Australia's East Coast: Sydney to Cairns by K'gari and the Whitsundays

Arrive in Sydney

Sydney Airport to your hotel in the city centre

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Sydney
• Environ 30 min de route

Soir

Plan to land by about 3 pm to make the early-evening briefing, where your See Sight Tours guide walks the group through the two weeks ahead: the three flights, what to pack for K'gari and the reef, and how each day is paced. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner at a restaurant near the harbour.

Compris

• Pick-up at Sydney Airport (SYD)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner

Sydney Harbour on foot and by ferry

The Rocks, the Opera House and the Royal Botanic Garden, then the ferry to Manly

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Sydney
• En traversier

Matin

Late morning we take the public ferry from Circular Quay to Manly, about 30 minutes across the harbour past the heads.

Après-midi

In Manly lunch is your choice, then your guide walks with anyone who wants along the shore path to Shelly Beach, a sheltered cove in the Cabbage Tree Bay aquatic reserve where you can swim or snorkel among fish close to the rocks.

Soir

The afternoon and evening are free; the ferries back run all day.

Compris

• Guided morning walk: the city centre, The Rocks, Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Royal Botanic Garden to Mrs Macquarie's Chair
• The ferry from Circular Quay to Manly and back
• The shore walk to Shelly Beach

Activités en option

• A guided tour inside the Sydney Opera House (price shown at booking)

The Blue Mountains

Sydney to Wentworth Falls, Katoomba and Leura, and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sydney
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Matin

First stop is Wentworth Falls, where a short walk leads to the lookouts over the falls and the Jamison Valley, quieter in the morning than the main viewpoints later in the day.

Après-midi

Then on to Echo Point at Katoomba for the Three Sisters, before the tour coaches fill the platform at midday. From there your guide leads the Prince Henry Cliff Walk along the escarpment to Leura, about 3 km of fenced cliff-edge path with lookouts and some steps, and we sit down to lunch in Leura's main street.

Soir

After lunch there is time to walk Leura's gardens and shops before the drive back to Sydney, arriving late afternoon with the evening free.

Compris

• Wentworth Falls lookouts
• Echo Point and the Three Sisters
• The Prince Henry Cliff Walk from Echo Point to Leura with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Leura

Fly to Byron Bay

Sydney to Ballina Byron by air, then Cape Byron at sunset

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Byron Bay
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

A slow morning, then we transfer to the domestic terminal for the flight north to Ballina Byron Gateway Airport, about an hour and a half in the air instead of the two long road days other trips spend on this stretch.

Après-midi

A 30-minute drive brings us into Byron Bay, a surf town on the far north coast of New South Wales, in time for a late lunch of your choice. In the late afternoon we walk the Cape Byron Walking Track, a 3.7 km loop through rainforest and over the headland to the lighthouse, first lit in 1901, at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. From June to November humpback whales pass close to the cape on their migration, and dolphins are often in the surf below the lookouts. We time the walk to reach the lighthouse for the late light, then head down into town.

Soir

Dinner tonight is your choice; Byron has plenty of it.

Compris

• Transfer to Sydney Airport and flight to Ballina Byron (BNK)
• The Cape Byron Walking Track to the lighthouse with your guide

Byron Bay by kayak

A morning on the water in the Cape Byron Marine Park, then a free afternoon

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Byron Bay

Matin

Back on land by late morning, the rest of the day is yours. Walk the length of Main Beach, take a beginner's surf lesson on the gentle breaks at The Pass, browse the cafes and shops of the town centre, or rest at the hotel. If you missed the lighthouse in the light you wanted yesterday, the cape is a short walk away at sunrise.

Soir

Your guide stays in town and can suggest places for dinner, or gather anyone who wants company at one table.

Compris

• Guided sea kayak tour in the Cape Byron Marine Park

Activités en option

• A beginner surf lesson at The Pass (price shown at booking)

North into Queensland and Noosa

Byron Bay to Noosa on the Pacific Motorway and the Bruce Highway

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Noosa
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive north across the Queensland border, about three and a half hours and 300 km on the Pacific Motorway, passing behind the Gold Coast and around Brisbane on the Gateway Motorway, with a coffee stop on the way. From October to early April New South Wales is on daylight saving and Queensland is not, so clocks go back an hour as we cross. We reach Noosa around lunchtime.

