Adventure of Australia

This two-week journey takes you into dazzling landscapes, rich Aboriginal culture, and classic local characters from the Red Centre to the lush, tropical Top End. This is the Outback Adventure that ticks every box.

Your Guided Holiday Includes:

• 14 nights accommodation and 24 meals
• An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
• Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi
• Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
• Scenic Cruise on Katherine Gorge, Yellow Water Billabong, and Darwin Harbour
• Local destination specialists throughout

***Rate is based on twin share for travel 12 April – 26 April 2022. Other dates available, a surcharge may apply.***

***Single traveller pricing also available.***

Highlights: Adelaide, Flinders Ranges, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Nitmiluk & Kakadu National Park, Litchfield, Darwin.

Day 1: Adelaide
This beautiful city is known for its festivals, sporting events, colonial churches, architecture, amazing food, and as the gateway to renowned wine regions the Barossa and McLaren Vale. Begin your journey on a city sights tour passing the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Parliament House and Adelaide Oval. Enjoy a guided tour of Adelaide Central Market. Visit your guide’s favourite stalls in this fresh produce market of more than 80 traders—browsing right where the chefs and locals shop. Try Artisan cheeses, Australian native foods, fresh fruits and nuts. Celebrate with a Welcome Reception at your hotel’s, the Crowne Plaza, own Luna10 Bar sipping a local beverage as you bask in stunning views from the city's tallest building and get to know your fellow travellers. Enjoy a delicious dinner at the Japanese-inspired Koomo Restaurant and Bar.

Day 2: Flinders Ranges
A big day of art, culture, and wine. You’ll begin travelling to Clare Valley, one of Australia’s oldest and undiscovered wine regions, to join a Local Specialist at Knappstein Enterprise Winery. Sip on award-winning wines like the area’s celebrated Rieslings and world-class reds and tour the heritage-listed property. Then it's time for an exclusive look at the world-renowned panoramic landscapes at the Jeff Morgan Gallery. Jeff himself will greet you for a tour of his 30-metre panoramic paintings of the Flinders Ranges. Be amazed at the dramatic scenery of the rugged Australian outback before exploring it for yourself. Head to the heart of the Flinders Ranges for your stay at Wilpena Pound Resort - tucked in South Australia’s largest mountain range, owned by the Aboriginal Adnyamathanha people who have lived here for thousands of years. You’ll be welcomed by an Aboriginal Elder, learn about the area, and, with your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, help by contributing towards the future of the Aboriginal people.

Day 3: Port Augusta
A full day of history with epic views of Wilpena Pound at Wangara Lookout. Enjoy a short walk along a creek through bush and pines arriving at Hills Homestead—eyes peeled for kangaroos along the way. At the cottage, learn about the original settlers who struggled to survive in this harsh environment. Then head through Pichi Richi Pass, part of the first stage of the Great Northern Railway in 1879 linking Port Augusta and Darwin, to Quorn. Soak in Quorn’s history as a vital railway junction during World War II before arriving in Spencer Gulf’s Port Augusta. Here you’ll visit the Wadlata Outback Centre, traveling through their "Tunnel of Time" to the days of the dinosaurs learning how the Flinders Ranges and Outback evolved, the people who once owned the land, and those who live there today. End the day relaxing with a three-course dinner at a local Aussie pub.

Day 4: World Opal Capital Coober Pedy
Dive into the history with a visit to Woomera, a former rocket-testing site of the 1960s. Hear its storied history at the Woomera Heritage Centre and Missile Park. Its “mining time” as you journey through salt-lake country to the opal capital of the world in Coober Pedy. Here over half the population of this town live underground in opal mining caves to escape the heat. A Local Specialist will explain different types of opals and take you down and through a labyrinth of old mine shafts, including a church and a private residence - showcasing the different types of early and modern dugout homes. Browse opal jewellery before your unforgettable Stays With Stories accommodation with a chance to experience ‘dugout’ living. Explore the underground shopping arcade, underground bar, and historic display on mining, opals and what it’s really like to live in Outback Australia.

