DESCRIPTION
Itinerary
Day 1: The Greater Blue Mountains & Jenolan Caves
Stop At: Blue Mountains National Park Glenbrook, Bruce Road, Glenbrook, New South Wales 2773 Australia
Once we’ve arrived at the foothills of the Blue Mountains, we’ll venture offroad into Australian woodland to spot a plethora of honey-eaters, eastern greys, long-necked turtles and a lyre bird. Of equal interest are the peppermint, scribbly and snow gums and other eucalyptus in the typical half-open savanna landscape.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Wentworth Falls, Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, New South Wales
On our circuit hike (app. 1-2 hours, pending on guests’ agility and the weather) along the Jamison Valley today we’ll discover waterfalls, magnificent canyons, eucalyptus and rainforests and an abundance of local birds.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: The Three Sisters, Echo Point Rd., Katoomba, New South Wales 2780 Australia
The true beauty of the Jamison speaks for itself at the famous Three Sisters, sacred site of the Gundungurra and Darug people.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Cahill’s Lookout, 258-276 Cliff Drive, Katoomba, New South Wales 2780 Australia
The scenic Blue Mountains Drive along the Jamison Valley leads us past a couple of fabulous lookouts over the valleys and eucalyptus forests. Like Cahill Lookout, offering best view point over the Narrow Neck escarpment and the Megalong Valley.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Pulpit Rock Lookout, Pulpit Rock Track, Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales 2570 Australia
After an Aussie picnic at our secret hideaway (far from any tourist canteen), we descent halfway down the remote Grose Valley for spectaculair and interrupted vistas over Mount Banks, the Bridal Veil Falls and Pulpit Rock.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Little Hartley, Little Hartley, Blue Mountains, New South Wales
This little hamlet with its old post office, church, court house and Aboriginal art centre is a throwback to the Gold-rush times of mid 19th century.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Jenolan Caves, Jenolan Caves, New South Wales
In the afternoon, we drive up the Great Dividing Range and into the Central Tablelands to enjoy the solitude and beauty of country NSW, before arriving at Jenolan, home of one of the world’s most spectacular limestone cave formations of the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve.
Approaching Jenolan, we are quickly greeted by pretty-faced wallabies (real name!), echidna’s and a common wombat.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Blue Lake 4654 Jenolan Caves Rd, Jenolan Caves, New South Wales 2790 Australia
A 5 minute walk from our hotel is the Blue Lake, home of the platypus. Dusk or dawn is the best time to spot this very rare and endangered monotreme (egg-laying mammal).
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: 4655 Jenolan Caves Rd, Jenolan Caves, New South Wales 2790 Australia
The McKeown’s Valley walking track, also known as Healing Waters walk, is a short and easy return walk at Jenolan Caves offering fantastic karst landscapes and wildlife spotting in the Blue Mountains.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: 4655 Jenolan Caves Rd, Jenolan Caves, New South Wales 2790 Australia
An easy 1 hour guided tour will take us on a journey into the heart of the Imperial Cave to learn about the limestone rocks, the history of the caves and the region and to admire the beautiful sights with colourful lights illuminating the rock walls.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Jenolan Caves House
Day 2: The Southern Highlands and Kangaroo Valley
Stop At: Kanangra-Boyd National Park, New South Wales Australia
After a hearty breakfast at our hotel (included), we’re straight off to yet another national park within the Great Blue Mountains World Heritage Area: the Kanangra Walls, of the Kanangra-Boyd National Park.
An easy but refreshing walk along the valley ridge seamed with silver banksia, bright red mountain devils and white flowering hakeas offers unparalleled views across one of Australia’s most spectacular landscapes with its waterfalls, exposed spikes of ancient rocks and misty mountains.
In the depths of the gorge, spot an Australian red cedar or the gorgeous flame robin. Or look up to see some soaring wedge-tail eagles.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Taralga, Taralga, New South Wales
Once we’ve made it back through the Australian woodlands of the Great Divide, we’ll be following early stock-trade routes to descent from the Greater Blue Mountains towards so south, across the rolling hills of the Southern Tablelands.
