5 beautiful places in Australia not to be missed
With a lot of our travel over the past two to three years being done by watching documentaries, devouring travel books, or going on a google-diet of travel experiences, now is the time to get moving, get out there, do it. If flying internationally is not on your travel menu just yet, with worries about the airfares, cancellations, queues or losing your luggage, then don’t! Stay right here in Australia and go exploring with AAT Kings. You’ll travel with like-minded people who are so ready to head off on immersive, off-the-beaten track adventures, with knowledgeable insiders who can add to the experience with their passion, whether they are talking about astronomy, Indigenous art, food, wine or wildlife. And you don’t have to worry about anything, because AAT Kings has 100 years of experience of sharing the extraordinary sites of Australia with their guests, with tour directors taking care of all the details, so all you have to do, is go. As to where you might wander, here are five amazing itineraries to whet your real-time travel appetite.
The coast with the most
The 12-day East Coast Beaches and Reef itinerary takes you from Cairns to Sydney, to marvel at not one, not two, but three World Heritage-listed sites. And that is just the appetizer. This trip will showcase the seductive coastlines and shimmering seas from the azure aquarium that is the Great Barrier Reef, to the Wet Tropics of Queensland, with some of the oldest rainforest on Earth, and K’gari – Fraser Island – the largest sand island in the world. All three will have you mesmerised by nature’s artistry. Join your new AAT Kings friends as you let go of those viral reins and seek fun and adventure along with a lust for learning. Highlights include a snorkel tour on the Great Barrier Reef, a stroll through a tangle of rainforest in the Atherton Tablelands, taking in the Heritage-listed Curtain Fig Tree and dramatic Millaa Falls, and the many delights of K’gari, from the Pinnacles Coloured Sands to the Maheno shipwreck, Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The Whitsundays, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour will also add to your coastal colour collection.
Northern Territory Explorer
The 11-day journey from Darwin to Uluru will get under your skin as you meander through the spectacular wilds of the Northern Territory. It is truly epic, as you discover its gorges, marvel at its national parks, learn about its ancient heart, soak in thermal springs and immerse in Aboriginal culture. You’ll visit Kakadu, with its floodplains, waterfalls, birdlife, crocs and vast panoramas. In Nitmiluk National Park, cruise through the gorge carved by rivers millions of years ago, explore the rocky gorges and waterholes of the West MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs, and fall in love with Uluru. Even if you have been before, Uluru is awe inspiring, and with AAT Kings, you’ll watch the sunrise over the textured rock, walk around its vast base and understand why this part of the country is so special to the Aṉangu people, who have called the region home for millennia.
Wonders of the West
Imagine three weeks of discovering some of Australia’s most wild places, with whale sharks to swim with, vast landscapes to admire and Aboriginal cultural experiences to enjoy. AAT Kings Wonders of the West Coast & Kimberley tour will thrill with 21 days of wonder from Perth to Darwin. What a road trip this will be, venturing on the roads less travelled, to marvel at sights you cannot see anywhere else. Visit Yanchep National Park, where your Aboriginal guide will teach you about native plants and tell Dreamtime stories of how the land was created. See the dolphins at Monkey Mia, cruise the turquoise waters of the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast, home to cavorting whale sharks or humpback whales, and fringed by the surprising Cape Range National Park. Karijini National Park could well leave you speechless, with its magnificent canyons and water holes carved by time, and Broome will sweep you off your feet with its pearls, stunning Cable Beach and perhaps an optional tour to the Horizontal Falls. Further north, visit a community art gallery and learn about First Nations culture in the Fitzroy Crossing region, bump up your pioneer spirit on the Gibb River Road, marvel at Emma Gorge, and explore Kununurra before heading to Katherine and up to Darwin. This tour is one for the intrepid, and is sure to be unforgettable in the best possible way.
Rock the Cradle
Cradle Mountain – Tasmania’s most famous peak – sits at the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and is one of many magnificent places visited on the 13-day Perfect Tasmania itinerary with AAT Kings. This imposing and mystical mountain stands sentinel over the north end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, with its wild rivers, idyllic rainforests, hiking trails and landscapes that feel untouched, apart from wildlife like Bennett’s wallabies, echidnas and grazing pademelons. The tour, which is a round trip from Hobart, boasts many highlights, from the spiritual Cataract Gorge near Launceston to pristine Wineglass Bay in Coles Bay on the fringe of Freycinet National Park, and a cruise down the Gordon River, a pristine wilderness area near Strahan. Not to be missed, is a tour to the World Heritage-listed Port Arthur Historic Site, which has so much more than a dark convict history, which you will learn about on a guided tour with a local historian.
Gorge on the Blue Mountains
If time is not your friend and you can’t get away for one of the longer AAT Kings tours due to work or family commitments, sate your travel urge with a one-day tour to the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. AAT Kings’ Blue Mountains All Inclusive Discovery tour showcases the natural beauty of the Blue Mountains, with its escarpments, gorges and dramatic sandstone plateau a haven for hiking trails, waterfalls and lookouts that will leave you spellbound. On the way out to the mountains, the tour stops at Sydney Zoo where a private Indigenous guide will take you to see the dingoes, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and echidnas in a cage-free environment. You’ll also learn about traditional tools, artefacts and bush tucker on the Bungarribee Dreaming Experience. Once in the mountains, visit Echo Point and its famous three sisters, visit Scenic World where you ride the Scenic Railway, Cableway and Skyway, and go back in time along the Jurassic-like Rainforest boardwalk.
Whet your travel appetite
Go to see Australian Geographic: Our Country at the ICC in Sydney. This stunning multisensory exhibition celebrates many of the wild and beautiful places AAT Kings tours can take you to, brought to life across 1600 square metres of powerful sound and screen projections. Our Country celebrates Australia’s breathtaking land, waterways and skies.
This article is brought to you by AAT Kings.
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