Summary

Trip Length
12 days/11 nights

Price
from USD$ 9,070
Details >

Outline
Arrive Sydney
2 nights Sydney
2 nights Ayers Rock
3 nights Cockatoo Hill Retreat
3 nights Lizard Island
1 night Sydney
Depart Sydney

Starts
Sydney

2007-2008
Daily, year round

Accommodation
Luxury

Options & Upgrades
Add additional nights in Sydney

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Arrive in Sydney
Welcome to Australia! After setting down, enjoy a hassle-free arrival when you’re met by your private driver. Glimpse your first sights of Australia’s most dazzling city as you travel in comfort to the Park Hyatt.

Uniquely positioned on the very edge of Sydney Harbour, your new home offers spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Its location in the Rocks, an area of historic importance and natural beauty, means you have unprecedented access to the most interesting sights. From the moment you walk through the doors you’ll be charmed by an uncompromising Australian hospitality with international flair.

With the remainder of the day at your leisure, you may choose to start exploring Sydney, or simply relax in the comfort of your hotel room. From the Park Hyatt you could easily acquaint yourself with the historic streets of the Rocks, and the boutiques that line them, or take in a performance at the Opera House after a meal at any of Sydney’s finest restaurants. If you elect to stay in, consider indulging in a leisurely soak in the marble tub, or wrapping up in a plush terry robe and bringing a glass of wine to your private balcony to soak in the views of the Opera House across the way. This is luxury Australia at its finest.

Day 2 – Discover the City or the Mountains
This is your vacation, how do you want to spend it? Today you have the choice of two private tours, either taking in the highlights of the city, or exploring the views and fresh air of the nearby Blue Mountains.

Option 1, the Sydney tour, includes the best features of the city – the harbour, the gardens, the coast, and the rivers.

Beginning in the historic Rocks area of old Sydney you will learn about the early settlers and convicts of over 200 years ago, before walking through the gorgeous Botanical Gardens, taking in the history of the Opera House and other famous buildings around the harbour.

At Circular Quay board you will have the chance to discover Sydney from the water when board a harbour ferry cruising to beautiful Manly Beach. A waiting luxury air-conditioned vehicle will be waiting to take you along the stunning northern beaches into the scenic Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

You will enjoy a delicious and gourmet buffet picnic lunch in the bush before being expertly led to the most outstanding lookouts in the park. These lookouts offer views of Palm Beach, Wov Wov, and Lion Island, and are simply breath taking. Your knowledgeable guide will then take you on a short bushwalk to trace the history of the Garingai Aboriginal people who once inhabited this area, and examine incredible rock art. You will return to the city over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Option 2, the Blue Mountains tour, includes an exhilarating full day of private 4x4 touring through the magnificent Blue Mountains Range. Collected from the Park Hyatt, you will head across the coastal plain towards the Great Diving Range of Australia. With the freedom and luxury of a private tour, it’s here that you are able to leave behind the ‘average’ Blue Mountains tourist areas and enter the national park to discover the wild Australia that so many others miss.

With a full day of exploration, you will visit ancient aboriginal sites and outstanding lookouts, as well as learn about the rock formations and unusual flora and fauna abundant in the area. From the quaint village of Leura, you will skirt around the cliff to discover Katoomba, the gateway to the Jamieson valley and the incredible rock formations of the “Three Sisters”.

Whatever tour you choose, you will return to the Park Hyatt by early evening. This ensures you have plenty of time to indulge in the gourmet offerings of this cosmopolitan city.

Day 3 – Sydney to Ayers Rock – desert oasis of Longitude 131
Enjoy hassle-free travel as you prepare for the next stage in your adventure – the Outback. A private car will pick you up from the Park Hyatt to take you to Sydney Airport, where you will board a scheduled flight to Ayers Rock.

On arrival, you are met and transferred to Kata Tjuta National Park, home to the mystical and magical symbol of aboriginal Australia, Uluru. This is a special place where you can connect with the spectacular landscape, ancient culture and mystical ambience of Australia.

One of only fifteen elevated luxury tents set on isolated sand dunes is yours for your stay. Each tent is as unique as its surroundings, paying homage to early Australian pioneers with unusual and exquisite art throughout.

Experience a Longitude 131 tour this afternoon. These tours are not regimented or strictly set – they are designed to take advantage of the moment. An array of tours exploring Uluru, Kata Tjuta and environs are included in the Longitude 131° experience.

Day 4 – Ayers Rock – Longitude 131
Today is yours to do as you please in this beautiful and serene place. With tours available both morning and afternoon you can get adventurous, or simply lay back and relax the amenities and surroundings of this beautiful luxury lodge. There are tours available both in the morning and afternoon if you’re feeling adventurous. The 'In Gorge' Dramatic Sunset tour takes you to a quiet gorge at the base of the great monolith for a very personal, very dramatic view of sunset from 'within' Uluru. The size and scale of the formation is best gauged up close and personal, and, especially during the colourful transformation of the Rock at sunset, can be a powerful experience.

Another option is the Botanical Walk, which will take you through a variety of desert landscapes - dune country, Spinifex country, mulga woodlands and desert oak communities. Experience authentic native habitats, flora and fauna, bush food and bush medicine located in the area as you get close enough to smell, touch and taste these pristine surroundings.

Whatever you choose, enjoy plenty of time relaxing pool-side, a glass of Australian wine in hand, taking in the serenity of the desert.

Day 5 – Ayers Rock to Cairns – Cockatoo Hill Retreat
Today you fly to Cairns, where you enjoy the freedom of your own car with an included luxury rental. The scenic drive to Cockatoo Hill Retreat is spectacular, but nothing compares to what awaits at your destination.

