Sydney, Uluru & the Great Barrier Reef
The ultimate mix of reef, rock and rainforest, with the bright lights of Sydney and vineyards of the Hunter Valley thrown in.
This is a hugely popular mix of Australian highlights, opening with an Opera House tour, harbour cruise and scenic flight in Sydney before embracing the surrounding countryside with stays in the Hunter Valley and stunning Blue Mountains.
Next is an Australian icon, the colossal red rock of Uluru, explored in depth on a regional mini tour with award-winning specialists APT. Then fly to the tropical north for two more Aussie unmissables, the Great Barrier Reef and the prehistoric Daintree Rainforest.
As with all our tours, any part can be tailored to suit your own needs and our specialists will draw on their in-depth knowledge and own personal travels to help and advise you.
4 nights Sydney • 2 nights Hunter Valley • 2 nights Blue Mountains • 3 nights APT Uluru & Kings Canyon tour • 3 nights Cairns • 3 nights Daintree Rainforest
Days 1-4: Sydney
Arrive in Australia’s most famous city and transfer to the Four Seasons in the historic Rocks district. Spend the next few days exploring the sights of this spectacular harbour city. Pre-booked tours include ‘cruising like a local’ around Sydney Harbour aboard the 52-foot motor yacht Calypso, a backstage tour of the UNESCO-listed Sydney Opera House, and a magical scenic flight over Bondi Beach and the Harbour Bridge that culminates with lunch at Cottage Point Inn on the water’s edge, located at the junction of Cowan Waters and Coal and Candle Creek - one of Sydney’s most stunning dining locations.
Stay: Four Seasons (RO)
Days 5-6: Hunter Valley
Collect your hire car head north to Australia’s oldest wine region, the Hunter Valley, where viticulture dates back to 1828. Today the Hunter boasts more than 140 wineries and cellar door sales and tastings abound. You can balance your palate at a profusion of fabulous restaurants, then burn it all off with a round of golf or a ride or hike through the bush.
Stay: Chateau Elan at The Vintage (RO)
Days 7-8: The Blue Mountains
Drive south to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, where steep streets are lined with art deco buildings containing stylish hotels, artists’ galleries and gourmet restaurants. The main attraction, however, is the view of Jamison Valley from nearby Echo Point, a stunning panorama that takes in the iconic craggy outcrop of the Three Sisters rock stacks.
A day at leisure allows you to explore the bushwalking trails that wind among the gum trees, gorges and gullies, perhaps spotting some of the many birds that breed in the area, such as rock warblers, swift parrots, diamond firetails and the endangered regent honeyeater.
Stay: Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa (B)
Day 9: Uluru
Drop off your hire car at Sydney airport and fly to Uluru in the Northern Territory, where you’ll join Australian Pacific Touring’s (APT’s) four-day Uluru and Kings Canyon mini tour. APT is a family owned, multi-award-winning company with a 98% customer satisfaction rating.
Upon arrival at Uluru, enjoy a visit to the Cultural Centre and Maruku Arts and Craft Cooperative before joining a guided walk to the Mutitjulu waterhole. Tonight, enjoy a glass of wine as you watch an Uluru sunset.
Stay: Desert Gardens Hotel (RO)
Day 10: Uluru & Kata Tjuta
Rise early to see the astonishing chameleonic displays of colour that sunrise brings to the surface of Uluru. Then travel to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), a dramatic pile of rock domes, some 200 metres taller than Uluru itself. Continue on to Kings Canyon.
Stay: Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge (RO)
Day 11: Kings Canyon & Alice Springs
Choose between two guided walks at Kings Canyon, a 270-metre-deep chasm within Watarrka National Park, before departing for Alice Springs, the principal town of Australia’s Red Centre.
Stay: Crowne Plaza (RO)
Day 12: Cairns
Enjoy a free morning in Alice Springs before transferring to the airport for your flight to Cairns in tropical north Queensland. Transfer to the Reef House Resort & Spa.
Stay: Reef House Resort & Spa (RO)
Days 13-14: Cairns
Enjoy a full-day cruise on the Great Barrier Reef with locally owned cruise company Poseidon, with ample opportunity to snorkel and sunbathe. This is followed the next day by a ride on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, which follows a track that rises from sea level to 328 metres, passing through tunnels and over dozens of bridges between Cairns and Kuranda. The return leg, above the green forest canopy on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is perhaps even more impressive.
Stay: Reef House Resort & Spa (RO)
Days 15-17: Daintree Rainforest
Transfer to the Daintree National Park, which contains some of the oldest rainforest on the planet, dating back some 110 million years. Unsurprisingly it contains a tremendous array of animal and plant life, including 30% of the country’s frogs, reptiles and marsupials.
Your three-night stay at Silky Oaks Lodge on the edge of Mossman Gorge includes a day with the Aboriginal Walker brothers on their Daintree Dreaming Tour. The day includes a coastal walk past rainforest, beach and mangroves, a picnic lunch, a visit to the spectacular Niau Falls and the chance to swim in the heart of the rainforest.
Stay: Silky Oaks Lodge (B)
Day 18: Cairns
Transfer to the airport in Cairns for your onward flight.
Pricing information
18-day tailor-made itinerary
Prices from: £5,550 to £6,582 per person
Valid for travel: 16 April to 23 December 2012
Package includes: International & domestic flights, car hire, tours as stated & 17 nights accommodation with meals as indicated.
RO = room only B = breakfast
Terms & Conditions: Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room; prices are subject to availability and possible change; normal booking conditions apply.
To book, call 0845 643 6548
To book this travel offer, call one of our tailor-made travel experts now, quoting reference WEX102566.
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