Après-midi

Lunch is your choice on Hastings Street or by the river. In the afternoon, when the day visitors start to leave, we walk the coastal track in Noosa National Park from the headland past Tea Tree Bay and Dolphin Point towards Hell's Gates, with surfers on the point breaks below and koalas sometimes in the trees above the path.

Soir

The evening is free in Noosa. Tomorrow is the longest day in the vehicle, so we keep tonight easy.

Compris

• Drive from Byron Bay to Noosa with your guide
• The Noosa National Park coastal walk

Across the sand to K'gari

Noosa to Rainbow Beach, the Inskip Point barge and up the eastern beach of K'gari

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : K'gari (Fraser Island)
• Environ 5 h de route

Après-midi

First the walk over a sand blow to Lake Wabby, green at the foot of a moving dune, then lunch.

Soir

Further north we wade up the clear water of Eli Creek, see the rusting hull of the SS Maheno, beached in a cyclone in 1935, and the coloured sand cliffs of the Pinnacles just beyond, before turning back to our island lodge for dinner. Counting the island, this is about five hours in vehicles, the one day over our usual cap: the barge, the walk, lunch and three stops break it up, and no beach stretch is much over an hour.

Compris

• Drive from Noosa to Rainbow Beach
• 4WD tour of K'gari with a local driver-guide
• The Inskip Point barge
• The walk to Lake Wabby
• Eli Creek, the Maheno wreck and the Pinnacles coloured sands
• Lunch on the island and dinner at the lodge

Lake McKenzie and fly north

K'gari to Lake McKenzie, the ferry to River Heads, then Hervey Bay to the Whitsundays by air

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Airlie Beach
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is on the island, then the passenger ferry takes about 50 minutes from Kingfisher Bay to River Heads, and our driver takes us to Hervey Bay Airport.

Soir

The flight to the Whitsunday Coast connects through Brisbane, so this is a seated afternoon rather than a long drive or an overnight train, and we arrive in Airlie Beach in the evening. It is the tightest day of the trip, so we book the connection with room to spare and keep the evening free.

Compris

• Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora) early, before the day tours
• Central Station and the Wanggoolba Creek boardwalk
• Lunch on the island
• The ferry from Kingfisher Bay to River Heads
• Flights from Hervey Bay (HVB) to the Whitsunday Coast (PPP), via Brisbane
• Transfer to Airlie Beach

Whitehaven Beach and the reef

A full day by boat in the Whitsunday Islands

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Airlie Beach
• En bateau

Après-midi

Lunch is on board, and in the afternoon the boat moves to a fringing reef site where you snorkel over corals with reef fish and, often, turtles. Snorkel gear and a stinger suit are provided, and the crew briefs anyone who has never snorkelled.

Soir

We are back in Airlie Beach in the late afternoon, with the evening free on the main street or by the lagoon.

Compris

• Full-day Whitsunday Islands boat trip with lunch
• Hill Inlet and the Tongue Point lookout
• Whitehaven Beach
• Snorkelling on a fringing reef, with gear and a stinger suit
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park charge

Airlie Beach morning, fly to Cairns

Airlie Beach to the Whitsunday Coast Airport, then by air to Cairns

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Cairns
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

The morning is free in Airlie Beach. Walk the boardwalk that follows the shore from the town towards Cannonvale, swim in the free, stinger-free public lagoon on the foreshore, or sit over a long breakfast and watch the boats.

Après-midi

After lunch our driver takes us to the Whitsunday Coast Airport near Proserpine for the flight to Cairns, about an hour and a half on a direct flight on the days one runs, otherwise via Brisbane; we tell you which with your final itinerary. From Cairns Airport it is ten minutes into the city and a hotel near the Esplanade. Cairns is the land of the Gimuy-Walubarra Yidinji people, and the Esplanade runs along the mangrove-lined shore of Trinity Inlet with its own swimming lagoon.