Day 5: Uluru
Journey to the heart of the Red Centre to World Heritage listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience through your visit exploring the iconic, rusty red home of Uluru. You’ll experience the true beauty over a classic sundowner of appetizers and sparkling wine. Sit back as the surrounding grasses blow and the sky lights up in red and orange illuminating 'The Rock’ rising 348 metres high. Gazing up at its massive structure, you’ll feel a deep appreciation and connection to this vast land. After an unforgettable sunset, head to your Stays With Stories experience and home for the next two nights at the Desert Gardens Hotel. This indigenous owned hotel is surrounded by the red dirt and desert trees and the perfect spot to immerse yourself in nature. Join an optional Uluru Barbecue Dinner complete with a stargazing tour of the vast Southern sky.

Day 6: Uluru & Kata Tjuta
Rise and shine early today to witness a once in a lifetime sunrise at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Hot cocoa in hand, sit back as the sun lights up Uluru and its desert surroundings. Get more acquainted with the park on a drive with your Travel Director before putting boots to the ground on a guided walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole. At the base of Uluru, learn about its ancient rock art that has been preserved for hundreds of years, putting history in the words and pictures of those who’ve lived it. You have some free time to sit by the pool or visit the art galleries and Town Square shopping village before capping off the day with a guided walk through Kata Tjuta’s thirty-six domes of red-hued sedimentary rock through Walpa (“wind”) Gorge to a lookout. Experience another magnificent Red Centre sunset paired with canapés and sparkling wine in this more secluded spot.

Day 7: Kings Canyon
If you loved yesterday's sunrise, take the private Optional Experience at the Field of Light. Against the desert backdrop, you’ll watch 50,000 frosted glass spheres light up Uluru in violet, blue, and white like a field of flowers. Continue your desert adventure on an epic drive from Uluru to Watarrka National Park exploring the ancient walls of Kings Canyon that rise 100 metres above Kings Creek. Take a guided walk along the sandy creek bed surrounded by the striped cliff walls of golden yellow, orange, and red. After a day in the desert, your home for the night is Kings Canyon Resort where you’ll enjoy a dinner surrounded by desert-scapes and a sunset over Carmichael Crag.

Day 8: Alice Springs
Today experience Kings Canyon with an unforgettable desert sunrise and trek. Climb to the top of the canyon for a walk around its semi-circular edge. After your ascent, leave the sandstone formations behind to drop into the Garden of Eden’s shaded, lush oasis of greenery. After a big morning, refresh at your hotel before a drive through the Outback to central Australia’s Alice Springs. Learn how this town originated on your visit to the circa 1871 Telegraph Station. Hear its beginnings of sending messages between Darwin and Adelaide with a single wire, not only connected Australia’s north and south, but also the first communication link between Australia and England. Now it's off to Anzac Hill for panoramic views over ‘The Alice.’ Pay a visit to the hilltop Anzac Memorial basking in the views of the Western and Eastern MacDonnell ranges.

Day 9: Alice Springs
Dive into culture at Alice Springs Desert Park as an Aboriginal guide shares the culture and traditions of the local Arrernte People. Learn about desert birds like the Barn Owl, emu, and Princess Parrot and animals including the dingo, red kangaroo, and Western Quoll. Meet the magnificent Royal Flying Doctor Service, learning how they provide emergency medical assistance in the Outback. Visit their centre full of history and peak inside a replica of one of their small planes. Continue your day of culture at the Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre.Connect with locals, brothers Tom and Danny Falzon, learning about their sustainable, wind and solar powered lifestyle in the rugged Outback. Enjoy a home-cooked Be My Guest Aussie BBQ as you hear stories of ecology, culture, and life on the farm. You’ll also be treated to a star talk, complete with telescopes, guitar and didgeridoo.

