Australia at a slower pace: Sydney, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Sydney

   Sydney Airport to The Rocks, Circular Quay and the Opera House

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Sydney
   Détail du jour 1

   Your trip starts at Sydney Airport (SYD), about 10 km south of the city centre. We meet you in the arrivals hall, take your bags and drive you to your hotel near The Rocks and Circular Quay, your base for four nights, so you unpack once for the whole Sydney stay. Hotels on this trip are chosen with lifts to every floor; we name yours when we confirm your dates. You are free to rest after the long flight until the group meets. At about 5 pm your trip leader meets the group in the lobby for a gentle walk of about 1.5 km on flat paved paths along Circular Quay, where the ferries come and go under the Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932, to the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2007. There are benches along the water if you want to pause. Dinner together follows at about 6:30 pm, close to the hotel, where your leader runs through the twelve days ahead.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Sydney Airport (SYD)
   • Evening walk along Circular Quay to the Opera House (about 1.5 km, flat)
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the 5 pm group walk

   Activité : About 1.5 km on foot today, all flat.

   

2. Jour 2 : Inside the Opera House

   The Opera House, the Royal Botanic Garden and Mrs Macquarie's Chair

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Sydney
   Détail du jour 2

   A late start: breakfast at your own pace and we meet at 9:30 am. We walk the short, level way round Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House for a guided tour inside, seeing the concert hall and the foyers under the great shells and hearing how Jørn Utzon's design was built. The standard tour climbs a good number of stairs, so we book the venue's step-free access tour where it runs on our date, or a tour with lift access; we confirm the format with your booking. Afterwards our vehicle picks us up at the forecourt and drives the few minutes through the Royal Botanic Garden to Mrs Macquarie's Chair, a sandstone ledge carved by convicts in 1810, with a view across the water to the Opera House and the bridge together. Back at the hotel by about 12:30 pm, the afternoon is free. Take a seat on a harbour ferry with an Opal card, visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales or the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Quay, or simply rest.

   Compris

   • Guided tour inside the Sydney Opera House (step-free or lift-access format where available)
   • Mrs Macquarie's Chair viewpoint by vehicle through the Royal Botanic Garden

   Activités en option

   • A harbour ferry ride on your own with an Opal card or a contactless card

   Option plus facile : Ride the vehicle to the Opera House forecourt instead of walking.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free

   Activité : About 2 km on foot, flat, with seating on the tour and at the viewpoint.

3. Jour 3 : The Blue Mountains

   Sydney to Echo Point, Scenic World and Leura, and back

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Sydney
   Détail du jour 3

   We leave at 8:30 am, after the morning traffic has eased, and drive west about an hour and a half to the Blue Mountains, part of a World Heritage area listed in 2000 for its eucalypt forests and deep sandstone valleys. The blue haze comes from fine droplets of eucalyptus oil in the air. At Echo Point in Katoomba the vehicle drops us close to the main lookout, a short level path from the Three Sisters view across the Jamison Valley; the three pillars hold a place in the stories of the Gundungurra and Darug peoples. At Scenic World we ride the Cableway down into the valley and the glass-floored Skyway across the gorge, both in enclosed cabins with standing room and space to hold a rail. The steep Scenic Railway is an option for those who want it, and the rainforest boardwalk at the bottom has a short loop. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Leura, a village of cafes and gardens, and we are back in Sydney by about 4:30 pm, with dinner together at 6:30 pm.

   Compris

   • Echo Point and the Three Sisters lookout
   • Scenic World: Cableway and Skyway, with the Scenic Railway as an option
   • Lunch in Leura
   • Dinner in Sydney

   Option plus facile : Stay at the top on the Skyway and the lookout cafe while others ride down into the valley.

   Option plus active : Ride the Scenic Railway down and walk the longer rainforest boardwalk loop.

   Activité : About 3 hours by road in all today, in two legs of about 1.5 hours each way, with a long break in Leura and stops at Echo Point and Scenic World. Under 2 km on foot.

