 2 nights bed and breakfast in Scottsdale.

Departures
From 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024 – on demand pending availability
From 1st April 2024 – only available from April to September as Pepper Bush works towards 2 day / 2 night tours for the long daylight savings months of October to March

Day 1 – Pre-Tour Bed & Breakfast
Self-drive to Scottsdale for your pre tour-day bed and breakfast. Dinner will be at your own arrangements at a local eatery. See our Partners Page for Scottsdale bed and breakfast options which we can include in this package.

Day 2 – Tour Day
9.00 am – Depart your accommodation after breakfast to hunt the fascinating platypus. We search the local ponds and waterways on the outskirts of Scottsdale to view these amazing creatures. Explore Scottsdale and lunch will be at your own arrangements at a local eatery.

Platypus Viewing
Your Pepper Bush guide will meet you at your accommodation. We travel a short distance to view the duck-billed platypus character in its natural habitat in one of the local waterways. The platypus is one of the world’s most unique animals. Along with it’s duck-bill the platypus features a broad, flattened tail, and thick, waterproof fur for warmth and webbed feet. This unusual make-up is always a favourite with wildlife viewers and photographers. On leaving the platypus, we continue our journey to the northeast highlands and Ben Lomond.

The Wilderness
Ben Lomond National Park – Departing Launceston or Scottsdale, we travel diverse landscapes before arriving at the base of Ben Lomond. In making the climb we drive up Jacobs Ladder, a series of hairpin bends to marvel at the breath-taking view from the platform at the top. The Ben Lomond plateau has 8 of the 20 highest peaks in Tasmania and it has the highest drivable point in Tasmania where Bennett’s wallaby and wombats may be seen in daylight hours. This spectacular plateau is the largest alpine plateau in Tasmania and is a mountain environment with extensive and dramatic dolerite cliffs and columns. Its scree slopes, swirling mists and frost-stunted forests are reminiscent of a Tolkien landscape.

Campfire Dinner with the Kangaroos
With the forester kangaroos as your dinner companions, enjoy the ambience of early campfire dining. Dinner is a 3-courses starting with a Tasmanian tasting platter of cheeses and smoked meats. Followed by Bush Pattie Yummo Gumbo or Native Spice Salmon/Salad with dessert to finish. Settle back and relax and watch the sun set and see our field of dreams come alive.

Nocturnal Wildlife Viewing
Tasmanian wildlife viewing at its best. You will be delighted and enchanted while sitting by the campfire as the wildlife appear at dusk. See Forester kangaroos, eastern quolls, Tasmanian pademelon wallabies and brush-tail possums feed near the campfire while Bennett’s wallabies & wombats graze close by. At times, platypus, tawny frogmouths, bandicoots and owls can also be viewed. Outstanding wildlife photography opportunities on offer. Return to Scottsdale or Launceston between 7.30 and 8.00 pm

Day 3 – Post Tour Departure
After breakfast, self-drive departure after breakfast or prior to 10.00 am

Product Reviewed June 2023

Download Brochure

Duration & Departure	Private Charter Tour 8-10 hours 12.00 – 2.00 pm from Launceston or Scottsdale No Launceston departures from November to end of March
Tour Schedule	9.00 am depart your accommodation to hunt the fascinating platypus Lunch at your own arrangements 12-2.00 pm (Seasonal) – depart to visit Ben Lomond National Park Travel the Roses Tier forests or Tombstone Creek Forest Reserve Campfire dinner and nocturnal wildlife tour Return to accommodation
Campfire Dinner	Tasmanian cheese, smoked meat & fruit tasting platter Wallaby rissoles with portobello dijon side or poached salmon with salad side Dessert Tasmanian beverages
Inclusions & Terms	Pepper Bush Guide/Vehicle Private Tour with campfire dinner & beverages Parks Pass Cancellation – 30 days prior to departure date – forfeit 100%

Great personalised tour of Ben Lomond I did a personal tour of Ben Lomond National Park in early November 2022. I enjoyed my experience thoroughly. You need a certain type of vehicle to get into Ben Lomond National Park and I found it fascinating. My guide made plenty of stops along the way, I had lots of photo opportunities and the scenery is just stunning. I highly recommend. It's a great spot off the beaten track that a lot of tourists dont' think to go to. The wildlife is lovely as well as the lookouts and scenery. Very peaceful place. Even received some delicious fresh sandwiches from the award winning scottsdale bakery. Yum :) Thanks for a great half day trip.

Michelle P

25/02/2023

Tassie wildlife We did a 3 night / 2 day tour enjoying both Mt William & Ben Lomond NP our guide was informative and the meals supplied were more than sufficient The best part was watching the playful baby quolls enjoying their evening seach for food, so small, playful and moved so fast

