Australia holidays, outback to reef tour

country:	Australia
location:	Queensland, Great Barrier Reef
trip type:	Introductory walking holidays
departures:	2010: 12 Jul
price:	AU $5925 (14 days) excluding flights. This price is fixed and is all inclusive, please see below for details
vouchers:	Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday

Holidays in Australia here

Great Barrier Reef holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

Join our small group guided journeys into Australia’s remote and unique outback, with its vast open space and legendary rural properties towering sandstone gorges and escarpments, contrasting with the pristine wonders of the world heritage, Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave and Fraser Islands.

This is a soft adventure, active holiday for the discerning collector of authentic experiences, including inspiring guided walks in 6 diverse National Parks. Enjoy “a world legacy of natural history”, the wildlife and flora, found only on this isolated continent down under. Discover living fossils and giant flightless birds, colourful coral gardens and marine life, a rich history of pioneers and bush legends.

Travel the back tracks clear of invasive crowds, in the comfort of a luxury, air-conditioned 4WD vehicle. The tour is a delightfully balanced Australiana experience, fully accommodated with all meals and entries, experienced guides, an all-inclusive price and the opportunity to immerse yourself in local life.

Price includes: Quality accommodations, meals and tea breaks, on tour transport, transfers and guides, park fees, special entries and side tours as advertised, tour briefing function and concluding dinner, wine with dinner, thoughtful tour memento and travel treats, access to reference library and field equipment, pre and post tour travel advice, contributions to carbon offset tree planting programs in Australia.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	We travel the highway west of Brisbane over the Great Dividing Range to the colourful and rich farming lands of the Darling Downs, continuing to the town of Mitchell in memory of one of Australia’s great inland explorers who discovered this territory.
Day 2:	We continue west for the outback and arrive at the legendary Ray Station, an original settler property still owned by descendents of the pioneering Tully and Durack families. This is a combined sheep and cattle property inextricably connected to greatness and hosted by a couple who have a passion for their forebears and a deep insight into their family and indigenous history.
Day 3:	Today we immerse ourselves in Australian outback pioneering history and farm life and visit field sites of boulder opals, the stunning feature of some of Australia’s finest handcrafted jewellery. W’ell enjoy authentic camp oven cooking, in style, with bush poetry and entertainment to complete the genuine Australian farm-stay experience.
Day 4:	We travel a short distance to the tiny town of Windorah or Jundah in the heart of Queensland’s channel country where arguably Australia’s most legendary creek is oddly fed by two rivers and from a dry sandy bed, dotted with oasis waterholes, in the wet season it can swell to 60 kms wide. This country with its rich red desert sand ridges and cattle properties, some as big as nations, is part of the Australian folklore.
Day 5:	Today we follow back tracks through the vast channel country and rivers north to the hub of Longreach, thriving centre of the wool and cattle industries and site of the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. We’ll visit Australia’s Stonehenge along the way and soak up all the emotiona of the outback, of a sense of space and imagine how people overcome the tyranny of distance in their everyday lives.
Day 6:	Early morning we’ll enjoy a fascinating visit to the School of Long Distance Education where the tyranny of distance presents no challenge to isolated children and educators of this Australian institution. Here we hope to tune into the largest classroom in the world, live “on air” with a lesson in progress. A memorable experience. Then it is on to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre, one of the finest national exhibits in Australia and paying tribute to the explorers, pioneers, stockmen and ringers, Aboriginal peoples and the women of the outback who helped to open up our vast country.
Day 7:	We leave Longreach on a back-track journey to the tiny village of Tambo, known for its industrious ladies who in hard times nurtured an unusual enterprise gaining world fame. We cross the Barcoo River, also part of Australia’s folklore and discover that Australia, one of the driest continents on earth, has an extensive inland, underground water reservoir, known as the Great Artesian Basin on which all early settlement of the outback was reliant.
Day 8:	Today we travel from Tambo to the jewel of the Central Highlands, Carnarvon Gorge, along the historic Wilderness Way where bullock team trails serviced the pioneering pastoral industry and early massacres resulted from the conflict between indigenous peoples and new settlers. We will include a walk in the remote Salvator Rosa NP with its imposing Spy Glass mountain and watch in anticipation as the great white escarpment emerges. We’ll settle in to our upmarket safari cabins for the following three nights amidst primitive Macrozamia Palms and grazing wildlife.
Day 9:	A full day walk in the towering Carnarvon Gorge with its many delightful creek crossings, feature side gorges and expansive Aboriginal Rock Art galleries, primitive ferns, inspiring amphitheatre, bird and wildlife.
Day 10:	Adopted as an optional mid tour leisure day, we will consider the further exploration of side gorges, a climb to the upper head of the main gorge, platypus spotting in the creek as possible activities for those who so desire. Otherwise it is a great environment to put the feet up and relax awhile.
Day 11:	We take a comfortable country highway drive east to the coastal township of Agnes Waters, firstly passing through cattle fattening and major coal mining regions taking in the villages of Biloela, Banana, Moura, Bauhinia and Rolleston. We are passing through local government areas, the size of Belgium. Open cut mining and discussion over green house gas emissions from coal fired power is bound to occur. Departing Carnarvon we should enjoy chance sightings of large plains roaming birds unique to Australia, the Emu and Bustard as well as Kangaroos and Wallabies. A late afternoon roam on the beach a few steps from our luxury apartments will complete the day.
Day 12:	An early in house breakfast and we head for the ocean going catamaran service at the historic village of 1770 and a spectacular day on Lady Musgrave Island a true coral cay located on the southern extremity of the Great Barrier Reef. Here is a pristine island hideaway of coral sands, remote from the mainstream tourist invasion where we will view wonderful coral gardens, colourful marine life, an azure lagoon protected by a horseshoe reef located some distance out in the Pacific Ocean, island walks and snorkelling in a wonderful idyllic setting.
Day 13:	Today we’ll travel south through fertile red soil country to the iconic Sunshine Coast centre of Noosa in time for an afternoon swim in the Pacific Ocean or some village browsing. We’ll conduct a briefing on the following days visit to Fraser Island, one of the most unique islands in the world and part of the Great Sandy Straits.
Day 14:	A continental style breakfast available in our rooms will facilitate an early departure on a special 4WD beach safari to the iconic world heritage Fraser Island. A full day of adventure and wonder including 90 miles of remote beaches (4WD road), multi-coloured sands, sandy forest tracks, picturesque “perched” lakes and magnificent forests growing in sand, expansive sand blows all unique features of the world’s largest sand island. Fraser Island was the focus of an aggressive conservation battle in the early 70’s leading to its world heritage declaration.
Day 15:	We start the day with a popular headland walk in Noosa National Park with its scenic beaches and coves and viewing marine life (migrating Humpback Whales in season), bronzed Aussie surfers on the waves, abundant birdlife and occasional Koalas. We have a short inspection of unique Wallum Country with its birdlife and flora then we travel south to Brisbane via Mt Ngungun (253m) one of the feature Glass House Mountains discovered and named by English seafaring explorer Captain James Cook. We’ll walk to the summit of this volcanic plug, to reflect on the land forms which stimulated the dreamtime stories of local Aboriginal peoples and it is here we will reflect on a wonderful journey of high contrast from the outback to the reef and tropical coast.

