By: Lucy Farmer, who joined a spotlight tour of Mount Rothwell on Saturday, November 29, 2025

As I arrive at Mount Rothwell at dusk, the landscape is coming to life. A chorus of shrieking cockatoos, booming frog calls and an eerie, unfamiliar wail greets me at the gate. It’s clear I’m in for a memorable night.

Odonata’s Mt Rothwell Sanctuary is home to 9 threatened species, including the critically endangered southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby

I’ve joined a group of 25 people for a spotlight tour to search for creatures that have all but vanished from Australia. We’re inside Odonata’s predator-proof sanctuary on the edge of the You Yangs, not far from Melbourne and Geelong.

Our guide Penny tells us the common eastern froglet – no bigger than a fingernail – is responsible for the deafening croaks we can hear. The ghostly wails belong to the bush stone-curlew, a bird now silent across most of Victoria. We’re already spellbound, and the walk hasn’t even begun.

We set off together following the soft infra-red beam of Penny’s torch as it sweeps through the open woodland. She tells us the sanctuary’s two metre, electrified fence is designed to keep out introduced predators, such as foxes and cats, providing a safe haven for threatened native species. She says only an adult male kangaroo would be capable of clearing the fence.

Before we have gone far, we hear screeches and turn around to see an Eastern barn owl perched regally on a dead tree.

We keep moving and soon cat-like eyes reflect back at us. As we creep closer, the white spots on the animal’s coat give it away. It’s an Eastern quoll quietly foraging among the fallen timber. There’s a ripple of excitement because it’s the first time that most people in the group have seen this striking carnivore.

The eastern quoll once widespread across southeastern Australia, is now extinct in the wild on mainland Australia.

Further along the path we encounter a small creature with a pointed snout and distinctive stripes on its rump. Penny introduces it as an eastern barred bandicoot — a species once thought extinct in Victoria until a tiny remnant population was rediscovered in a tip near Hamilton. Since being reintroduced at Mount Rothwell, she says they have thrived and established new colonies including at Odonata’s Tiverton sanctuary in the Western District. Amazingly, these diminutive “ecosystem engineers,” can each turn over up to three tonnes of soil a year, improving the health of the landscape.

As Mt Rothwell’s rounded basalt outcrops loom into view, we encounter the brush-tailed rock-wallaby. It’s an absolute privilege to watch this critically-endangered species up close in its natural habitat. Smaller than the swamp wallaby, it has a beautiful thick coat, powerful tail and striped face. To our amazement, we are lucky enough to see at least a dozen of these agile creatures. There’s a magic moment when Penny’s beam picks out two pairs of eyes, a mother with a pouch joey.

We reach the top of the rise, and an extraordinary panorama opens ahead of us. Penny points out Melbourne’s twinkling CBD, Geelong and Point Cook.

As we head back down the hill, we can hear a pair of boobook owls calling to one another in the woodland ahead. Then another unfamiliar animal appears in the spotlight. It has a distinct hopping movement and Penny tells us it’s an Eastern bettong that uses its prehensile tail to carry bundles of nesting materials. More bizarrely, she says males compete by lying on their sides and kicking each other.

By the time we return to base and the haunting cries of the bush stone curlews, I’m experiencing a sense of exhilaration. The walk has unveiled a cast of creatures so rare and cryptic they feel almost mythical.

Mt Rothwell’s spotlight tours offer a sense of wonder and hope - living proof that our native species can recover and flourish with adequate protection.

Loved reading about Lucy’s experience? Come and see it for yourself.

Our Spotlight Tours offer an immersive night-time adventure through Mt Rothwell, where you’ll meet critically endangered species, learn from our expert ecologists, and experience conservation in action.

Find out more about our Spotlight Tours here.

And if you’d like a sneak peek of what the magic feels like, check out our video below!

Into the night: Rediscovering threatened wildlife at Mount Rothwell

Bioturbation