Perth, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs, Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, Cairns, Daintree, Brisbane
Sydney

Day 01 PERTH
Arrive at Perth International Airport.. On arrival, a brief orientation tour will acquaint you with this compact city on the banks of the sparkling Swan River, before checking in at our hotel for the next three nights.

Day 02
Breakfast, Lunch
MARGARET RIVER
Western Australia's South-West region is blessed with a stunning combination of scenic beauty, premium wines and unique nature based experiences. Along with stunning  beaches, rivers, beautiful small towns and the pristine Indian Ocean coastline the South-West is pure indulgence. Travel south via Mandurah and Bunbury to Yallingup where we are greeted by a group of Wardandi people at the Wardan Aboriginal Cultural Centre. The Wardandi people are the traditional owners of the majority of land now known as the Margaret River Region. Join an Aboriginal guide on a leisurely "Bush Story Trail" to learn about bush tucker, traditional tool making and hear Aboriginal 'dream time' stories. Enjoy lunch and explore the township of Margaret River. Arrive at Mammoth Cave for a guided tour of one of the worlds most amazing cave systems then indulge in some the Margaret River regions world class wines as we make a visit one of the areas renowned
wineries. Stop to view the coastal town of Busselton, boasting the longest wooden
jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. View this astonishing 1.8km long Jetty boasting an underwater reef that is host to an amazing variety of coral, fish and other sea life.
Follow the coast home to Perth.

Day 03
Breakfast
PERTH
A day at leisure to explore this very green city’s many parks, elegant array of turn-of-the-century buildings and fine central shopping and restaurant area. You may wish to stroll along the riverside to the jetty, where pleasurecraft depart regularly for Fremantle, to take the approximately two-hour cruise, passing the fabulous waterfront homes of Australia’s multimillionaires. Fremantle’s old port is visited at the end and the town’s old-English colonial atmosphere is yours to enjoy before taking the fast and regular train service back to Perth later in the day.

Day 04
Breakfast
PERTH • AYERS ROCK
Early morning transfer to Perth Airport for your direct flight to the Red Centre. On arrival at Ayers Rock we transfer to the luxurious Voyages Sails in the Desert Hotel, our base for the next two nights and where we experience our first views of the famous Rock.

Day 05
Breakfast
AYERS ROCK • THE OLGAS
Witnessing the sun rise on the Rock is our first breathtaking experience this morning, after which we tour its base, containing fascinating caves sacred to the Aborigines.
In the afternoon we travel to the nearby Olgas, an equally impressive collection of smaller rounded rocks, known to the Aborigines as ‘many heads’. Mount Olga is higher than Ayers Rock and the shaded valleys and pools are a delight to explore. This evening we return to the Rock, one of the most peaceful and otherworldly locations imaginable, and enjoy a glass of wine while watching the sunset wash its rainbow colours over the Rock’s surface.

Day 06
Breakfast
AYERS ROCK • ALICE SPRINGS
The freshness of a new day is the most delightful time in the desert and with luck you will be rewarded with a magnificent sunrise before we set out for spectacular Kings Canyon, containing the ‘lost city’ with its strange building-like outcrops, and the lush palms of the gorge called ‘the Garden of Eden’. The canyon’s walls soar over 200 metres high,
offering magnificent views from the rim. We continue on to Alice Springs and our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Alice Springs.

Day 07
Breakfast
ALICE SPRINGS • DARWIN
We enjoy a brief tour of ‘The Alice’, immortalised by Nevil Shute, before transferring to the airport for the two-hour flight to Darwin. Here we transfer you to our hotel for the next two nights, and after settling in you will be able to stroll in the delightful tropical gardens that rim the curving shoreline opposite the hotel. Evening free to sample either the hotel’s excellent restaurant or one of the many in the city, where seafood, including the famous local barramundi, is a speciality.

Day 08
Breakfast
DARWIN
Every day at high tide one of the most amazing examples of humans communicating with nature occurs at the end of Darwin’s esplanade as hundreds of fish from the deep enter the shallows looking for a free meal. Visitors feed them from the submerged end of a sloping ramp. Aquascene is open only at feeding time, which varies according to the
tides. Today is free to explore the city and the harbour, twice the size of Sydney, with its scattering of sandy beaches. It is the playground of dolphins, sea snakes and turtles. A cruise can be recommended.

Day 09
Breakfast, Dinner
KAKADU
We begin a three day safari into ‘Crocodile Dundee’ country with a voyage on the Adelaide River where, in the safety and comfort of our airconditioned boat, we can watch huge crocodiles jumping high in the air to seize food being offered to them. We journey on into Kakadu National Park, home of the Aborigines for at least 25,000 years. This World Heritage Site belongs to them and traditions of rock painting have been passed on through the generations. We stop at the beautiful escarpment of Ubirr Rock and make the gentle climb past rocky overhangs and shallow caves that have afforded cool, habitable homes and where a rich legacy of paintings commemorate
events, animals and spiritual figures. Aboriginal paintings are often superimposed, expressing the flux of time and celebrating the abundant resources here of fish, waterfowl, wallabies, goannas, echidnas and yams. Our hotel tonight is the Holiday Inn Gagudju Crocodile in the heart of Kakadu.