how this holiday makes a difference

We’ll engage the services of local or indigenous guides for their interpretation of the magnificent Carnarvon Gorge and dine with the locals in the village pub at Tambo.

You’ll visit the remote Ray Station owned by the one generational family since initial settlement.

For an inspiring insight into genuine remote outback life we visit the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Longreach School of Distance Education.

All our guests receive a written brief, pre-tour, in which they are referred to our Travel Ethic, minimising the tour impact on the environments we visit. Compliance with the Travel Ethic and the values of Responsible Travel form part of the Terms and Conditions, when booking.

You will also receive a questionnaire, pre-tour, in which you can profile your expectations of the tour, your special interests and declare the importance of sustainable tourism and the environment to you.

Our pre-tour “meet and greet” briefing includes references to the Travel Ethic and Responsible Travel and values are highlighted spontaneously throughout the tour.

Your tour is extensively researched for local content and “authenticity” and where available local guides are engaged in support. In addition your tour leader imparts a much broader study of Australia’s evolution, land management and conservation issues and knowledge drawn from research on other tours, by the company.

This tour provides an up close viewing of open cut coal mines, sure to stimulate discussion on the clean air emissions debate.

Our tours also provide an extensive library of nature based field reference books, background information on local features, indigenous culture, conservation and history plus select DVD’s on these subjects for special viewings.

Glaringly orchestrated and themed, mainstream tourist traps are not featured or included in our tours.

Through annual and access fees to national park authorities we provide revenue essential to the protection and maintenance of the parks we visit. We comply with the management plans of each park and assist by reporting adverse events or special findings to the park management.

We collect and thoughtfully dispose of any rubbish sighted in the parks visited. We retain and dispose of our own rubbish in a similar manner.

We minimise the use of disposable packaging and recycle all catering items where possible.

We conduct limited departures to any one tour or destination so minimising our impact on any one pristine environment.

All catering is arranged or purchased locally or home made.

In most instances quality accommodation is chosen on the basis of local family ownership and small business management and with added practices in place, particularly saving of water and energy.

Our tour group sizes are limited to 8 to 15 people maximum, to minimise any negative impact on the environment, the enjoyment of other people, the capacity of community services, the safety and stress of wildlife. We encourage the practice of low noise bushwalking and special solo activities making our guests at one with the environment.

We minimise the use of our tour vehicle in preference for walking, travelling only on formed roads and tracks, applying the annual recorded mileage to a carbon offset program.

Vehicle fuel and service requirements are purchased locally.

We conduct our operations from a minimalist city office under a policy of recycling paper and clerical supplies, minimising power and water usage in a current drought affected environment and engaging a network of expert small business services as required.

Our operation is working toward a carbon neutral status with some proceeds from each tour directed to accredited tree planting programs to offset unavoidable CO2 emissions as well as the regeneration of degraded lands and enhancement of wildlife habitats.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

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