Australia

This trip is designed for those who enjoy walking/hiking, want to explore the East Coast & Central Australian natural beauty and discover why visitors are so passionate about this beautiful region. We travel in small, intimate groups (maximum of 14 passengers) and have the benefit of a professionally trained local guide who knows the best places on the East Coast, the national parks, aboriginal artworks and wilderness areas to respectfully observe wildlife, to enjoy fun, adventurous activities and appreciate the flavours of the local culture.

This tour is camping based from March through October and accommodation based for the rest of the year. We will overnight in state/national/private owned campgrounds or in locally owned 3-4 star hostels and campground cabins. When camping, our group is self sufficient as we provide camping gear and a portable kitchen. When lodging, we eat our meals in smaller locally owned restaurants. Throughout the trip we utilize established local suppliers for activities en route that help support local business and keep money in the community.

We have over 15 years of experience operating small-group adventure tours (14 client maximum) throughout Australia that foster understanding, appreciation and conservation of the cultures and environments we visit. We are committed to working with our clients and the peoples of our host destinations to ensure direct economic benefits at a community level. Whether we visit the Great Barrier Reef or Uluru (Ayers Rock), we aim to operate beyond best practice guidelines and to provide a tour programme that creates a positive impact on the lands and people that we visit and a lasting impression for those who travel with us.

We achieve this by implementing the following methods: The tour is led by one of our fully trained local guides. Prior to leading our groups, guides must successfully complete our pre-season intensive training programme which lasts approximately 4 weeks. During this time we support the guides with accommodation and activities. We have heavily invested in a fleet of Mercedes vans. This gives us the highest possible kilometer per liter return, thus greatly reducing fuel usage & CO2 emissions.

We utilize local suppliers for accommodation and activities throughout to ensure the economic benefit stays in the local community. We have supported a local aboriginal community (Manyallaluk) for more than 13 years, helping them to establish an ongoing tourist venture for the indigenous people. This also includes support through purchases of goods their art shop. This includes working with local operators and lodging in locally owned hostels/cabins whenever possible. When this is a lodging based tour, we endeavour to eat our meals in locally owned, family run restaurants which supports local business, as well as allows passengers to experience local flavour and mix with local people when appropriate. When this is a camping based tour, we utilize state/national/private owned campgrounds and our group is self sufficient as we provide camping gear and portable kitchen to our passengers. We shop locally and prepare nearly all of our meals (when camping) together, which supports local business, as well as allows passengers to experience local flavour and mix with local people when appropriate.

On this tour, we include entry admission to all national parks & the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as listed in the itinerary. Fees support park upkeep and conservation projects, and we encourage our clients to visit the visitor centres for additional information about the region. 100% of our UK corporate headquarters’ power is green (renewable).

Our published traveller’s code of conduct is further promoted by our leaders throughout the tour, and particularly in the first night’s orientation talk. If you would like a copy of our RT policy or traveller’s code of conduct, please contact us prior to your trip or alternatively, download directly from our website. This includes policies on the following:

Recycling - Established policy to support recycling (and to educate our clients on recycling) on all of our tours in Australia. We aim to utilize properties that recycle glass, PET, aluminium and plastics.

“Leave No Trace” - Leave No Trace is a national and international campaign designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts about how to reduce their impacts when enjoying the outdoors. Because this trip spends much time exploring the beaches, National Parks and "wilderness" areas, familiarizing clients with the "Leave No Trace" ethic will help minimize the impact on the natural environment. We have implemented a “pickup” policy were we aim to leave a campsite cleaner than when we arrived. Our local guides also “pickup” rubbish whilst on hikes within the national parks.