Australia: A Journey of Contrasts

Lose one day crossing the International Dateline. You will regain this day on your journey home.

Welcome to Australia! Upon arrival, we are met and transferred to our hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Tonight we enjoy a delicious “Welcome to Australia” dinner at Sydney’s Sydney Tower Revolving Restaurant.

This morning we set out for a full day of Sydney experiences. We start the day with a morning cruise on Sydney’s spectacular harbour to view the iconic Opera House, the Harbour Bridge as well as the many picturesque bays and inlets fringed with high-end homes and suburbs. We disembark at Darling Harbour just in time for lunch in one of its harbourside restaurants before we board our coach for our tour of the city including a visit to famous Bondi Beach. At Bondi,
we take time to participate and learn about one of Australia’s most well known lifestyles: the beach culture! Bondi is the home of surf lifesaving, and we will spend time with a true blue Aussie lifesaver to learn about the history of Bondi with an exclusive tour inside Australia’s oldest surf lifesaving clubs and a lesson on how to surf!

We begin our day with a guided walking tour of the historic Rocks area of Sydney where Sydney’s first European settlers arrived. Our guide will take us down some of the cobble stone alleyways and give us a detailed account of what life in the late 18th century!  From the Rocks, we then stroll along Circular Quay, Sydney’s bustling harbour front, to the world famous Opera House for a private, guided tour of the complex. After our tour, we sit down for a delicious light lunch centered around the Opera Houses’ famous three-tiered tasting plates. The remainder of the day is free to explore Sydney on our own…. take the ferry across the harbour to the Taronga Zoo, shop in all the stores and boutiques in the downtown core, visit a museum or art gallery or relax in the Botanical Gardens.

We transfer to the airport this morning for our short flight to Melbourne, Australia’s fashion and financial capital. Situated on the Yarra River, Melbourne is Australia’s second largest city and enjoys its own unique character and charm. It is a city of tramcars, many ethnic restaurants, tree-lined streets, and a wide range of parks and gardens that surround the city. On arrival, we are met and taken on a city orientation tour before arriving at our hotel. Later this afternoon, we board our coach and head down to Phillip Island to see the amazing Fairy Penguin Parade which takes place every night of the year as the sun sets.  At the Penguin Centre, we meet our guide for our VIP penguin experience including front row seats on the beach to watch the 100’s of penguins come out of the ocean before we go to our private viewing platform to watch the little guys waddle up the beach to their burrows. A hearty island dinner is also included this evening.

After a relaxing breakfast, we meet our guide for our private walking tour to discover Melbourne’s hidden secrets amongst the back streets and laneways that make up the historic downtown core. We will find local designer shops, speciality retailers and some of the quirkiest cafes, street art, old buildings and colourful vendors…all in the hidden walkways of the city. We finish the morning with a gourmet lunch.  Our afternoon is free to explore Melbourne on our own. This evening we join another unique Aussie experience and board the beautifully restored Tramcar Restaurant for a delicious dinner as we “clang” through the streets of Melbourne and its inner suburbs. 

What would a visit to Australia be without a day in wine country! We leave Melbourne this morning for the drive through picturesque countryside to the Yarra Valley lush with grapevines and dotted with boutique wineries.  Our guided tour will take us to at least 3 wineries all with their own unique character and style but each with a welcoming cellar door. We will have tutored tastings, a brief tour of one of the operations and suburb luncheon at Domaine Chandon Winery before arriving back at our hotel in the late afternoon. Tonight is free for you to dine with the locals and try one of Melbourne’s many restaurants… maybe a BYOB or one of Melbourne’s well known Italian, Greek or Indian restaurants…. the choices are limitless! 

We transfer to the airport this morning for our flight to the ‘Red Centre’ of Australia and our destination-- awe-inspiring Uluru (Ayers Rock) -- the world’s largest monolith. On arrival, we are met and transferred tour our fabulous luxury tented camp set atop a spectacular sand dune in the heart of the Outback in place exuding unparalleled tranquility and desert vistas. After time to refresh, we head out and spend the afternoon exploring Kata-Tjuta (The Olgas), a series of weathered red domes situated west of Uluru. Take time to walk through some of the narrow rock walkways to get a sense of the vastness and timelessness of this region. We leave Kata-Tjuta just before dusk and make our way to the viewing area to watch the sunset and colours change over Uluru while sipping on a glass of champagne and munching on some outback nibbles!

We are up early this morning to catch the sun rising over Uluru. Back for breakfast before we meet our Aboriginal guide at the Cultural Centre for an in-depth journey into the heart of the Anangu people who are the stewards of this land. Our guide will take us on a walkabout through the bush near the base of Uluru and explain how traditional tools, weapons and implements are made and used in daily life. We have the time to ask questions and really get a good understanding of the unique and fascinating world of the Australian Aborigine. After such an intense day, we have time tonight to relax under the star-filled sky enjoying the exceptional service, sumptuous cuisine and quite ambience of our tented camp.

A trip to Australia to delve into the country’s culture would not be complete without a visit to tropical North Queensland, the gateway to the rainforest and to the Great Barrier Reef. Australia is a land of unique natural wonders and how the Australians have adapted to these “wonders” is woven into the fabric of their day to day lives. Australians live life to the fullest; they are very proud of their Aussie culture and their country and will extol its virtues every chance they get! In North Queensland we get a chance to embrace this love of the land with journeys to the Outer Reef and to the rainforest.

On arrival in Cairns, we are met and transferred to our hotel in Port Douglas, one hour north of Cairns. The remainder of the afternoon is free to relax.

Tonight we have an extraordinary dinner experience dining beneath the ancient rainforest in an exclusive setting with thousands of flickering candles lighting our way. In this timeless setting, our ‘Flames of the Forest’ dinner will captivate us with its sumptuous food and wine as the sounds of digeridoo waft through the tropical air. After dinner, we will be treated to an intimate Aboriginal storytelling session – all we have to do is relax in the sheer beauty of it all.

We have a short transfer this morning to the Port Douglas Terminal and board our small group Sailaway sailing ship for a cruise out to the Low Isles, a true coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Our full day excursion includes snorkeling, visits to the island, smorgasbord lunch and glass-bottom boat rides. After we disembark, we transfer back to our hotel for a free evening. 

This morning we board our deluxe coach and take a short drive south to the “sugar” town of Mossman where we meet our Aboriginal guide who will take us on a walk through the rainforest to learn more about the cultural traditions and stories of his proud people. After a morning tea break of damper and billy tea, we follow the trail to view the spectacular Mossman Gorge as the river cuts its way through the rock and rainforest of the mountain.  To finish off our tour, we head to Silky Oaks Lodge, spectacularly situated on the Mossman River, for a relaxing lunch in the rainforest.  From here, we continue on to Cairns and our hotel.

Another great day as we transfer to Freshwater Station and board the historic Kuranda Rail for the journey through the rainforest to the village of Kuranda. On arrival, we have time to explore Kuranda before a short drive by coach takes us to Skyrail and our journey down the rainforest-clad mountainside via a 7.5km cableway.  From here it is a short drive to Tjapukai Cultural Center for a cultural performance filled with Aboriginal ancient rituals, digeridoo playing, stories of the Dreamtime, ancient and modern music and singing. A fair dinkum Aussie BBQ buffet lunch is also included. For our last night in Australia, we all get together for a final ‘farewell’ dinner in one of Cairn’s fine dining restaurants located seaside on the Esplanade.

After such a wonderful Aussie cultural immersion, it is time to pack our bags and head home. After breakfast, we transfer to the airport to connect with our flights home.