This is the Daintree’s most beautiful boutique resort. It’s a secret paradise perched between Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas, where four exclusive tree lodges form your private home. Cockatoo Hill Retreat is situated on a rainforest ridge with wrap around views extending from Hutchinson Hill towards Cape Tribulation and the Coral Sea to the east and to the dramatic heights of Thornton Peak in the west. This is a beautiful and intimate luxury resort in a breathtaking location.

Cockatoo Hill Retreat is in an area known for its superb biodiversity. New species of rainforest plants are still being discovered in rainforests thought to be 135 million years old, and this is your playground of exploration for the next few days.

The afternoon and evening are at leisure to relax by the swimming pool, visit the Rainforest Environment & Interpretive Centre or walk the many boardwalks through the local rainforests.

Day 6 – Cockatoo Hill Retreat
After a delicious breakfast, your guide greets you at Cockatoo Hill Retreat and whisks you away to commence a day of private touring. With an expert guide and access to many private areas within the Rainforest, this is sure to be a treat. Enjoy a walk through this unchanged rainforest eco-system and learn about a fascinating array of magnificent buttress-root trees, strangler figs and rare cycads.

A highlight will be discovering crystal clear forest streams and waterfalls - consider a refreshing swim in a rock pool. Search for the elusive tree kangaroo and cassowary on your private Australia wildlife tour.

Enjoy lunch as you make your way to a secluded, almost secret, spot that your guide knows. Return to Cockatoo Hill after more exploring and spend the afternoon relaxing.

Day 7 – Cockatoo Hill Retreat
The day is at leisure to do as you please. You may choose to relax around the beautiful swimming pool, make use of the facilities like the retreat library and the pool table, take a leisurely walk, relax with a book or do nothing at all!

You also have the option of adding an outdoor activity. You can take a day or night guided walk in the World Heritage-listed rainforest, snorkel or dive on a reef cruise from Cape Tribulation, or book a river cruise on the Daintree River or Cooper Creek. Cruises offer bird watching, wildlife and crocodile spotting, and river or reef fishing.

Perhaps you would like to visit Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm for tropical fruit tasting, or picnic on the beach or at a nearby river waterhole, go horse riding or sea kayaking at Cow Bay or Cape Tribulation, or take a 4WD safari beyond Cape Tribulation to Bloomfield and Cooktown. Your luxury resort home’s location means you can do any of these things. Explore even more with a light aircraft scenic reef or rainforest flight, or, for a relaxing treat, let yourself be pampered at the Daintree Natural Therapies and Spa.

Day 8 – Cockatoo Hill Retreat to Lizard Island
Leave this boutique resort paradise, take the scenic drive back to the airport, returning your car and boarding your flight to Lizard Island.

Lizard Island Resort is one of Australia’s finest luxury resorts, as well as its most northern. It is an exclusive island paradise of soft, powdery white beaches nestled right on the Great Barrier Reef. Picture an island so pristine, so untouched, that it feels as if it’s your very own. Get acquainted with Lizard Island with a relaxing afternoon on one of the island’s twenty-four gorgeous beaches.

Your accommodation is set in a broad sweeping arc along Anchor Bay. The Anchor Bay Suites have mesmerizing sea views and a path leading right to the beach. Flawlessly blending indoors and out in an elegant and spacious open plan design, the property’s large veranda with daybed is one of the many designer touches created with your comfort in mind.

Day 9 – Lizard Island
Begin you day in paradise with a leisurely breakfast while you ponder your day’s choices. An intriguing option in this Australia luxury resort is diving; Lizard Island is famous for its diving sites. At the renowned ‘Cod Hole’, scuba divers come face-to-face with massive and intriguing potato cod. Enjoy a relaxing dive in a coral garden or an exhilarating drift dive along a channel drop-off. If you prefer to stay above water, Lizard Island is surrounded by an abundant fish population – it’s an ideal location for fishing. Explore the coral gardens of the Blue Lagoon and marvel at giant 70-year-old clams from a glass-bottomed boat.

Day 10 – Lizard Island
Enjoy a full day at leisure on Lizard Island. Spend the day however choose, being as active or relaxed as you like!

Tonight you dine at Osprey’s, where tantalizing food graces the table at every meal. The theme is “Cuisine Moderne” and the emphasis is on fresh local seafood, garden produce, tropical fruits and the most succulent, tender meats. It’s the ideal close to your Lizard Island retreat.

Day 11 – Lizard Island to Sydney
Bid farewell to Lizard Island as you leave feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, ready for your journey back to Sydney.

On arrival at Sydney Airport, your private driver escorts you to the Park Hyatt Sydney. Make the most of your last night in Australia with some fine dining, and maybe even the opera.

Day 12 – Departure
With fond memories made, a private car fetches you at the Park Hyatt and transports you to the airport in time for your flight home.

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2007-2008 Package Start Dates
Daily departures from April 1, 2007 until March 31, 2008

Options & Upgrades
Add additional nights in Sydney

Price Notes
• Prices are per person
• Double means two people sharing
• Enquire about rates for a group of four

Included
• 11 nights accommodation
• 11 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 8 dinners
• Full day private tour of Sydney or the Blue Mountains
• Entrance tickets to Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park
• 3 day full size car rental
• Full day private tour of Daintree Rainforest
• Resort amenities
• Return airfare between Cairns and Lizard Island

Not Included
• International & Domestic Flights
• Some meals & drinks
• Some activities
• All items of a personal nature
• Gratuities
• Travel insurance

Car Rental Includes
• GST and basic insurance however insurance excess applies.
• Unlimited kilometres apply for vehicle collections from metropolitan locations.

Car Rental Does Not Include
• Comprehensive Insurance, insurance excess
• fuel
• premium location surcharges incurred for airport pickups and taxes – these must be paid direct on pickup

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