What animals can you see in Cape York?
Cape York is an extremely remote region in northern Australia, home to many endemic animal species. It has a huge diversity of habitats, including floodplains, open savannah woodlands, estuaries, beaches and 2 very important, rainforest mountain ranges (The Macilwraith Range & Iron Range). There is a huge diversity of animals in these habitats and this time-lapse video shows a heap of animals visiting a waterhole at the end of the dry season in Cape York. The wet season hadn’t set in yet and drinking water in some places was quite scattered, so we took the opportunity to set this camera up and see what came in! Check out the video to see what animals have come to water.
In this video you should be able to see:
- Pigs
- Cattle
- Dingoes
- Water rat (Hydromys)
- Red Goshawk
- Kangaroos
- Egrets & Herons (we have included a Free Cape York Birding List at the bottom of the page)
When is the wet season in Cape York?
The wet season in Cape York is January-April – this is when the rain really sets in. However, ‘the build-up’ often starts in November with a few big showers often dropping in November and December. The monsoon usually sets in properly in January and continues pretty hard until the end of March. April still sees some rain and by May it is dropping off significantly. The country is often still waterlogged in May and sometimes June, depending on the size of the wet. The main tourist areas however, are generally safe to visit by June, regardless of the size of the wet season.
When is the best time to visit Cape York?
The best time to travel to Cape York is May-September, while it’s nice and cool and still green. May is stunning, very green, and a bit quieter, but some places may not be open yet and it is a bit more risky planning your trip for May due to the water around or a late/big wet season. June-September are solid choices! By October it’s starting to get hot and humid, and many creeks are getting dry.
View more of our videos here at our Gallery.
Cape York Birding List
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but a small list of birds fairly easily spotted on 2 separate Cape York trips. Please feel free to save this and print it off for your trip. Let us know by email if you find any species not listed here!
