Upon arrival at Sydney Airport you will be met and privately transferred to the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney for two nights. This afternoon you have at leisure to explore the city on your own.
After breakfast the next morning you will be met by your private guide for a wonderful family day out. Begin your day with a ferry ride to Taronga Zoo – the most picturesque in the world. Here it’s access-all-areas with a Zookeeper-led tour into the enclosures for close-up visits with the Aussie animals. Prepare the food, handle the animals and ask as many questions as you like. Next, board your private cruiser for a 2 hour spin on the harbor. After lunch on board the cruiser, hop off the boat and head to Bondi for a private surfing lesson at Australia’s most famous beach. If surfing isn’t your thing, perhaps go behind the scenes at Australia’s oldest Surf Lifesaving Club, or do the famous Cliff Walk. Finish the day with ice cream and people-watching at this iconic Sydney beach.
Today you will fly to Adelaide and on to Angorichina Station in the Flingers Ranges for three nights at this working sheep station.
Experience an authentic slice of outback life with Ian and Di Fargher, whose family has worked the beguiling red lands of the Southern Flinders for four generations. Their historic homestead is an oasis of period elegance, green lawns and manicured roses, a striking contrast to the echoing plains and ancient ranges where eagles keen.
Hosts Ian and Di provide all personal tours and serve delicious home-cooked meals – including sumptuous roast lamb under huge night skies on the back veranda. Of course, there’s always something happening on a sheep station including mustering, shearing and water runs: it’s all happening for real and you’re very welcome to be part of it. The nearby town of Blinman (population 22) is a charming old mining town with museum, café, post office and – of course – a pub.
Take a rugged 4 wheel drive tour along the Oratunga Track – a 50km long dirt track which is a thrilling excursion for 4WD enthusiasts, nature lovers, photographers, history buffs and anyone with an interest in geology.
Perhaps you may choose instead to take a scenic flight (at an additional cost) with Ian, an experienced pilot, to show you the Flinders Ranges from above. Viewed from the air, the Flinders Ranges appear as gigantic bowls formed by bent and distorted rows of hills and mountains resembling the back of a prehistoric crocodile.
Either by foot or by air a journey through the Flinders Ranges is a 60-million year journey through the Earth’s history.
You will fly back to Adelaide and on to Kangaroo Island. You will spend three nights at the Southern Ocean Lodge. Floating atop a secluded cliff on a rugged stretch of coast, the lodge commands peerless views of the wild Southern Ocean and pristine Kangaroo Island wilderness.
A range of signature activities are offered daily, allowing you to encounter rich and varied wildlife, indulge in world-class food and wine and discover the Island’s unique natural attractions. If this is all too strenuous you can opt for indulgent pampering in the Southern Spa, located in a pavilion on the top of a hill with commanding views over the wild coastal landscape.
On one of your full days you will experience a full day of private touring with former wildlife ranger and islander Craig Wickham.
After breakfast transfer to Kingscote Airport for your return flight to Adelaide and then connect with your scheduled flight to Darwin. Upon arrival in Darwin transfer to the General Aviation terminal for your 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.
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.
After breakfast you will be met by your private guide to begin your unique rainforest tour offering diversity in landscapes, wildlife and an extensive history of Australians in the early days. This morning your local guide will take you into Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures to see crocodiles and native wildlife in an authentic location. Set in the foothills of the MacAlister Range, in a World Heritage listed area, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures is home to a range of habitat types including melaleuca wetlands, riverine rainforest and eucalypt woodland.
Next it’s time to enter the Daintree section of the Wet Tropics World Heritage protected rainforest. This journey takes you up the beautiful Alexandra Range passing through rainforest. The Wet Tropics is one of the richest sites for biodiversity on earth and the Daintree is a place of spectacular beauty, rugged mountains, deep gorges and flowing rivers with numerous waterfalls. After lunch try your hand at Jungle Surfing in the Daintree Rainforest canopy. You will be flying through the trees on fox ziplines, stopping at 5 tree platforms to take in spectacular bird’s eye views over the treetops, down to cascading streams and out to the Great Barrier Reef. Jungle Surfing is safe, fun, fully guided and no experience necessary. Later in the afternoon make your way to Silky Oaks Lodge where you will be staying for the next three nights.
Spectacularly situated on the Mossman River, Silky Oaks Lodge is the region’s premier accommodation nestled on the edge of the World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park.
The Great Barrier Reef is undisputed as one of the world’s most important natural assets. It is the largest natural feature on earth stretching more than 2,300km along the northeast coast of Australia from the northern tip of Queensland to just north of Bundaberg. The Opal Reefs are long narrow reefs located along the very Outer Edge of the Great Barrier Reef. These pristine reefs are opposite the Daintree Rainforest and provide the best possible snorkeling and diving opportunities. All sites are selected for both the shallow coral gardens favored by snorkelers, and the adjacent deeper walls and drop-offs preferred by scuba divers.
Snorkeling is the easiest way to enjoy the colors and variety of fragile corals and fish life found in the shallow lagoons and you will enjoy a guided snorkeling tour.
You will also spend a day with a local Aboriginal tour guide, visiting a number of culturally significant areas and learning about the amazing relationships the Kuku Yalanji still have with their land.
In the morning you will be privately transferred to the Cairns Airport for your scheduled flight to Sydney where you will connect with your international flight home.
