Australia East Coast Experience

1) Fun Down Under week in Sydney
This programme will provide you with a truly memorable week in Sydney with a group of likeminded travellers. Make some great friends and experience the best Sydney has to offer with this week of organised, fun activities.

Day 1: Arrival and free time
After checking into the hostel you may want to catch up on a few hours sleep, or head out into the city, or even the beach! Today is a free day for you to spend sightseeing, sleeping, shopping chilling out or whatever else takes your fancy!

Day 2: Welcome lunch at Sydney Centrepoint Tower
Everyone meets downstairs in the hostel reception at 1pm and after your briefing about the week ahead, you’ll all walk down to the Centrepoint tower. Lunch is buffet style and is all you can eat. It is situated up the Centrepoint tower on level 2, in the middle of downtown Sydney. The restaurant serves a vast array of starters, mains and desserts for you to try including real Aussie tucker! The rotating tower takes about 70 minutes to complete one rotation and provides amazing views over the city.

Day 3: Hunter Valley Wine Trip
First stop is an Australian Reptile Park to have morning tea with koalas and kangaroos and see other native Australian wildlife.

Then onto Hunter Valley, a few hours drive from Sydney, famous for it’s vino! We stop for lunch and then on to some wineries where you’ll be given a behind the scenes winery tour and get to taste over 30 different wines!

Day 4: Surf Trip (Summer)/ Jet Boating (winter)
Surfing (summer) At last – your chance to become an Aussie surf dude! You’ll have a 3 hours surf lesson where the experienced coaches will teach you how to catch waves, stand up and ride them all the way to the beach!

You’ll also have a tour of Sydney’s stunning Northern beaches including a trip to the famous Palm Beach aka Home and Away’s Summer Bay – have a photo stop at the surf club and you may even get to watch them filming!

Jet boating (winter)
An exhilarating jet boat ride around Sydney Harbour. Your adrenaline will be racing as you experience fish tails, wave riding, power brake stops and incredible 270-degree spins.

You’ll also see Sydney’s famous sites including the opera house, Fort Denison, Rose Bay, Goat Island and of course the harbour bridge! Upon your return to the hostel, you’ll go to Sidebar where there will be a free drink waiting for you!

Day 5: Beach BBQ
What better way to get a taste for the Aussie lifestyle than to spend a day at the famous Coogee beach? Relax, soak up the sun, practice your surfing and play games. Let us do all the hard work and prepare you an all-you-can-eat BBQ with sausages, burgers, salads and sauces! You’ll also get a free drink and we can of course cater for veggies!

Day 6: Zoo and pub Crawl
Another day packed full of fun! You’ll start the day down at circular quay where you’ll catch a ferry to Taronga Zoo. The Zoo is the biggest city zoo in the world and home to more than 2000 critters including many native Australian animals. You will also be able to hop on the sky safari cable car for great views of the whole zoo and surrounding area.

In the evening you’ll visit 5 of Sydney’s best bars and clubs in the city, Coogee, Bondi and Kings Cross! You’ll get a free drink in each venue, a free t-shirt and a group photo so you won’t forget this fab night out!

Day 7: Sydney Harbour Cruise
For a leisurely last day after a big night out we have arranged a Sydney harbour cruise starting around 12noon. Board the ‘Fun Boat’ to explore some of the harbour whilst kicking back, relaxing and soaking up the sights of Sydney.

The boat is geared up for Karaoke and live music or if you just want to relax you can head upstairs and just take in the sights. The cruise will give you a close up view of Sydney Opera House and Bridge, plus some of Australia’s most exclusive real estate in the Eastern Suburbs. The cruise lasts about 4 hours and will stop at some popular bars along the way for a drink and a quick explore of the area. A buffet style lunch and free T-shirt is included.

Please note: Activities may be subject to change due to weather conditions and the itinerary may change depending on day of arrival.

Accommodation and Meals
During your 7 nights you will stay in an ultra modern hostel in shared accommodation. It’s conveniently located right next to Central station, and nearby you will find plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and cafes. It’s the perfect base for anyone visiting Sydney! You will receive breakfast each day, as well as dinner on your first day, and lunch on day five. For all other meals, you will be able to either cook in the fully equipped kitchen at the hostel, or sample some of Sydney’s great eateries, which cater for all tastes and budgets.

2) Oz Experience Bus Pass from Sydney to Cairns
The hop on, hop off Oz Experience bus is an awesome way to travel this incredible country. You will meet loads of fellow travellers and see all the sights!