MAW

09/12/2022

Lifelong memories My wife and I had booked the Canopy Capers’ excursion with ‘Pepperbush Adventures’ as part of our road trip in Tasmania. Ben came promptly at 5 pm and we were taken to a nearby irrigation pond to look for platypuses. Whilst there were a few glimpses it was very difficult to see as it was quite windy so the water was quite rippled. We left there and drove to an area of private land where there was a small cabin overlooking a lake. There were some kookaburras, and we saw some pademelons and some possums. Ben prepared a meal for us to eat - there was an appetiser tray of smoked wallaby and smoked chicken, salmon, grapes and strawberries. After that he cooked steaks on the barbecue which we had a with some beans, new potatoes and salad. We finished off with some cheesecake and fruit. There was wine and soft drinks to accompany our meal - pre-arranged with the company. We stayed until it got dark. Although the animal sightings were rather scant, this was offset by the passionate and educational input from Ben. He is the consummate host / guide and we greatly enjoyed learning so much about the flora and fauna of the area. The next day we enjoyed a full day out with Ben on another excursion - aptly named ‘The Quoll Patrol’. Ben arrived just before 11 am as arranged. We had another look for platypuses but again the sightings were fleeting even though it was much less windy. We then had a long drive into Ben Lomond National Park in the extreme north-east of Tasmania. We had periodic stops, whenever there was a wildlife sighting or a point of interest. We had a stop at a lookout where we had lunch - rolls and sandwiches bought from the cottage bakery back in Scottsdale. We drove further up to reach Ben Lomond village - it was only 5 degrees there. We stopped to look at the interesting geological formations - 300 metre tall dolorite columns with huge areas of rocky boulders beneath. Ben dropped us at the village - we did a short trail for about 20 minutes where we met up with him again waiting for us in the car. We drove back down from the National Park and again made a number of stops, smelling and tasting some of the roadside plants. We reached our final destination, a cabin surrounded by pasture. Ben set the fire and we were able to view and feed the kangaroos which lived there - it was an unofficial nature reserve of about 100 acres. The original kangaroos had come from Bonorong and now numbered about 40. It was a very engaging experience watching the kangaroos as we had our first course - a range of appetisers similar to the previous day. Ben then prepared wallaby meatballs with onions and courgettes. We thought this was the main course but later we were given some salmon and salad - my wife couldn’t eat any more as she was full already. The dessert course was chocolate fudge cake served with raspberries and blackberries. During the evening we sat beside the fire, watching the Eastern Quolls appearing, followed by the pademelons and finally the possums. As it got dark there was a long drive back to Scottsdale. We were exhausted at the end of the day but felt utterly thrilled by the experiences we had. As a guide Ben is truly fantastic. His personable nature, coupled with his commitment to the natural world, will remain in our memories. We thoroughly enjoyed his company - such a kind and generous spirited man. PS. We went to the irrigation pond on our last day as we were leaving Scottsdale and guess what - we saw two platypuses at the surface of the water. We managed to bag some quality photos - result! Thanks again, Ben. You’re a top guy. Good luck with your new hobby of crafting in metalwork.

Owen Thesaints

07/12/2022

A fantastic wildlife experience The 2 days we spent with Craig was the highlight for us of a month travelling around Tasmania and a fantastic opportunity to see wildlife, especially the nocturnal creatures you don't usually get to meet. Craig has a wealth of knowledge and experience of living in the bush, so we learned alot about the flora and fauna of the north-east part of Tasmania and saw platypus on several occasions, along with wallabies, echidnas , kangaroos and, padmelons during the day. The Canopy Capers and Quoll Patrol experiences are both amazing. After a great meal in the open air, we watched as the wildlife drew near at dusk - possums, quolls, wombats. It's an incredible, magical experience, I can't recommend enough.

Island Sue

10/04/2020

A great wildlife experience A great day with Bushy seeing visiting Ben Lomond, learning so much about the flora and fauna of Tasmania, topped off by a delicious bush meal, sharing the site with possums, quolls, wombats and more

D H

31/03/2020

A Wonderful Backwoods Experience With Bushy The Ben Lomand and Quoll Patrol adventure was fantastic. We drove up Jacob's ladder at Ben Lomand and Bushy took us into the forest for exploring. Dinner at the cabin and the night adventure with the Kangaroos, Wallabies, Paddymellons and Quolls was a highlight. You can't believe the wildlife here.

Laura R

24/03/2020

Marvellous Some good walks and opportunity for wildlife viewing. The evening barbecue with kangaroos, wallabies and quolls was magical. A very good insight into local life - the farming and cheese making. Fabulous scenery all around.

Sally G

11/03/2020

Amazing We had a 1 day tour with Craig and it was truly amazing. Started with a sighting of a platypus and then an echidna. A great scenic drive up Ben Lomond via Jacob's ladder and then sightings of some iconic wildlife including wombats, quolls, tawny frogmouths and wallaby's and kangaroos. The bush supper with quality wines was a great success. We loved the whole experience.

LondonWelshboyo

07/02/2020

Outstanding bush experience, some of the best wildlife viewing in Tasmania We thought we had already had some amazing wildlife experiences in Tasmania, but Ben's Quoll Patrol with us was truly over the top. Lots of wildlife, including a number of elusive quolls. You have to see it all to believe it! Kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, bushy-tailed opossums, eastern quolls, short-snouted echidna, come to mind. Meeting his mob of kangaroos is an experience not to be missed. And on top of it all, Ben cooked us an excellent meal out there in the bush. All in all, a very memorable experience.

LafayetteJohn

Outstanding experience in the Tasmanian bush We spent 9 hours with Craig who took us to the Ben Lomond National Park and its surroundings, watching for a wide variety of Tasmanian wildlife. This ended with an excellent and copious dinner he cooked around a fire in the open surrounded by Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats, Pademelon, Possums....and even sighting a platypus and a quoll. We are amazed by the extent of Craig's knowledge of the bush, its flora and fauna and his ability to communicate his passion for them to us. He enabled us to experience at first hand many examples of the plants and animals unique to Tasmania. An amazing and unforgettable experience.

Peter B

26/01/2020

Quoll Patrol and Platypus Tour

Quoll Patrol & Platypus – Australian Wildlife Tour

Spectacular Tasmanian wildlife and platypus viewing with campfire dining

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