Day 10: Tennant Creek
Kick off your last day in Alice Springs with a fascinating visit to the School of the Air, “the world’s largest classroom.” Tour this remote school with a Local Specialist, see the teachers in action, and learn how they were the first to use two-way radio broadcasts to educate remote students, providing support to children living in the surrounding isolated communities. Your next stop is Karlu Karlu, an amazing outcrop of precariously balanced granite boulders. Stroll among these massive rocks of up to six metres high that continue to crack and change shape, believed by the Warmungu Aboriginal people to be the fossilised eggs of the Rainbow Serpent. Immerse yourself in the area’s history at your overnight in the former 1930s gold-mining town of Tennant Creek.

Day 11: Katherine
See another side of the Outback wetting your whistle at the historic Daly Waters Pub. This quirky pub has seen its cast of characters from the days when Qantas’ pilots used to stop to refuel on the nearby dirt runway to today’s patrons who follow the “leave something behind” motto sticking a collection of memorabilia to the walls. Grab a cold schooner and leave your own treasures behind before continuing to Mataranka’s hot springs. From one “watering hole” to another, here you’ll enjoy a refreshing swim in its crystal-clear, thermal springs or grab a seat on its stairs and seating areas and soak in the healing waters. Journey to where the Outback meets the Tropics arriving in your centrally located hotel in Katherine for a late dinner, and another pool dip.

Day 12: Nitmiluk & Kakadu National Park
At Nitmiluk National Park you’ll be accompanied by an indigenous Local Specialist and embark on a riverboat cruise along the ancient waterway of Katherine Gorge. After admiring the steep cliff walls, and freshwater crocodiles on the banks, take to the trails admiring fascinating indigenous rock art. A second boat is waiting to take you to the even bigger cliffs of the deep river gorge. Learn of the traditional Jawoyn landowners and hear stories of how the gorge was formed. Continue your national park adventures deep into Kakadu National Park & UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cruise the Yellow Water Billabong, famous for its diverse species of birdlife and crocodiles. This evenings stay is in the heart of Kakadu at the indigenous owned and totally unique - in the shape of a crocodile.

Day 13: Darwin
Dive into culture at Ubirr, one of Kakadu’s, and Australia’s, renowned Aboriginal rock art sites. Learn the history and stories behind the images in this rocky landscape. Wander the loop trail past caves and overhangs. Stop at Nadab lookout at Ubirr for the most amazing view over the Kakadu wetlands. From rock art to modern cityscapes, next is the multicultural city of Darwin. At your hotel on the Darwin Esplanade, watch a movie under the stars at the Deckchair Cinema or soak up the atmosphere and flavours of the Mindil Beach Sunset Market for dinner and the iconic sunset.

Day 14: Litchfield
Begin by visiting Litchfield National Park’s iconic Magnetic Termite mounds, unique to Northern Australia, that are over 100 years and up to three metres high. Stop at Florence Falls for a walk before venturing to Wangi Falls to enjoy a cooling dip in its large swimming holes lined by tumbling waterfalls and vined forests. Return to Darwin for a celebratory evening as you set sail on Darwin Harbour for Farewell Sunset Dinner Cruise. Enjoy a range of options from the Territory-inspired banquet dinner and watch the Darwin skyline on full display. Learn Darwin history and keep your eyes out for crocodiles, dolphins, turtles and dugongs.

Day 15: Darwin
It’s a been two weeks of sun, fun, and adventure in the outback, but all good things must come to an end. Say farewell to your fellow travellers this morning over breakfast.

Package price is based on 2 people and is priced in Australian Dollars. Pricing is correct at the time of submission but is subject to change without notice. Valid for departures from 15 Apr 2022 – 19 Aug 2023. Blackout/Surcharges may apply over special events, public holidays, and holiday periods. Airport transfers are not included. Tour dates listed are subject to minimum numbers and operational capabilities. Tour starts in Adelaide and ends in Darwin and is operated by Trafalgar.