Example itinerary
Sydney to Surf Camp (Arrawarra or Crescent Head)
Today we head to our secluded surf camp where we hook up with the Mojo Surf crew (some of Australia’s best surf instructions) who will take you on an afternoon surfing lesson (all gear included) starting with a theory lesson then its straight out to the beach to get you on a board. If surfing isn’t for you – either sun bake on the crystal white sands or take a walk around the beautiful headland.

Surf Camp to Byron Bay
After a delicious breakfast, hit the beach again for your morning surf lesson. By now you should have the basic surf techniques sorted and some aspiring surfers amongst you will be turning at the base of clean breaking waves by the end of the lesson! Everyone who participated in the surf lessons will be given a progressive surf certificate before heading north up the coast to chill out at Byron Bay.

Byron Bay to Brisbane
Discover the unique town of Nimbin where hemp and hippy communes are a part of everyday life. Take the time to explore the town including Candle Factory, Hemp Embassy, Nimbin Museum and other points of interest. In the afternoon travel through to the 40km of golden sands known as the Gold Coast, cruising through Surfers Paradise for a swim and on to Brisvegas (Brisbane).

Brisbane to Hervey Bay
Check out the coastal town of Noosa along the way, or feel free to hop off and experience the destination for longer.

At Rainbow beach learn how to circular breath and play the ‘didge’, view a boomerang and spear-throwing demo and hear cultural stories. This interactive cultural experience will teach you about Aboriginal way of life. After a few hours at Rainbow Beach we head to Hervey Bay.

You have the choice to jump off in either Rainbow Beach or Hervey to visit Australia’s own giant sandpit – Fraser Island.

Hervey Bay to Kroombit Cattle Station
Today we head inland passing through Bundaberg to Kroombit Cattle Station to immerse you into Australian life with an over-night stay on a working Australian cattle farm. Experience outback life and a guided sunset walk to view the property, chow down on an Australian outback camp over dinner and test your skills with a ride on the mechanical bull. Kroombit is a great place to get off the bus and participate in a whole range of other great optional activities.

Kroombit Cattle Station to Airlie Beach
After a bush breakfast travel through Australia’s heart of cattle country, Rockhampton. Go bare foot bowling in the sleepy township of Sarina and then continue on to Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach to Magnetic Island.

After a short drive and ferry ride from Townsville we have you at the Base Resort on Magnetic Island by mid afternoon. Later we hopefully view koalas on their natural habitat on the “Forts” walk later afternoon, then last but not least settle down for a chilled out beer overlooking the sea! Bliss!

Magnetic Island to Mission Beach
Take part in a guided kayak tour from the shores of the resort and view marine life in the crystal clear waters. We then make tracks for Mission Beach, where bush meets beach. Learn about the unique flightless Cassowary bird (up to 2 metres tall) on an hour-long interpretive walk through local bush tracks.

Mission Beach to Cairns
Today enjoy a guided day trip of the Atherton Tablelands, including bush walking through towering rainforest, tropical farmland and swimming in crater lakes and waterfalls. In the late afternoon visit the AJ Hackett bungee site to finish your trip on a high with a bungee or Minjin swing (optional). Note that on the southbound route the bungee site is not visited.

Accommodation and Meals
Accommodation will be arranged for you and you pay on arrival, dorm rates cost approximately $20-25 per night. The driver will also point you in the right direction to great places to eat, all of which will be suitable for a backpacker budget! Alternatively you may like to get together and cook a group meal! (Please note, the ‘pay on board fee’ covers 3 nights accommodation and 10 meals).

3) Conservation Volunteers Australia – Cairns
Cairns is a tropical city, framed by the spectacular backdrop of rainforest mountain ranges and fringed by the Coral Sea.

Projects starting from Cairns offer great opportunities to explore the region where the rainforest meets the reef.

Volunteers may be involved in a number of activities, including tree planting, habitat restoration, track construction, flora and fauna surveys, weed control and coastal projects.

Weekend Travel
Included in the cost, as a reward for the volunteers is a special trip on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.

•Second Saturday – a guided bush walk with an experienced CVA guideBarron Gorge National Park – Cairns
This is the most popular national park in the north of Queensland, its seen as the gateway to the wet tropics. Once inside, you will be in awe of the rugged mountains, magnificent rainforest and volcanic crater lakes, which are residence to an abundance of wildlife.

•Fourth Saturday – free entry to a wildlife or cultural exhibition.Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farm – Cairns
Hartley’s is by far one of the best places to see crocodiles and native wildlife in the tropical north. You follow a series of boardwalks on a journey through a variety of natural habitats; the path provides a close up view from a safe distance.