   

4. Jour 4 : Bondi and a harbour lunch

   Sydney to Bondi Beach, then back to the city

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Sydney
   Détail du jour 4

   Another unhurried morning. We drive out to Bondi at about 9:30 am, around 25 minutes, and the vehicle drops us on Campbell Parade above the beach. The flat promenade runs the length of the sand, about a kilometre, with benches facing the surf and the board riders. At the south end is the Bondi Icebergs ocean pool, cut into the rocks, its lanes washed by the waves; you look down on it from the clifftop path. From May to November humpback whales migrate along this coast, so keep watching the sea. The famous coastal walk to Coogee has many steps and slopes, so we do not walk it as a group; anyone who wants a taste can follow the cliffs to Tamarama with the leader and meet the vehicle there. Lunch is together near the water, and we are back at the hotel by about 2 pm. The afternoon and evening are free: a last harbour ferry, a drink at a bar in The Rocks with a view of the bridge, or an early night before tomorrow's flight.

   Compris

   • Bondi Beach promenade and the Icebergs pool lookout
   • Lunch near the water

   Option plus facile : Stay on the promenade benches or in a beach cafe.

   Option plus active : Walk the clifftop path from Bondi to Tamarama (about 1.5 km with steps and slopes).

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 1.5 km on foot on the flat promenade.

   

5. Jour 5 : Fly to Uluru

   Sydney to Ayers Rock by air, then sunset at Uluru

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Yulara
   Détail du jour 5

   A late breakfast, then our vehicle takes you and your bags to Sydney Airport for the mid-morning non-stop flight to Ayers Rock (AYQ), about three and a half hours; from the window the green coast gives way to red sand and dry salt lakes. We book a flight that does not need a dawn start, and wheelchair assistance at both airports is easy to arrange if walking long airport corridors is hard. On our trip dates Northern Territory time is half an hour behind Sydney. At your hotel in Yulara, the resort village beside the park and your base for three nights, there is time to check in and rest. In the late afternoon we drive about 20 km into Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, owned by its Anangu traditional owners and listed by UNESCO for both nature and living culture, to the sunset viewing area. You watch from the viewing area beside the vehicle, with seating where the operator provides it, as the rock deepens from orange to rust. Dinner together at the resort follows.

   Compris

   • Flight from Sydney (SYD) to Ayers Rock (AYQ), with transfers
   • Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park pass (3 days)
   • Sunset at Uluru from the sunset viewing area
   • Dinner at the resort

   Temps libre : Time to rest at the resort before sunset

   Activité : Very little walking today. About 1 h 15 by road in short legs: the hotel to Sydney Airport, Ayers Rock Airport to Yulara, and about 20 km each way to the sunset viewing area.

6. Jour 6 : Uluru at sunrise

   Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the Kuniya walk and the Cultural Centre

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Yulara
   Détail du jour 6

   The one early start of the trip, because Uluru at sunrise is the reason to be here. We leave about an hour before sunrise, with a warm layer, as desert mornings can be close to freezing in June to August. At Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, the sunrise viewing area, sealed paths and ramps lead to platforms that look across to Uluru and, far off, Kata Tjuta. Watch the first light reach the rock, then we drive round to the Kuniya walk, about a kilometre return on a flat, firm path to Mutitjulu Waterhole, one of the few places where water lasts all year, with rock art on the way. Some parts of Uluru are sensitive sites: signs ask you not to photograph them, and we ask the same. Next is the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, where Anangu tell the story of the land in their own words, with seats and a cafe. We are back at the hotel by late morning for breakfast and a long free afternoon by the pool. Dinner tonight is your own, at one of the Yulara restaurants a short walk or free shuttle ride away; your leader helps book a table. If you have the energy, the Field of Light, thousands of glowing lights over the dunes, is an optional extra after dark; most will want an early night.

   Compris

   • Sunrise at Talinguru Nyakunytjaku
   • Kuniya walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole (about 1 km return, flat)
   • Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre

   Activités en option

   • Field of Light after dark, a short walk on gentle paths (booked ahead, at extra cost)

   Option plus facile : Watch sunrise from the first platform and wait at the Cultural Centre cafe instead of the Kuniya walk.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free; dinner on your own at Yulara

   Activité : Early start, about an hour before sunrise. About 2.5 km on foot in all, on flat paths.