This is sheep country, with at it’s centre: Goulburn and the Big Merino.
But first we’ll stop at the remote country town of Taralga
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: The Big Merino, Corner of Hume and Sowerby Streets, Goulburn, New South Wales 2580 Australia Australia
The Big Merino, built in 1985 is a monument to Goulburn and the surrounding district’s fine wool industry. Standing 15.2 meters high, 18 meters long and weighing 97 tones at the time of construction he is an impressive life-like model of Rambo, a stud Ram from a local property, “Bullamallita”.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Kangaroo Valley, Kangaroo Valley, Shoalhaven, New South Wales
In the hidden valley of Kangaroo Valley we experience yet another highlight of the tour: a close encounter with wombats in the wild! As most marsupials, these close relatives of the koala are active mostly early in the mornings or late at night, when they leave their undergrounds burrows to graze.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see this beautiful animal in its own habitat!
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Kangaroo Valley Golf Resort – or similar.
Day 3: Jervis Bay & Booderee National Park
Stop At: Fitzroy Falls, Fitzroy Falls, Southern Highlands, New South Wales
At Fitzroy on the edge of the Morton National Park, we marvel at one of the highest single drop waterfalls in NSW.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Jervis Bay, Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven, New South Wales
Leaving the enclosed Kangaroo Valley across the rolling green hills of the Shoalhaven country-side, we’ll soon feel the sand between our toes as we walk along the beaches that bring us up close to resident dolphins, furry locals including possums and gliders, pelicans, new holland honey-eaters and rosellas.
Duration: 12 hours
Stop At: Huskisson, Huskisson, Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven, New South Wales
Today’s highlight: a dolphin-watching cruise (between May and November we may even spot a Humpback or Southern Right Whale on its seasonal migration).
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Hyams Beach, Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven, New South Wales
After our close encounter with the aquatic wildlife of Jervis Bay, we take plenty of time to enjoy the very white sands of Hyams Beach and, our favourite, Murrays Beach – deep in the Booderee National Park. There’s nothing like a dop in the crystal clear surf to wash off today’s road dust.
On the way back to our hotel at Vincentia, we’ll make sure to include plenty of stops to observe the echidna’s, swamp wallabies, bandicoots and eastern greys emerging from the bush.
Duration: 2 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Jervis Bay Dolphin Shores (or similar)
Day 4: South Coast & The Grand Pacific Drive
Stop At: Kiama Blowhole, Blowhole Point Road, Kiama, Kiama Municipality, New South Wales 2533 Australia
The spectaculair plumes of water spouting out of the Kiama Blowholes – the largest in the world!
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Minnamurra Rain Forest Centre, 345 Minnamurra Falls Rd, Jamberoo, Kiama Municipality, New South Wales NSW 2533 Australia
Spotting swamp wallabies of Minnamurra, the rare remnant rainforest that once reached throughout the Illawarra.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Jamberoo, Jamberoo, Kiama Municipality, New South Wales
Not far from Jamberoo and the Minnamurra Rain Forest is the Illawara Flytop Walk – the 1.5 km treetop walk through the canopy of the beautiful warm temperate rainforest offers million dollar views over Shoalhaven and the Royal National Park.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Pass By: Seacliff, Seacliff, Adelaide Hills, Greater Adelaide, South Australia
The Sea-cliff bridge is a recent engineering wonder.
Stop At: Bald Hill Lookout & Hang Gliding Spot, Lawrence Hargreave Drive, Stanwell Tops, New South Wales 2508 Australia
Take a selfie with the daring para-gliders throwing themselves taking off from Bald Hill Lookout
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Grand Pacific Drive – Sydney to Wollongong and Beyond, From Royal National Park to Bomaderry, Wollongong, New South Wales 2500 Australia
With the Captain Cook Highway and the Great Ocean Road, the Grand Pacific Drive is one of Australia’s most spectacular coastal routes.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Royal National Park, Royal National Park, New South Wales
At dusk one has a good chance to see a black wallaroo between the giant gumtrees of the oldest national park in Australia.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
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No accommodation included on this day.
