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Australian Natural Adventures A specialist
travel agency for Australia travel, Australia tours, and all things
Australian.
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Australian Natural Adventures A specialist
travel agency for Australia travel, Australia tours, and all things
Australian.
|
Tourism Australia accredited Premier Aussie Specialist.
e
horseshoe of 
excellent
food and in flight service, so sit back and enjoy the hospitality,
meal and a movie. I would, however, recommend having dinner at the
airport – there are a wide range of options upstairs, at the
end of the ticket counters – then just relaxing on the plane.
*M
and
you will take the terminal shuttle
bus to that terminal – directions are clear in the international
terminal for this. On arrival in Cairns you will be met and transferred
to your hotel, 
and the sandy vegetated cay formed on one end. Michaelmas Reef lies
about 22 miles off the coast just north of Cairns, with 
most
of which is off limits, is a National Park within the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park. However, the birds are very tolerant of visitors
and stand thickly along the beach, allowing us to approach them
within a few yards. Immediately offshore in waist-deep water, the
first of the corals can be seen. For those not used to snorkelling,
there is no easier introduction—just walk up to your waist,
and bend over. 
marine biologist describes the species seen and some of the processes
at work. For those interested, there are guided snorkel tours led
by a marine biologist; for those who are certified, scuba diving
is an option, or a non-certified introductory dive. On your trip
out, one of the marine biologists explains the development of this
and other reef systems and gives us an introduction to many of the
animal species that you see. Lunch is a tropical smorgasbord. In
the afternoon you return to Cairns, under sail if the winds are
right. Your transport to the reef is a 
Today learn about Aboriginal culture at the 
introducing non-aboriginal people to the world’s oldest living
culture, while at the same time showing by example to the Aboriginal
people themselves that their culture, often ignored and looked down
upon by its own people, is of great value and interest to others
throughout Australia and the world. Through dance and 
theatre,
and traditional activities including spear and boomerang throwing,
food and medicinal plants identification, and shelter construction,
there is much to learn here about Aboriginal life. Prior t
o
Tjapukai you will be picked up for the morning 
Early
this afternoon you will be picked up for an afternoon/evening tour
to the rainforest of the Atherton Tablelands. These World Heritage
listed rainforests, at an elevation of about 2,500 ft, are home
to some of Australia’s rarest and most unusual animals, including
four kinds of very restricted possums, gliders, and the definitely
weird tree kangaroo, a kangaroo which has adapted to a life in the
trees, rather than on the ground. Your guide will take you to a
small stream to wait for platypus, the egg-laying mammal unique
to Australia, all the time describing the plants and dynamics of
the surrounding rainforest.
A variety of rainforest birds and other animals, perhaps including
the leaf-
tailed
gecko - eight inches long and colored and shaped like a piece of
bark - will be found and seen. After dinner out, a couple of hours
will be spent spotlighting for nocturnal animals, always a highlight
of the day. The return to Cairns will be late, around midnight,
but the long day will remain in your memory for years to come. D
to your accommodation, Yulara Resort, a few miles from the base
of Uluru, as Ayers Rock is known to the local Aboriginal people
(although there is a little controversy as to what Uluru really
is referring to, and by which group.) You will have a couple of
hours to relax, perhaps visiting the nearby cultural and display
center, then about one hour before sunset you will be picked up
and transferred to a sand dune a little way from Uluru. Hear a didgeridoo’s
sounds greet you, and you watch the sun set on Uluru, one of the
most inspiring sights possible. As the colors change, you will be
sipping on canapés and champagne. Afterwards sit down,
under the southern stars, for a truly memorable dinner. Once dinner
is over you have the opportunity to observe the constellations and
stars through a telescope, while your guide explains which is which.
Don’t forget to ask how to find south, and tell the time,
by the stars.
D 
art,
waterholes and appreciating the unique flora and fauna of Uluru.
A special feature is the appreciation of the exquisite as well as
the dramatic sculpturing of Uluru. There is time to amble, to absorb
images and to gain an insight into Uluru's remarkable presence,
while your guide will introduce you to the geology of Uluru and
describe how plants and wildlife have adapted and survived in such
a forbidding environment. The fascinating relationship of the Anangu
people to Uluru is also described. After lunch 
you
will explore another fascination and significant formation, Kata
Tjuta, or The Olgas. Kata Tjuta is a series of huge rounded rocks
hills, and once again an important Aboriginal area. Your guide will
show you the area, and describe stories of the Dreamtime relevant
to Kata Tjuta (not in full as the stories are only fully available
to tribal members), as well as geology and history. The day ends
with a sunset some say equal to that on Uluru itself. You return
to the resort in time for dinner.
near
the resort to once again view sunrise on Uluru, return to the airport
for your flight to Sydney, arriving about 5pm. Your hotel taxi or
shuttle to your hotel, the 
,
the historical heart of Sydney. As well as a good range of interestings
shops, some of Sydney's oldest and most colorful pubs, and best
restaurants, are found within a ten minute stroll. Australia has
developed its own cuisine, a far cry from the stodgy English-based
fare of earlier years. Restaurants featuring a fusion of Asian,
European and even native Australian food abound, often featuring
the superbly fresh fish abundantly available from Australia's long
coastline.