12-Nights Great Barrier Reef and the Red Centre

12 nights from: $12,845

Beginning in beautiful Port Douglas, with a stay at the Thala Beach Nature Reserve, find yourself surrounded by 145 acres of gorgeous wilderness with the Great Barrier Reef a mere stone's throw away. Journey on to marvel at the magnificent Uluru, a sight sure to overwhelm all of your senses as you begin to understand why it's so treasured by the local cultures. Then head down to Adelaide, where it's time where it's time to explore Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Your travels conclude in the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne, with a guided walk through the city's electrifying lanes and arcades and an evening at Phillip Island with a Ranger-led experience to view the little penguins.

Your Itinerary Includes:

• Round trip airport transfers
• 3 nights at Thala Beach Nature Reserve
• Great Barrier Reef experience
• Daintree Rainforest experience
• 1 night Cairns
• Cairns Aquarium experience
• 2 nights Uluru
• Uluru sunrise experience
• "A Night at Field of Light" experience
• "Sunrise Journeys" experience
• 3 nights Adelaide
• Kangaroo Island Experience
• Fleurieu Food, Wine, Wildlife experience
• 3 nights Melbourne
• Phillip Island experience
• Lanes and Arcades walking tour
• Meals: 12 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners

Uluru Sunrise Viewing Area Travel Packages

Categories: Uluru Sunrise Viewing Area

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre Travel Packages

Categories: Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre

The world's largest monolith, located 280 mi/450 km southwest of Alice Springs, is a truly stunning sight, especially at sunset when its burnt-orange glow seems to set the desert on fire. Called Uluru by the Aborigines, the sandstone rock is huge (1,140 ft/350 m high, 9 mi/13 km around) and reddish brown most of the time, taking its color from iron oxide, or rust. Its presence is made more powerful by the mostly barren plain that surrounds it and disappears into the horizon. In 1985, ownership of the rock was returned to its traditional owners. It is rarely referred to as Ayers Rock anymore.Free Uluru Travel
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Considered sacred by the Aborigines for thousands of years, the rock is now part of the expansive Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, one of the country's biggest tourist attractions. The park includes the Olgas/Kata Tjuta, a cluster of 36 giant domelike rock formations about 20 mi/35 km west. If you want to visit both, plan to spend at least one night. You'll want to see Uluru at both sunset and sunrise. The Olgas are equally magnificent at both times of day. (But be prepared to jockey for position at either place; tour buses disgorge hundreds of visitors laden with binoculars, cameras and video equipment.)

Start your visit to the park with a stop at the cultural center. Run by the Anangu (a local Aboriginal clan), the center is a wonderful introduction to the unusual rock formations and to the people who lived in their harsh shadows for centuries. Aboriginal artwork and artifacts are on display. You can also see re-enactments of life in the bush and watch informative videos. Most visitors explore the rock as part of a tour led by park rangers, Anangu guides or private tour companies. But you can also pick up a printed walking guide at the cultural center and set off on your own.

Only one trail leads to the top of the rock, and it's fairly steep—those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, asthma, fear of heights or the like should remain earthbound. The Anangu prefer you walk around—not on—the rock because of its spiritual importance. If you do decide to climb it, allow two to three hours and take along a snack and plenty of water. The view from the top is spectacular, but hiking around the base is more educational and less strenuous. We suggest taking one or more of the shorter walks that pass water holes and rock paintings, allowing you to observe the rock's many faces at a leisurely pace. (Walking around the entire base of the rock takes about three hours.)

Allow at least an afternoon to visit the Olgas/Kata Tjuta. A frequent debate among visitors is whether the Olgas outshine the rock. It's a close call—the Olgas are taller, reaching 1,790 ft/545 m at the highest point. Made of conglomerate (pebbles and boulders cemented together by mud and sand), they are off-limits to climbers, but you can explore some of the valleys and chasms between the rocks.

Most visitors fly to Uluru or drive from Alice Springs. About the only place to stay in the area is the Ayers Rock Resort, or Yulara, whose five hotels and a campground can accommodate visitors in all price ranges. Longitude 131 is a magnificent safari camp with 15 luxury tents. Dozens of tours leave from Ayers Rock Resort, including sunrise camel rides around the rock, sunset champagne dinners in the desert, Aboriginal culture tours and stargazing. You can also rent a car there and explore on your own.

Because of the excessive heat in summer, the best time to visit is April-November (winter in Australia). Always take along plenty of drinking water. If you are flying to the Outback, we suggest going overland one way from Alice Springs (four to five hours) but flying the other way—the desert drive is scenic, but it can be tedious the second time around. http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru.