Alluring Adventures

OCEANIA

The journey around AUSTRALIA begins in the exciting city of Sydney before exploring the sights of Melbourne. We’ll also enjoy one of the world’s great coastline drives along the Great Ocean Road. From the Victorian capital, it is a short flight south to Tasmania for a fantastic two weeks including hiking the Overland Track and beautiful Freycinet Peninsula. We’ll also explore the cities of Hobart, Launceston and historic convict settlement of Port Arthur.

As the weather cools we’ll head north to Cairns in Queensland for scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. It’s also the opportunity to take a trip up the coast to the resort town of Port Douglas before setting a compass for Alice Springs in the heart of the great Australian outback. Apart from insights in the Aboriginal culture, this is the base to explore Uluru, Kings Canyon and Olgas in the sacred Kata-Tjuta National Park.

Three days north up the Stuart Highway, we’ll arrive at Darwin in the ‘top end’ of Australia. This is where thousands of tourists come each year to enjoy the unique scenery and ancient rock art in the Kakadu and Lichfield National Parks. Through some seasonal employment, we’ll also spend some time on the aboriginal land of Melville Island before embarking on an epic road trip that will stretch some 6,000km to Perth.

On the way we’ll go through Broome with its magnificent Cable Beach and pearling history. The road trip south through Western Australia has plenty of highlights including visits to the Karijini and Kalbarri National Parks. There is great snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef before taking in the natural wonders of the Shark Bay World Heritage Park and Pinnacles Desert in the Namburg National Park. From Perth, we’ll then explore the beautiful southwest from Margaret River down to Esperance on the rugged south coast.

After a weekend on the extraordinary Rottnest Island, the final road trip will take us east to the mining town of Kalgoorlie and across the huge expanse of the Nullabor Plains. The most scenic part of this journey is the Great Australian Bight. Adelaide is the ‘City of Churches’ that is characterised by European colonial architecture surrounded by lovely green parklands. It’s the perfect base for a day exploring the wine producing Barossa Valley and a three day trip to the windswept Kangaroo Island.

Flying to the Queensland capital of Brisbane completes a full circle of the continent. Aside from the city itself, it’s the opportunity to explore the beaches and hinterlands of the surrounding Gold and Sunshine Coasts before spending a couple of weeks in FIJI. This adventure takes in the cities on the main island of Viti Levu before a visit to the old colonial capital of Levuka on the island of Ovalau. Then we’re off to the beautiful Yasawa Islands for a week of sun, sand and fun!

Click on the links below for this Alluring Australian Adventure!

SUBCONTINENT

We hit the ground running in the chaotic but richly rewarding capital city of Delhi in INDIA. We'll explore Agra before heading to NEPAL for a three week trek in the renowned Annapurna area before returning to the holiest city of Varanasi. From there, the journey goes west through a myriad of extraordinary places such as Khajuraho and Mandu. After a visit to the Buddhist rock caves of Ajanta and Ellora, we’ll arrive in Mumbai.

It’s off the tourist trail but there’s an excursion through Gujarat with the interesting hilltop temples of Palitana. The highlight of many trips to India is undoubtedly the colour and history of Rajasthan. It's here that we'll visit wonderful old forts, majestic palaces and experience the Thar Desert on a camel. Before leaving the north of India, we'll detour to Pushkar and explore the Pink and Blue Cities. Take a moment to catch your breath because we head south next.

Starting in Chennai, we'll do a loop around the south of India, finishing in Bangalore. It'll take us to amazing temples in places like Chidambaram and Thanjavur. There’s a visit to Kanyakumari on the southern tip of the country followed by an escape from the dusty road at the beach of Varkala. Cruising the serenely beautiful Kerala backwaters and walking the quiet streets of Fort Kochin are highlights of this itinerary. We'll then take the miniature railway to Ooty and travel on to Mysore with its stunning palace.

After a few days in Bangalore, the last part of this journey is in SRI LANKA. There'll be a misadventure or two in Colombo before heading to Kandy and other great places in the lush green Hill Country. I'll take you on my early morning ascent up Adam's Peak, through the pretty Nuwara Eliya and the tea plantations of Haputale. Hiking to the temples and waterfalls around Ella is also a wonderful experience. We'll then descend to the southern coast to explore the history of Galle and relax on a couple of lovely beaches on the western coastline.

Click on the links below for this Alluring Subcontinent Adventure!