Australian Natural Adventures

Custom Itinerary for Dan Gross, Rosanne Mamo & Ellen Leonhardt

Australia
July 7 to August 3 2007

Day 1 - Saturday, July 7: New York / Los Angeles / Lost In Space
Check in for your Qantas flight QF108 departing JFK at 7.10pm, arriving 11.50pm to Australia in the American Airlines terminal. Depart LAX on the same plane at 11.50pm for Sydney, Australia. Australia begins the moment you step aboard your Qantas plane. The Australian style is apparent—easy going, casually efficient and very friendly. Qantas is known for its decent food, nice wines and in flight service, so you can sit back and enjoy the hospitality, meal and a movie or two. .    (*M)          

Day 2 - Sunday, July 8: Lost In Space
Lose today due to the International Dateline, but regain it on your return journey.               

Day 3 - Monday, July 9: LIS / Sydney
You arrive in Sydney at 7.25am this morning, pass through customs and immigration after which you are met and transferred to your hotel , the Harbour Rocks, located in The Rocks, the historical heart of Sydney. As well as a good range of interesting shops, some of Sydney's oldest and most colorful pubs, and best restaurants, are found within a ten minute stroll. Australia has developed its own cuisine, a far cry from the stodgy English-based fare of earlier years. Restaurants featuring a fusion of Asian, European and even native Australian food abound, often featuring the superbly fresh fish abundantly available from Australia's long coastline. Lunch can be taken on a cruise on the harbor, with views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, as well as the boats and ferries of what is often called the most beautiful city harbor in the world. While there are tours that utilize the ferries, usually with lunch or morning tea, another way to do this is to simply buy a return ticket to one of the up-harbour places such as Homebush (where the Olympics were held). You’ll see a map of all the places they go at Circular Quay. The ferries have a snack/meal bar, and you can just get an easy lunch or snack there, sit back, and enjoy the ride. The ferry to Manly goes in the other direction, and as it passes the Entrance, where the harbor enters the Pacific, can get interestingly rough at times. It also passes the Opera House and various other landmarks. Sunset is at 6pm tonight, and a ride to Manly and back timed with twilight will have you coming back as the lights of the Opera House and the Bridge behind it come on, with the sunset in the background. Return to your hotel for a well-deserved night's rest, but make sure you are not tempted to lie down before about 8pm. You need to stay awake all today, then sleep on Sydney's time, to best adjust to the new time zone.                   (*B)

Day 4 - Tuesday, July 10: Sydney
Discover Sydney today, a wonderfully cosmopolitan city. Just a short walk from your hotel (the desk can give you directions) is the office of The Rocks Walking Tours, from where you will start your 11.30am easy 90-minute walking tour of this historic and vibrant area. Many of the buildings date from the very first years of the settlement, and are convict-built. You will get a good insight to the history of Sydney, and Australia. The rest of the day is free to explore this vibrant and friendly city. In addition to great shops to buy the needed souvenirs and gifts, just a short walk is the Botanic Gardens and the Domain, which has good views of the harbour, an abundant bird life– it’s east to pick up your first ten or fifteen Australian bird species here in twenty minutes - and a colony of huge grey fruit-bats, whose wingspans are approximately three feet.

Many people think of opals when they think of Australia, and we can recommend The Art of Opal and Altmann & Cherny for interesting and quality opals, along with excellent service. There are a number of places to buy opals , but these two get consistently high marks form our clients, and have a wide range of stones at all price points, both set and loose. Altmann & Cherny has an educational section wher eyou can learn about opals, and also displays the Aurora Australia, a huge 180 carat black opal valued at $1m million. We’ve included a brochure which also entitles you to a discount and a free gift. You should take your passport and airline ticket to buy tax-free.      (B)     

Day 5 - Wednesday, July 11: Sydney
Today is free to continue your exploration of Sydney. The Australian Museum, with its impressive collection of Aboriginal artifacts and art, is a pleasant walk away. It’s best approached down the length of the Domain, rather than through town. It is also a very good natural history museum, naturally featuring Australian wildlife, geography and geology. The Taronga Zoo is a ferry ride across the harbour, and a lunch or dinner cruise is a good way to truly appreciate this water-side city. During today or tomorrow you may wish to take a guided tour of the Opera House; tours leave on the half hour from 9.30am until 4.45pm. This can be followed by dinner and a show, or just a show, in one of the Opera House theatres, depending on your tastes. A calendar of events can be found here. Everything is within walking distance of your hotel.   On the other side of Hyde Park are the Hyde Park Barracks, home to over 15,000 convicts in Australia’s formative years. Other areas of interest in Sydney are Darling Harbour, with its world-class Aquarium, and a little further out the once-notorious area called Kings Cross. The inner suburbs of Wooloomooloo and Paddington are now home to restaurants, boutique shops, and other less touristy and more local-flavored shopping and dining opportunities. Your hotel desk can help you visit any of these areas.            (B)

Day 6 - Thursday, July 12: Sydney / Cairns
After a final morning in Sydney return to the airport and fly to Cairns at 12.55p, arriving at 4.05pm. You are met and taken to the Mike Ball office to check in for your dive trip. After check-in you will have a couple of hours to look at Cairns. (You can also fly up earlier, to arrive at 1.05pm or 11.50am). Return for boarding at 7pm.        (B,D)

Days 7 to 12, Friday, July 13 to Wednesday, July 18: Great Barrier Reef
Today you are introduced to one of the natural wonders of the world—Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a series of reefs extending for about 1,250 miles along the coast of Queensland, nearly to Papua New Guinea. Most of the Great Barrier Reef, including the parts visited today, are multiple-use Marine Park. Brilliantly colored fish, giant clams, beche de mer and coral outcrops can all be seen. Shallow diving brings you over coral “bombies,” heads of coral with their assortment of fishes, and hard and soft corals. Parrot fish glean algae from the coral, and small and medium predators search for food. Schools of fish twist and flash between the outcrops. An occasional sea turtle may be seen. Lunch is usually a tropical smorgasbord aboard, and dinner equally delicious. Although diving in the Caribbean can be spectacular, the Great Barrier Reef has as many fish, corals and mollluscs in an average acre as in the entire Caribbean. July is migration season for Minke whales, and your captain will be looking out for sightings.

Day 13 - Thursday, July 19: Cairns
Dan and Rosanne return from their dive trip this morning, and Ellen flies in from Sydney. After some organizational details, including sending their dive gear down to Melbourne, they and Ellen are picked up by Jonathon to begin a three night tour of the forests and wildlife of North Queensland. Jonathon is a naturalist who has been guiding in North Queensland since 1987. Past clients include Audubon societies, the BBC natural history unit, museum, university, zoo and alumni groups, photographic groups, film crews, bird clubs, travel agents, families and individuals. Jonathan has traveled extensively to observe wildlife in Africa, Borneo, China, Mongolia, USA, Canada, the Arctic, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia and Europe. In addition, he has worked as a biologist for the Australian Parks and Conservation Service and for organizations concerned with wildfowl and wetlands conservation and captive breeding programs for rare and endangered species. In addition to covering National Parks and similar areas, part of your time with Jonathon will be spent on his own highland rainforest property, which is home to a superb range of wildlife, including Lumholtz Tree Kangaroos, twelve species of possums, and Golden Bowerbirds. You will first head north to the Daintree area, to look around at this lowland rainforest. Details of this afternoon’s activities will depend on your post dive timing, the weather (which should be fine) and other similar factors.

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