Soir

The evening is free: the night markets are a few streets back, and the Esplanade restaurants face the water.

Compris

• Transfer to the Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP)
• Flight to Cairns (CNS)
• Transfer to your hotel in Cairns

The outer Great Barrier Reef

A full day on the outer reef from Cairns

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Cairns
• En bateau

Matin

We board a licensed reef boat at the Reef Fleet Terminal in the morning and cross about one and a half to two hours to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, listed by UNESCO in 1981, where the water is clearer than on the inshore reefs. The boat visits two outer reef sites, so you snorkel twice over coral gardens with reef fish, giant clams and, often, turtles.

Après-midi

The crew gives a reef talk on the way out and a snorkel briefing, and lunch is served on board between the two sites. Snorkel gear, a stinger suit and the reef charge are included. If you want to go deeper, an introductory dive with an instructor needs no certificate and is offered on board at a price shown when you book.

Soir

We are back in Cairns in the late afternoon, and the evening is free.

Compris

• Full-day outer reef trip from Cairns with two snorkel sites
• Lunch on board
• Snorkel gear, stinger suit and reef talk
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park charge

Activités en option

• Introductory scuba dive with an instructor, no certificate needed (price shown at booking)
• Certified dives (price shown at booking)

Skyrail to Kuranda, on to Port Douglas

Cairns to the Skyrail at Smithfield, Kuranda, then by Mareeba and Mount Molloy to Port Douglas

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Port Douglas
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive 20 minutes north to the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway at Smithfield. The gondolas run 7.5 km over the canopy of the Wet Tropics, listed by UNESCO in 1988, with two stops on the way: Red Peak, for a boardwalk among the treetops, and Barron Falls, for the lookout over the gorge.

Après-midi

At the top is Kuranda, a village in the rainforest with markets and cafes, and you have time to walk it and have lunch of your choice. Our driver meets us in Kuranda and we drive about an hour and three quarters across the tablelands by Mareeba and Mount Molloy, then down the range to the coast at Mossman and on to Port Douglas, where we stay two nights.

Soir

Arrive in time for a late-afternoon walk on Four Mile Beach, and the evening is free in the town's restaurants along Macrossan Street.

Compris

• The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway from Smithfield to Kuranda, with the Red Peak and Barron Falls stops
• Time in Kuranda
• Drive over the tablelands to Port Douglas

Activités en option

• Ride the Kuranda Scenic Railway down to Cairns instead and transfer to Port Douglas separately (price shown at booking)

Mossman Gorge, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation

Port Douglas to Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Port Douglas
• Environ 3 h de route

Après-midi

We stop at the Alexandra Range lookout over the river mouth and sit down to lunch near Cape Tribulation. In the afternoon we walk the boardwalks at Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest comes down to the beach and the reef lies just offshore, and see the cape from the sand.

Soir

We drive back to Port Douglas in the late afternoon for a farewell dinner together.

Compris

• The Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk at Mossman Gorge with a Kuku Yalanji guide
• Daintree River cruise
• The Daintree River ferry
• The Alexandra Range lookout
• Sit-down lunch near Cape Tribulation
• The Cape Tribulation boardwalks and beach
• Farewell dinner in Port Douglas

Depart from Cairns

Port Douglas to Cairns Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

The last morning is free. Walk Four Mile Beach early while it is cool, climb to the Flagstaff Hill lookout for the view down the beach, or have a last swim in the hotel pool. Then our driver takes us about an hour and ten minutes south on the Captain Cook Highway, which follows the shore for much of the way, to Cairns Airport (CNS), which has flights to the rest of Australia and international departures. Your guide comes with you to the airport and sees you to check-in. Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm, or ask us to add nights in Cairns or Port Douglas if you want more time in the tropics. On a Sunday, the Port Douglas market in Anzac Park by the water is worth an hour before we leave.

Compris

• Drop-off at Cairns Airport (CNS)