East Coast tours in Australia

country:	Australia
location:	Queensland, New South Wales
trip type:	Moderate walking holidays
departures:	2008: 4 Oct 2009: 5 Oct, 9 Nov
price:	From AU $2635 - AU $3370 (6-8 days) excluding flights. This price is fixed and is all inclusive, please see below for details
offers:	Book a 2009 tour today and only pay 2008 prices. This offer closes on 31st December 2008, after which date, increased 2009 prices will apply. Don't delay as the offer is only open until tours are fully booked.

Holidays in Australia

Walking holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

This small group guided journey is ideal for the traveller seeking an authentic insight into Australia, the creation of the continent, the evolution of its unique plants and wildlife and the life of bush people, all in a limited travel time frame of 8 days.

You’ll visit and walk in 6 diverse national parks headed by the world heritage Central Eastern Rainforests and the historic connection to Gondwana, when Australia was once part of a super landmass including the Antarctica.

We recount the stories, gatherings and feasting of our Aboriginal peoples and journey through areas of folk history and bush legend.

Immerse yourself in the pristine wilderness of The Great Dividing Range, on a high point of the country and then descend to the Pacific Ocean swells pounding the most easterly point of the continent, Cape Byron. There are abundant opportunities to enjoy the Australian bird and wildlife by day and night.

Travel from the Queensland capital city of Brisbane on back tracks clear of invasive crowds, in the comfort of a luxury, air-conditioned 4WD vehicle. The tour is fully accommodated with all meals and experienced guides provided, and offered at an all-inclusive price.

6 day tour involves an additional regional flight connection.

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 1-2:	Departing from Brisbane, you’ll climb to the summit of a volcanic plug and gaze at others steeped in Aboriginal legend in the Glass House Mountains NP. Enter a world of sub-tropical rainforest protecting the world's finest stand of Bunya Pines and learn of the extraordinary nut harvest and festive gatherings of now displaced tribes. Dine in quaint boutique wineries and tea houses and roam freely with the mountain bird and wildlife. Discover the unique interdependence of species and habitats of the rainforest, the life of Brush Turkeys, Fairy Wrens and Bower Birds, of primitive grass trees that are neither grass or tree and lava created mountain balds.
Day 3:	Travel through a rich tapestry of farming lots across the Darling Downs, to villages wrapped in historic murals and the Kangaroo retreat of a true blue Australian bushie. Community traditions and the environment are in part in conflict with large scale corporate cotton and grain growing. Reflect on the courage and challenges of explorers, pioneers and settlers who earlier passed your way, lunch in a new age village coffee shop and study the character, colour and textures of the Australian bush, the magnificence and importance of the Eucalypt or Gum Tree.
Day 4:	From your comfortable environmental lodge, walk the trails of Girraween NP, the place of flowers, with adventure climbs of the Pyramid, Castle Rock and Sphinx. Here is a world of huge granite boulders and tors balancing precariously on each other, of curious reptiles, kangaroos and wallabies, the extremity in range of native species from all points of the compass, and for dining at night, delightful boutique wineries.
Day 5:	We journey down through history and a town made famous by the impassioned speech of an English immigrant, which gave birth to our nation and two other creative Aussies, one who excelled on the dizzy stages of Broadway NY and the other, author of Australia’s legendary bush poetry. You’ll visit the National Trust home of a former pastoral dynasty and walk the gorges of the Oxley Wild Rivers NP.
Day 6:	Enjoy a day of startling scenery and differences, of tortuous gorges carving through the Great Divide escarpment, the Waterfall Way, humble villages and a quaint bush chapel. There is an historic wool producing property fit for royalty, a brass and iron lace foundry operating as it did in 1872, our largest bird of prey, the Wedge-tailed Eagle, soaring up to 2000metres on the thermals, and by night a nocturnal viewing of endangered wildlife species.
Day 7:	Rise to an early walk in the wilderness of the world heritage New England NP, a reserve of geological significance, diversity of habitats, plants and animal species. Impenetrable ridges of volcanic origin dating back 18 to 500 million years protect dense sub-tropical rainforest through to high country snow gums and a windswept plateau of stinted heath, 1000 plant species in all. Be ready for a chance meeting with a Scarlet Robin, the Superb Lyrebird or Spotted-tailed Quoll. Absorb the panorama and echoing bird calls from the precipitous escarpment, views stretching 70 kms to the rolling waves of the Pacific Ocean, breaking on a coastline of golden beaches. A scenic valley drive and you are set to roam the beaches at sunset and experience the simple magic of Byron Bay, the down to earth retreat of the rich and famous and a host of alternative life-stylers drawn to the beauty and energy of the Bay.
Day 8:	An early beach walk and climb to the Cape, Australia’s most easterly point, where you can savour the dawn and sunrise, a grand vantage point for witnessing dolphins surfing on the waves, giant Manta Rays and in season, migratory whales cruising the ocean swells rolling below. A beach shack breakfast and we’ll travel into the world heritage Border Ranges NP pausing for inspirational escarpment views across the remnant chamber and caldera of an extinct volcano and its heart, Mt Warning. A relaxed drive back to Brisbane with the sun setting over the peaks and ridges of The Scenic Rim will complete a memorable journey.

how this holiday makes a difference

We’ll call on Maryanne and Peter for some lunch at their boutique Captain’s Paddock vineyard and share a private home cooked dinner and local insights with Warren and Sue at their Pyramids Road winery.

We’ll recount the legends and fate of long displaced tribes of the Bunya Mountains, reflecting on indigenous issues of today and visit Kay and Terry at their delightful mountain top Bunya Forest Gallery and tea room, providing opportunity to browse the fine arts and crafts of the local people.

You’ll visit Ned a genuine old bushie, drover, camp chef and poet at his Kangaroo Retreat and learn first hand of the impacts of large scale corporate cotton farming on the local community and wildlife.

Your lodge at the Girraween Environmental Lodge was developed by visionary conservationists in a natural setting from recycled building supplies, all with the protection of the bush and wildlife in mind.

In her home country we’ll recount the life of Judith Wright, Australia’s finest woman poet and passionate campaigner who was instrumental in the saving of The Great Barrier Reef and Fraser Island as outstanding World Heritage sites and who fought through to her death for the reconciliation of Australian Aborigines.

You’ll have various opportunities to chat with local people about the Birth of our Nation, birds and wildlife in the areas visited and to take in the alternative lifestyle, shops and craft stalls at Byron Bay, Australia’s most easterly seaside village.

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.

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.

This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.