We are always delighted to answer any further questions by phone or e-mail, and can help give you comprehensive answers to any individual requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the inala e-mail?
inala ( at) inalanaturetours.com.au - you can also reach us through our contact page if you prefer or call us on 03 6293 1217
Where is Inala located?
Our office is located on South Bruny, near to the community of Lunawanna. However our tours are not simply on Bruny Island, but all over Tasmania, Australia and now also Internationally.
For more information including Bruny ferry details, see our directions page and our Bruny tours page.
What can I see at Inala?
If you are simply dropping by, you are very welcome to visit the public access Nature Museum and 5 acre Jurassic Garden for $10 Adult, $5 Child ( 9 - 5pm / 7 days )
If you wish to organise a guided tour of the Inala property or Bruny Island, we will meet you at Inala and explore from there depending on your wishes.
If you are staying in one of our cottages - included in the price you get full access to the whole Inala property and can explore with or without a guide as you prefer. The Raptor Viewing Hide, Bird Viewing Hides and Forty-spotted Pardalote Platform are within the private Inala property and can only be accessed on a tour or when staying at an Inala cottage.
I would love to see the Forty-spotted Pardalote at Inala, what are my options?
We know that for many people the Forty-spotted Pardalote is a very desirable bird and Inala is famous for the work that Tonia has done over 32 years to increase the size and health of the colony at Inala.
All 12 Tasmanian Endemic birds are found on the Inala property and to gain access to the private reserve you must either be staying in one of the Inala cottages or be on a tour with an Inala guide.
All the money from accommodation and tours goes straight back into further conservation work and enables the preservation of the unique habitats we have on Bruny Island.
What are your opening hours?
If you are coming to visit the Inala Nature Museum and Jurassic Garden we are open from 9am - 5pm (7 days a week)
If you are coming on tour we will comunicate with you individually to arrange a suitable start and finish time and location.
If you are staying in one of our cottages, Check in is around 2pm, Check out is 10am
How much are the Inala Bruny tours?
The per person price of the Inala group tours is displayed on each relevant tour page.
For a current price list on all the shorter Inala and Bruny tours, please drop us an e-mail on inala ( at ) inalanaturetours.com.au or fill out the tour enquiry page.
We also offer several excellent package prices that include accommodation and meals and make it easier for you to book and enjoy your holiday, these will be sent to you on request of all the tour prices.
Can I book the Raptor Photography Hide without staying at Inala?
Yes you can, this webpage provides you with all further information about the photography hide, including costs, raptor species seen etc. You can also watch this short video which showcases the photography hide.
Can I join a Bruny tour already being run?
We do not have set times or group sizes for Bruny tours, our tours are arranged to fit each individual request and unless you request otherwise it will only be yourself and a guide on the tour. You can let us know when you book if you would like it to be opened up to others to join. Contact us to find out more about joining a tour on specific dates.
Can you help me with other Accommodation / Activities / Car hire / Pelagic Trips / Flights to Melaleauca ......... ?
Absolutely. We are a tour agency with excellent experience and knowledge of arranging Tasmanian and Australian nature based holiays. Contact us with any questions, we can help you with self guided itineraries, partially guided itineraries or fully-guided itineraries. If you dont know where to start - start with us.
What type of tours do you organise?
With 25 years creating personalised tours, Inala have helped cater to just about every possible interest on the nature tours spectrum. So whatever you are interested in, simply tell us and we can suggest a personally crafted itinerary that will best suit you and your budget. So if you love flora, mammals, photography, scenery or are a foaming at the mouth birding, you have come to the right tour company to help you take the next step to a wonderful nature based holiday.
And If you hate making decisions, and are happy to trust us, that is fine too. We can lay out a very popular tour format and you can take it how it is or tweek some of the details to better suit.
We will never try to sell you a tour that suits us, we always want it to suit you.
I am a very experienced birder / I am a beginner birder - Are your tours suitable for me?
Yes and yes, our guides are experienced in taking out nature enthusiasts across the entire spectrum of knowledge and experience. If you have never birded before or if you have birded since you were knee high to a grasshopper, our very knowledgeable and friendly specialist guides will enhance your birding knowledge and match your passions and interests.
I have a friend / partner / family member who is not a birder, can you provide a suitable tour to make us both happy?
Yes of course we can, we frequently design tours that provide interest and entertainment to couples and friends with very diverse interests. There is so much to do and see that we can balance the days to keep everyone enjoying their time in Australia. Our guided are also very knowledgeable about topics far beyond birds alone and can inform and entertain on topics such as history, botany, insects, reptiles .... or whatever else someone may have as their personal passion.
What are the ethics of your tours?
For Inala, the respect, conservation and protection of Wildlife is always the priority. We will never disturb or stress any bird or mammal on a tour. We do not deliberately flush birds, we do not get too close when viewing or photographing wildlife, we do not handle the wildlife and we do not over use bird call-backs. Every Inala guide has passionate involvement with nature conservation and operates by their own ethical and moral standards as well as the industry leading standards set by Tonia Cochran when she established Inala Nature Tours. Nature rewards our care and patience with incredible wild sightings and views of natural behaviour, our guides excellent local knowledge will enable you to adapt your tour to weather, light levels, seasons and behaviour to give you the best possible experience.
We have recently been listed on an international list of ethical birding operators.
What do I need to take with me on a short tour?
If you are on a group tour we will send you a suggested 'What to bring' list. For the smaller tours just remembering that Tasmania is wonderfully changeable so we recommend a pair of decent footwear, a spare layer of clothing, a waterproof just in case, a re-fillable bottle of water, your binoculars and camera gear and of course your best bird spotting karma. Please also carry any individual medical items you may need. i.e. Epi-pen
Let us know in advance if you have any specific requirements or would like to borrow a pair of binoculars for the tour. Your guide will have a first aid kit, all meal supplies and any reference books & bird lists that you may like to use.
What are your terms and conditions?
A full version of the terms and conditions is available on request and is written on every booking form for each tour.
a)Deposit and payment
- A deposit of 25% of the tour cost is due at the time of booking. This, along with a completed booking form, will secure your place on the tour.
- Full payment of the balance is due 90 days before the tour start date.
- Payment is accepted in Australian Dollars ($AU) only.
b)Cancellations
- Cancellation any time after the deposit is paid incurs loss of the full deposit. If however we are able to fill your place on the tour, and we are able to recoup deposit funds paid to accommodation and other service providers, we may be in a position to reallocate some of your deposit to another tour booking if you so wish. Such requests are dealt with on a case by case basis.
- Cancellations between 90-46 days prior to departure incur a cancellation fee of 50% of the tour cost.
- Cancellations between 45 days or less prior to departure incur a cancellation fee of 100% of the tour cost (i.e. no refund).
- If Inala Nature Tours have to cancel the tour due to unforeseen circumstances or as a result of undersubscription, then Inala will refund you all payments made to Inala by you for that tour.
- We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance when booking your trip to cover you for any financial losses incurred as a result of cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances.
Do you have white wallaby at Inala?
We do, however we are not a wildlife park, all the wildlife is wild and free on the reserve, able to roam wherever they wish and to leave the Inala land if they wish. We have raised many orphaned and injured animals over the years including white Bennetts Wallabies and they are released onto the Inala land. On property tours we frequently see many wonderful species of mammals and monotremes, however there are no guaranteed sightings of any specific wildlife.