7. Jour 7 : Kata Tjuta and Sounds of Silence

   Kata Tjuta, the base of Uluru by road, and dinner in the dunes

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Yulara
   Détail du jour 7

   A gentle 8:30 am start for Kata Tjuta, about 50 km west of the resort, a group of 36 great domes, the tallest rising about 200 metres higher than Uluru. Kata Tjuta means many heads in the Pitjantjatjara language, and it is a sacred place under Anangu law. From the dune viewing area, reached on a short boardwalk with shade and benches, you see the domes spread across the plain. Then we drive to Walpa Gorge: the walk into the gorge is about 2.6 km return over a rocky, gently rising stream bed, so walk as far as is comfortable and turn back when you like; the shelter at the start has seats. On the way back we drive the road around the base of Uluru, stopping where the rock rises close beside us. Lunch is together at the resort, then the afternoon is yours to rest. In the evening we go to the Sounds of Silence dinner in the dunes: canapes at sunset over Uluru and Kata Tjuta, a dinner under the stars and a talk about the night sky.

   Compris

   • Kata Tjuta dune viewing area
   • Walpa Gorge walk, as far as you like (about 2.6 km return in full)
   • Drive around the base of Uluru
   • Lunch at the resort
   • Sounds of Silence dinner in the dunes

   Option plus facile : Stay at the Walpa Gorge shelter or the dune viewing area while others walk in.

   Option plus active : Walk the full length of Walpa Gorge to the lookout at its end.

   Activité : Up to about 3.5 km on foot today if you walk the whole gorge. The dune dinner site is reached on a short path; ops confirm access.

8. Jour 8 : Fly to the tropics

   Ayers Rock to Cairns by air, the coast road to Port Douglas

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Port Douglas
   Détail du jour 8

   No early start: after breakfast the airport is about ten minutes away for the mid-morning flight to Cairns, about two and a half hours and the only non-stop link between the Red Centre and the tropical north. Clocks go forward half an hour into Queensland time, and the desert gives way to green ranges and the blue of the Coral Sea. From Cairns Airport we drive north on the Captain Cook Highway, about an hour, squeezed between rainforested hills and the sea, with a stop at Rex Lookout if the light is good; you can see it from the car park without walking. Port Douglas is a small, easygoing town at the end of a sandy peninsula, and your base for four nights. Check in, then the rest of the afternoon and evening are free. Four Mile Beach is a few minutes from the town centre, flat and firm at low tide, and Macrossan Street, the main street, has restaurants serving reef fish and prawns. Swim between the flags when lifeguards are on duty.

   Compris

   • Flight from Ayers Rock (AYQ) to Cairns (CNS), with transfers
   • Drive up the Captain Cook Highway to Port Douglas, with the Rex Lookout stop

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : Very little walking today.

   

9. Jour 9 : The Great Barrier Reef

   A full day at an outer reef pontoon from Port Douglas

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Port Douglas
   Détail du jour 9

   Today we go to the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches more than 2,300 km along the Queensland coast and has been a World Heritage site since 1981. We take a large, stable catamaran from the Port Douglas marina, with a morning departure, time confirmed at booking and never at dawn; the crossing to the outer reef takes about 90 minutes, with seats inside and out. We spend the day at a moored reef pontoon, which suits every swimmer and non-swimmer. The underwater observatory lets you see coral and fish from a dry, seated room below the waterline, and the semi-submarine glides over the reef with you seated behind glass. If you want to snorkel, steps with handrails lead into the water, and the crew hand out stinger suits, buoyancy vests and floats; you can stay close to the pontoon. Expect hard and soft corals, giant clams, parrotfish and schools of reef fish, with turtles a likely sight. Lunch is served on board. We are back in the late afternoon, and dinner together is at about 6:30 pm.

   Compris

   • Full day at an outer reef pontoon by large catamaran, with lunch, the underwater observatory, the semi-submarine, snorkel gear, stinger suits and the reef charge
   • Dinner in Port Douglas

   Activités en option

   • A helicopter scenic flight over the reef from the pontoon, where offered

   Option plus facile : Stay dry: the observatory and the semi-submarine show the reef without getting wet.

   Option plus active : Snorkel further out with the crew's guided snorkel tour, where offered.

   Activité : The pontoon has steps between decks. Reef conditions depend on the weather on the day.

