Upon arrival in Sydney, Australia, you will be met and transferred to the Park Hyatt Sydney for two nights. During your stay in Sydney, you will tour the Sydney Opera House and climb to the top of the Harbour Bridge.
Today you fly to Ayers Rock, where you will be met and transferred to Longitude 131° for 2 nights. The award-winning luxury wilderness camp in Australia’s Red Centre is a deluxe camping experience that embraces the solitude and serenity of the sand dunes. Stay in one of only fifteen elevated tents and awake to your own private view of the sun rising over Uluru.
Renowned as the spiritual heart of Australia, the Red Centre in the Northern Territory is rich in Aboriginal culture and rugged outback beauty. Dual World Heritage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a living cultural landscape, covering an area over 311,000 acres. Australia’s most recognisable natural icon and one of the world’s largest monoliths Uluru (Ayers Rock) is the region’s gem and the iconic, sacred red domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) stand nearby.
Transfer to the Ayers Rock Airport for the scheduled flight to Darwin, then take a private charter flight to Bullo River Station for four nights. As guests of Franz and Marlee Ranacher, explore life on a truly remote outback station. Bullo River Station is a top end cattle station (ranch) from the classic mold – half a million acres of grassy plains with 8000 Brahman-cross cattle and many more wallabies, brown rivers where crocodiles lurk on the muddy banks, rugged hills inscribed with Aboriginal rock art, termite mounds, boab trees, stock horses and wild buffalo.
Guest accommodation is in a separate wing near the homestead, comprising 12 double rooms with en-suite bathrooms off one central corridor. Dinners are informal and the menu relies heavily on the two exceptional products of the property, namely fresh barramundi and organic prime beef.
There are a multitude of activities to enjoy, including fishing for barramundi, tours of Aboriginal art sites, cruise down the gorge by boat, bushwalks, bird and wildlife watching or travel to scenic vantage spots to perhaps sketch or paint – the choices are plentiful. Picnic lunches are enjoyed by peaceful billabongs or under the shade of the magnificent boab trees.
The best way to view Bullo River Station is from the air. Station Owner Franz Ranacher, a pilot and keen photographer, takes guests in the Station’s helicopter over the massive Victoria River, the property’s eastern border and the geographical edge of the Kimberley region, pointing out the features that make this part of the world unique. A one hour flight is included in your journey and a highlight of a stay at Bullo River Station.
Helicopter ride
Enjoy a final day at the station, then bid your hosts goodbye and board your private charter flight from Bullo River Station to Darwin Airport where you will connect with your scheduled flight to Cairns. You will be met and privately transferred to the Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina for one night.
Flight to Cairns
Your journey continues as you fly to Lizard Island where you will spend the next four nights at the Lizard Island Resort. Situated some 240 kilometers north of Cairns, Lizard Island is surrounded by a sea of deep aquamarine and forms part of the Great Barrier Reef near its northernmost end. The beautiful Lizard Island Resort is balanced high above the Coral Sea and set on the point at Sunset Ridge.
The beaches are plentiful, 24 in all, with fine powdery white sand, undisturbed but for the occasional footprints. Your island is for snorkeling, if you choose, or deep-sea game fishing, or diving at The Cod Hole, one of the world famous dive sites just a short boat ride away. Enjoy secluded picnics on private beaches, five star cuisine and indulging spa treatments.
Naturally many of the options on Lizard Island involve the water. Snorkeling equipment and lessons are provided. You can snorkel off a secluded beach to discover a garden of giant clams, many a meter long and some reputed to be 120 years old. Or you can explore Anchor and Watson’s bay on a catamaran or glass bottom paddle ski. Fishing enthusiasts can charter the 15.5m “Fascination”, or dive the famous Cod Hole, where you’ll come face to face with the massive, yet curious Potato Cod.
The Azure Spa offers a range of treatments inspired by nature to nurture the mind, body and spirit. The Spa was created to enhance your health and wellbeing by embracing the powerful healing qualities of nature.
Enjoy your last morning on Lizard Island before boarding your scheduled flight to Cairns. Connect with the scheduled flight from Cairns to Sydney and then connect on to your international flight home.