Day 10
Breakfast,
Lunch, Dinner
KAKADU • KATHERINE
An early morning departure for Nourlangie Rock Art Site, a massive outcrop and place of major significance to the Aboriginal people and their dreamtime. We continue to Cooinda for a boat cruise on Yellow Waters Billabong to observe the fantastic birdlife and saltwater crocodiles. As we wend our way through a narrow water channel bounded by banks of lush vegetation, an expert guide points out and describes the colourful species. Here is an opportunity to take memorable photographs. After the cruise we have lunch in Cooinda before continuing onto our overnight destination Katherine, a township long important as being the first site of running water north of Alice Springs. Here we stay at the All Seasons Katherine, whose tropical gardens contain a welcoming swimming pool.

Day 11
Breakfast, Lunch
KATHERINE • DARWIN
Another unforgettable experience begins with our visit to world-famous Katherine Gorge, where sections have been carved out by the river and separated by rapids. We take to the water, changing boats halfway to cross the rocks and enter the most spectacular section. After the cruise, we have time to inspect the National Park Display Centre or enjoy a walk in the Gorge Park before journeying on to idyllic Edith Falls. Here, in a setting as romantic as any film, we enjoy a picnic and chance to bathe in a forest-surrounded pool beneath cascading waterfalls. We return to Darwin for the evening.

Day 12
Breakfast, Dinner
DARWIN • CAIRNS • DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK
An early morning flight from Darwin to Cairns on the North Queensland coast from where we are transferred to Voyages Silky Oaks Lodge, the ultimate rainforest resort in the heart of the Daintree National Park and our base for the next three nights. From here we can explore the natural wonders of this region, a protected World Heritage Site, surrounded on all sides by forested hills. Dinner is at your hotel this evening.

Day 13
Breakfast, Lunch
GREAT BARRIER REEF
After breakfast, a highlight for anyone experiencing Australia’s natural wonders is a trip to the Barrier Reef. We depart this morning and enjoy a delightful cruise with lunch on board ship. At the Reef we can enjoy snorkelling or ride in a semi-submersible submarine. The richness of the coral and marine life as fish swim all around is unforgettable. We return to Silky Oaks for the evening and dinner.

Day 14
Breakfast,
Lunch, Dinner
DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK
We leave after breakfast for a full day Cape Tribulation tour, which includes a cruise on the Daintree River followed by a guided walk through the rainforest at Marrdja Boardwalk or Noahs Creek walk. We have lunch at Myall Creek, a safe swimming haven all year round. In the afternoon we walk along Southern Cape Tribulation Beach to view Cape Tribulation before returning to Voyages Silky Oaks. To lepidopterists, specialists in the classification and collection of butterflies, Daintree is a particular delight; as it is also to bird-watchers, who are likely to see the most colourful and exotic species. Few could
fail to be thrilled by the fauna and flora on display and at Voyages Silky Oaks, special care has been taken to ensure minimum disturbance to the local habitat. Walks are a delight and you can sit on the terrace enjoying tea and communing with the universe, as unbound by time as the venerable salt-water crocodiles whiling away the centuries in the
Daintree River’s mangrove swamps. Dinner this evening is at your hotel.

 
Day 15
Breakfast
DAINTREE NATIONAL PARK • BRISBANE
After breakfast we travel to Cairns Airport for your flight to Brisbane. The city centre is located on a sharp bend of the river, curving around the botanical gardens which our hotel for the next two nights, the Royal on the Park, overlooks. After transfer and check-in, you are ideally placed to stroll out for a quick orientation of the city whose major sights are all encompassable on foot. This is Australia’s third largest city and naturally there are some
excellent restaurants, particularly those selling locally caught fish. The hotel itself offers high-quality informal dining.

Day 16
Breakfast
BRISBANE
One of Australia’s finest wildlife parks is the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, with over 100 of the cuddly animals in residence. You will be greeted by friendly kangaroos and wallabies and be able to see the native koala. We visit there and also give you free time in the city to shop and explore. There are a range of fashionable shops and fine restaurants.

Day 17
Breakfast
BRISBANE • SYDNEY
We transfer to Brisbane Airport for your flight to Sydney, where on arrival you will be transferred to the XXXX Hotel, our hotel for the next three nights. From the hotel, it is a short taxi ride to the main shopping areas, which can also be reached on foot, as can the historic Rocks precinct at Sydney Harbour itself. Tonight you have many splendid eating-out choices.

Day 18
Breakfast
SYDNEY
This morning we have arranged a tour to familiarise you with the city, including a stop at its famous Opera House. This afternoon we board a cruise vessel for a view of Sydney Harbour from the water. Departing Circular Quay, we pass the sumptuous homes of the rich, with gardens down to the water’s edge. The cruise takes us around Sydney Harbour and deep into the upper reaches of splendid Middle Harbour.

Day 19
Breakfast
SYDNEY
Today is free to enjoy all this fabulous cosmopolitan city has to offer - from the fine shops to the grand sweep of the botanical gardens curving their way along the waterfront.

Day 20
Breakfast
SYDNEY • DEPART
We transfer to Sydney International Airport to check in for your homebound flight.

END OF ARRANGEMENTS