   

10. Jour 10 : Mossman Gorge and the Daintree River

    Mossman Gorge, the Daintree River and Daintree Village

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
    • Nuit : Port Douglas
    Détail du jour 10

    A day in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, a World Heritage area since 1988 and home to some of the oldest rainforest on Earth. We leave at 9 am for Mossman Gorge, about 25 minutes north. From the Mossman Gorge Centre a shuttle bus takes visitors into the gorge, so there is no long walk in. A Kuku Yalanji guide leads the Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk, about an hour and a half at an easy pace. It begins with a smoking ceremony, then follows rainforest paths while your guide shows plants used for food, medicine and tools and shares stories of the land, with the Mossman River running clear over granite boulders below. Then we drive on to the Daintree River for a one-hour cruise on a covered boat with seats, looking for saltwater crocodiles on the mudbanks and kingfishers in the mangroves. Lunch is together in Daintree Village, and we are back in Port Douglas by about 3 pm. The rest of the afternoon is free, perhaps for Wildlife Habitat, a few minutes from town, or the pool.

    Compris

    • Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk at Mossman Gorge with a Kuku Yalanji guide, with the gorge shuttle bus
    • One-hour Daintree River crocodile cruise
    • Lunch in Daintree Village

    Activités en option

    • Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, for koalas, cassowaries and wetland birds up close

    Option plus facile : Wait at the Mossman Gorge Centre cafe or walk only the first part with the guide.

    Temps libre : Afternoon free

    Activité : About 2 km on foot, on rainforest paths with some uneven ground.

11. Jour 11 : Kuranda by train and cableway

    Freshwater to Kuranda by the Scenic Railway, back by Skyrail

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
    • Nuit : Port Douglas
    Détail du jour 11

    We drive south at 8 am to Freshwater station in Cairns, about an hour, for the Kuranda Scenic Railway, a heritage line built in the late nineteenth century that climbs about 1 hour 45 minutes through rainforest, tunnels and gorges, past waterfalls and the Barron Gorge, in reserved seats. Kuranda is a mountain village of markets and cafes; we walk its few level streets slowly, and lunch together is a sit-down meal here. In the early afternoon we ride down on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, about 7.5 km over the canopy in a seated gondola, with stops at Barron Falls and Red Peak, where boardwalks lead into the forest; you can stay in your gondola at either stop. Our vehicle meets us at the bottom station in Smithfield and we drive back up the coast to Port Douglas, arriving at about 4:30 pm. Tonight is the farewell dinner, a chance to look back on twelve days from the Opera House to the desert and the reef.

    Compris

    • Kuranda Scenic Railway from Freshwater to Kuranda, reserved seats
    • Skyrail Rainforest Cableway from Kuranda to Smithfield
    • Lunch in Kuranda
    • Farewell dinner

    Option plus facile : Stay in the gondola at the Skyrail stops and rest in a Kuranda cafe.

    Option plus active : Walk the Red Peak boardwalk at the Skyrail stop.

    Activité : About 1 hour each way by road. Under 2 km on foot.

12. Jour 12 : Depart from Cairns

    Port Douglas to Cairns Airport

    • Environ 1.5 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 12

    A last unhurried breakfast in Port Douglas and, if you like, one more stroll along Four Mile Beach or a coffee on Macrossan Street. At about 10 am we load the bags and drive back down the Captain Cook Highway to Cairns Airport (CNS), about an hour, arriving by about 11 am, so please book flights home or onward that leave after 1 pm. Cairns has direct flights to Australia's main cities and to several destinations in Asia and the Pacific, which makes it an easy place to connect; wheelchair assistance through the terminal can be booked with your airline. If you would like more time in the tropics, we can book extra nights in Port Douglas, Palm Cove or Cairns for you, with the transfers. Your trip leader sees you off at the terminal and the trip ends here, in the far north of Queensland, after twelve days from the harbour to the outback and the reef at an easy pace.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Cairns Airport (CNS)

    Activités en option

    • Extra nights in Port Douglas, Palm Cove or Cairns

    Activité : Book flights that leave after 1 pm.

Faune et météo : We run in May, June, August and September, the coolest and driest months for this route. Sydney is mild, around 17 to 23 C by day, and humpback whales pass its headlands from May to November. The Red Centre is dry and sunny, comfortable by day and cold before dawn, close to freezing in June to August, so bring a warm layer for the one sunrise. October is left out because Red Centre afternoons get hot. Port Douglas is in its dry season, about 26 to 29 C. Marine stinger season runs from about November to May, so May departures catch its tail end; the reef crew hand out full-body stinger suits on every trip. Kangaroos and wallabies are likely at dusk, reef fish are certain on a calm day and turtles and crocodiles are likely; wild cassowaries are rare.

• Sydney4 nuits
• Yulara3 nuits
• Port Douglas4 nuits