Wonders of Australia

Melbourne & Surrounds

Day 1: Arrive Melbourne, transfer to your accommodation for the next three nights.

Day 2: At your leisure to explore the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne. The many attractions of the city vary from the spectacular parklands and gardens that surround the city, to the museums and festivals that are a continuing part of the city life. Excellent restaurants are on every corner and cater to every taste.

Day 3: Begin your Echidna Walkabout 3-day Great Ocean Road adventure. A short drive from Melbourne, stroll through a national park looking for wild koalas, cockatoos and kookaburras. Help create habitat for a wild koala by joining the 'Make a Home for Clancy' conservation project which is one of the Koala Clancy Foundation’s many koala conservation projects. After a picnic lunch, continue to the Great Ocean Road to explore the landscapes and wildlife of this iconic coastline. Travel inland to the small town of Forrest nestled high in the forest of the Otway Ranges, for your overnight stay.

Otway Ranges & Great Ocean Road

Day 4: Begin the day at dawn with a magical canoe trip on Lake Elizabeth deep in the rainforest of the Otway Ranges. Known as one of the best places in Australia for seeing the elusive Platypus, you will paddle your canoe in the water with these fascinating mammals. After breakfast, return to the coast for more spectacular scenery. Enjoy a walk in the magnificent rainforests of the Otway National Park. Travel through Port Campbell National Park, looking out for echidnas, wallabies, lizards and colorful birds which make their home in the coastal heathlands. Linger a while to take in some of nature’s handiwork at the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, and hear stories about the terrible shipwrecks of the past.

Day 5: This morning, take one last look at the coast in the dramatic morning light before returning to Melbourne across the vast grasslands of the Western Plains. Created by intense volcanic activity over the past 2 million years, the 7000 volcanoes of the Western Plains are now extinct but the resultant savannah is pasture to a rich wool growing area – a wonderful example of Australia’s great range lands. Stop en route to drive to the top of an extinct volcano with spectacular views across the plains. Later, pass Lake Corangamite, the largest permanent lake in Australia, often covered with prolific birdlife. Return to Melbourne late afternoon for an overnight stay.

Day 6: Transfer to Melbourne airport for your flight to Cairns, where you will stay for the next three nights.

Great Barrier Reef

Day 7: Today enjoy a full day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. You will enjoy exclusive access to a stunning coral reef location selected for its superior water clarity, coral quality and overall diversity of marine life. With 5 hours at the reef, there is time to do it all. If simply relaxing and soaking up the tropical warmth is more your style, then take time out on the spacious sundeck.

Your day includes unlimited snorkel with all equipment (including wet-suits if required) and instruction, semi-submersible tours, glass-bottom boat tours, underwater observatory, marine biologist presentation, hot and cold buffet lunch, morning and afternoon tea and complimentary tea/coffee/water all day.

Daintree National Park

Day 8: This afternoon, head out on a Daintree Twilight tour. Experience the magical views of the Great Barrier Reef Drive and observe the changes in habitat diversity as the tour ventures into the Daintree Tropical Rainforest. Cruise the Daintree River spotting wildlife on a quiet, clean solar electric boat with zero environmental impact. Dining in the evening Rainforest is an experience not to miss! Then enjoy a nocturnal wildlife tour - much of the local wildlife has adopted a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid the heat of the day in the tropical climate. Perhaps the most unique part of this experience is to observe nocturnal wildlife in the Wet Tropics. Return to Cairns later evening

Day 9: Transfer to the airport for you flight to Sydney, your base for the next three nights.

Sydney & Southern Highlands

Day 8: You don't have to go far from Sydney to experience Australia's fabulous wildlife - you just have to know where to look. This is the ideal afternoon/evening tour in which to encounter iconic Australian wildlife. Travel with a small group (maximum of 14) in a luxury 4WD vehicle to the South Coast and Southern Highland areas in search of kangaroos, wallabies, platypuses, possums, wombats and koalas in their natural settings. Great bird-life viewing is possible, including parrots, lyrebirds, bowerbirds and kookaburras. There is stunning scenery and short bush walks.

Day 9: At your leisure to explore the city of Sydney. It’s been said that Sydney never sleeps. In daylight hours the city buzzes with life and remains active long after workers have left their offices. All-night pubs, cutting-edge dance clubs, and gay reviews could keep you out until dawn. Fancy a late-night meal or a final coffee - that’s not a problem. Be seen on trendy Oxford Street from Darlinghurst to Paddington or try the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, Surry Hills, the quay or the Rocks.

Day 10: Today you will transfer to Sydney airport for your departing flight.