Pricing
Prices:
Per person sharing room from $12,980 for this 13-day sample itinerary
Internal air per person (estimate) $1,290
For more information, to book, or to speak to an R. Crusoe & Son tour specialist, please call us at 800-585-8555.
Local Flavor
No matter how much Australia might resemble the last European country
you’ve visited, this giant of an island-continent is worlds apart from
anywhere else you’ve been.
Here the seasons are reversed, trees shed their
bark rather than their leaves, and strange beasts—not just kangaroos, but bandicoots,
wombats, and Tasmanian devils—roam the mysterious terrain.
But toss out all
preconceptions, for this is also the home of the world’s most recognizable opera
house, quaint Victorian neighborhoods, and sophisticated, international haute
cuisine.
That’s Australia for you—wonderfully enigmatic, to say the least.
Captain Cook’s Rediscovered Australia: From Sydney to Rain Forest to Reef.
This is a 13-day sample itinerary. Remember that R. Crusoe can create an Australia journey of any length to meet your exact specifications.
Isolation does strange things to a continent. It breeds wildlife that’s just a little bit wilder: wallabies, wombats, koalas, numbats, platypuses, kangaroos, even a cat that looks like a mongoose. It has an odd effect on the other inhabitants, too. Fills people’s heads with strange notions about diversity and egalitarianism. Perverts their priorities. Imagine—a leisure ethic promoting play (even at the expense of work). Not a serious place at all.
Better go there, quick. Time for an international adventure.
Across the Pacific to Sydney. On a private guided tour, cruise the city’s magnificent harbor, voted top in the world by mariners and landlubbers alike. Spectacular from every vantage: the Rocks, Macquarie Street, Bondi Beach, Watsons Bay, and darling Darling Harbor. Roam through the best city neighborhoods in search of history, shopping, and a sense of place.
Spend a bit of time in the Opera House, built in 1973 and added to UNESCO World heritage site in 2007. A tour of the venue gives us a clear picture of this marvelous (and iconic) building.
Venture into the outskirts: the Blue Mountains, last century’s edgy hangout (maybe still). They’re not really blue; the color’s an optical illusion caused by oils that evaporate from the gum trees. Not really mountains, for that matter. They’re elevated remains of a vast sandstone plateau. Walk along Koala Valley for a glimpse of these shy (and utterly irresistible) marsupials. Factoid: The koala is not a bear. No relation, actually. It is most closely related to the wombat, but even that relationship is distant at best.
Australia is the oldest continent. And the most eroded. Need proof? We take you to Uluru (the rock formerly known as Ayers). Aborigines have long revered this place. To be here is to understand why. We hike the big marble to its rounded summit at 1,100 feet. Spectacular at dawn, Uluru positively stuns at sunset. We return for a final toast and to pay homage in the transforming colors of dusk. Take a night-sky tour to get acquainted with the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. An expert stargazer explains it all. Feel small. Discover enchantment.
Consider taking an optional camel safari in the surrounding outback, or ride a Harley-Davidson motorcycle around Uluru, or take a helicopter flightseeing expedition around Uluru and Katatjuta (formerly the Olgas). Want something a bit more sedentary? Perhaps a lesson in authentic Aboriginal dot painting at a local gallery…
Then to Uluru’s monolithic neighbors, Katatjuta. Thirty-six bald rock domes play a sacred role in the Anangu Aborigines’ spirituality, and they can only be approached in the company of initiated tribesmen.
Jet northeast to Cairns, and further north still to Palm Cove, where we settle into a luxury resort at the edge of Daintree National Park. Penetrate the Earth’s oldest living rain forest. Flowering plants appeared here first. We explore dramatic Daintree, including stunning Niau Falls.
One more natural phenom to go: the Great Barrier Reef. A coral causeway of 2,000 islands, fewer than 20 of them inhabited. We visit the most luxurious we know—Lizard Island. No worries mate, luxuriate. White sand beaches above, anemones hosting clown fish below. Take the plunge into a pristine bay. Surface long enough to consult with the sommelier. Shiraz or Cab Sav?
Now head home, or continue on to Melbourne on R. Crusoe & Son’s private extension in and around Australia’s second-largest city.
To request a detailed itinerary for this journey (and others), click here.