Aboriginal Culture & Australian Highlights

Arrive early in Australia’s cultural capital to explore art-filled laneways, galleries and boutiques at your own pace. Melbourne is also Australia’s food capital – we have something special planned for your Welcome Dinner.

Meals included: Dinner with wine

Accommodation: Intercontinental Hotel Melbourne - 3 Nights (or similar)

Australia’s Aboriginal culture spans oceans, rivers, rainforest, outback and cities, as you’ll discover with Koorie Heritage Trust. From the organisation’s base at Federation Square, explore Melbourne with a First Nation's guide along the banks of the Yarra River, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. It's only a few steps to Big Esso by Mabu Mabu, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, celebrating contemporary Torres Strait Islander culture through cuisine. The menu is an explosion of native Australian bush flavours, from finger lime to quandong, with a drinks list that heroes Indigenous-owned businesses – their art also decorates the walls. More awaits at the Ian Potter Centre (NGV) in Federation Square, which hosts one of Australia's most significant collections of art from First Nations Creatives.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Take the pulse of Melbourne in your own time. Need touring suggestions? Your Travel Director can assist. You might choose to stay in the heart of the city exploring the Royal Botanic Gardens with an Aboriginal guide. Or for a bird’s-eye view, zip to the Melbourne Eureka Skydeck – it’s the highest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. While it’s tempting to linger, a bevy of attractions await on the outskirts of the city, including the Great Ocean Road. Spending a day driving this World Heritage-listed route is a rite of passage, uniting surf, seaside towns and wilderness walks. You might choose to head to the other side of the bay – Phillip Island is a mecca for wildlife, including penguins that waddle from the ocean to their sandy burrows every evening.  

Meals included: Breakfast

The outback inspires creativity, as you’ll discover meeting Aboriginal artists and sculptors at Maruku Arts, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Their works capture the drama of Australia, and they’ll show you how to do the same during an art class. Spend the afternoon visiting the Gallery of Central Australia (GOCA), spotlighting ethically sourced Aboriginal art. Or, take to the sky on an optional scenic flight. Back at ground level, wander into Walpa Gorge, then say cheers to another Kata Tjuta sunset with a glass of bubbles.

Meals included: Breakfast

50,000 – that’s the number of lights that artist Bruce Munro used to create his alfresco artwork, Field of Light. This blanket of bulbs casts a surreal glow over the Uluru countryside, and is particularly beguiling on a sunrise visit. Tonight, is yours to explore Sydney. We have a little black book of hot restaurants to try if you need tips.

Meals included: Breakfast

Accommodations: Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Sydney - 4 nights (or Similar)

Bring your stamina for an action-packed day exploring the Harbour City, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Opera House. It sits on land belonging to the Eora Nation, as you’ll discover when you meet Aunty Margret of Dreamtime Southern X on a walking tour around the Rocks district. Swap the shore for the water on an expedition to harbour islands with Tribal Warrior Cruises and Tours, showing how Sydney’s Aboriginal culture and colonial history unite.

Meals included: Breakfast | Dinner

Enjoy a day at leisure to explore the best of Sydney. Walk the Rocks and stop or ask your Travel Director to assist booking tours like the Burrawa Indigenous Climb, which sees you scale the Sydney Harbour Bridge accompanied by an Aboriginal guide.Take the ferry to Manly Beach or walk the Bondi Coastal walk and snap some photos. Or, spend a full day exploring the Blue Mountains on an optional excursion.

Meals included: Breakfast

If you’re looking to continue your First Nations immersion, your Travel Director can organise optional tours including a bush-tucker experience in the Royal Botanic Garden, or an Aboriginal Cultural Tour at Barangaroo. A First Nations guide will also lead you around the Australian Museum’s two Aboriginal exhibitions on a Waranara Tour.

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner With Wine 

After your morning flight from Sydney, spend your free afternoon soaking up the steamy climes of Cairns. Explore the vibrant esplanade or opt for an Indigenous-owned cruise by Mandingalbay Tours.

Meals included: Breakfast

Accommodation: Flynn, A Crystalbrook Collection Resort - 3 Nights (or similar)

Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel’s catamaran tours tell the story of the Great Barrier Reef through First Nations' eyes. The company’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sea rangers regale you with 65,000-year-old Dreamtime creation stories, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, while you cruise to Moore Reef; here, slip into warm water to flipper among some of the 1,500 species of fish.

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch

Spend your free day soaking up the sights of Tropical North Queensland, perhaps joining a tour to catch the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and Kuranda Scenic Railway deep into the rainforest. Or maybe on an Outback Tasting Adventure, uniting distillers, brewers, cheesemongers and farmers. You may opt to discover native bush tucker on a Cape Tribulation, Mossman & Daintree tour, taking you through one of the world’s oldest rainforests. End your wild adventure with a Farewell Dinner at Ochre Restaurant on the Cairns waterfront. 

Meals included: Breakfast

You’ll not only depart Cairns a more seasoned traveller, but also a more thoughtful one. And don’t be surprised if you leave with a posse of new friends – Australia’s Aboriginal guides are as generous with their stories as they are with their time.

Meals included: Breakfast

WHAT'S INCLUDED

Exclusive Sunrise Field of Light art installation experience at Uluru
3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House
Centrally located premium hotels

HIGHLIGHTS

Local Connection

Aunty Margret is a Sydney legend, pioneering Indigenous tourism around the city. Discover Aboriginal sites and stories on one of her Dreamtime Southern X tours. 

Cultural Immersion

Whether at sunrise or sunset, the beauty of Uluru is mesmerising. Aboriginal creatives at Maruku Arts capture it in their paintings and will show you how to do the same. 

Sustainable Footprints

Big Esso not only crafts menus using sustainably grown native produce, but also supports Aboriginal growers, makers, bakers and brewers. 

Wildlife & Nature

Take a deep dive (literally) into the Aboriginal stories behind the creation of the Great Barrier Reef with Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel from Cairns.

GROUP SIZE NOTES

Max 48

MEALS INCLUDED

• 3 Dinners with Wine
• 12 Full Breakfasts
• 2 Lunches
• 1 Farewell Dinner

TRANSPORT

48 Seater Coach

LOCAL FLIGHTS

• Arrival and departure flight requirements.
  Arrival and Departure flights are not included in trip price
  Day 1 – flights to arrive prior to 1.00pm into Melbourne Airport
  Day 13 – flights to depart anytime from Cairns Airport
  Internal flights included in the trip price.
  Day 4 - Melbourne to Ayers Rock 
  Day 6 - Ayers Rock to Sydney
  Day 10 - Sydney to Cairns
  Return airport to hotel transfers are included in the trip price

ACCOMMODATION

Hotels (12 nts).

What to Bring

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
• Water bottle
• Warm layers in cooler months
• Camera