Float above the canopy on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, stepping off at Barron Falls and forest boardwalks to hear the chorus of whipbirds and cicadas. Continue to artsy Kuranda Village, where markets brim with local crafts.

Ride heritage carriages on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, crossing stone bridges and waterfalls as the track threads the Barron Gorge. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Glide out for a sunset cruise on Cairns’ Trinity Inlet, where mangrove-lined channels open to Coral Sea horizons backed by rainforest-cloaked peaks. Golden hour paints the water bronze as seabirds wheel over the marina.

Sip a drink on deck, feel the evening breeze and watch city lights flicker to life against the mountains. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Gather in the cool hush to witness the sunrise over Uluru, when the sandstone’s mineral pigments shift from violet to ochre. The soaring monolith rises from the desert plain as finches chatter and the first light sketches long, red shadows.

Learn how Tjukurpa—Anangu law and creation stories—shapes custodianship of this sacred place. This contemplative morning honours desert silence and the timeless presence of one of Earth’s great natural landmarks.

Walk the island’s signature trail, the Forts Walk, climbing through fragrant eucalypt and hoop pine to coastal viewpoints. Along the way, explore relics of WWII fortifications and searchlight posts as sea breezes sweep across Cleveland Bay.

Keep eyes peeled for snoozing grey shapes in the branches—this path is famed for koala-spotting in the wild. From the ridge, gaze toward the Palm Island Group and Townsville, a panorama that pairs island forest with vast Coral Sea blues.

• 3 Lunch (L)
• 5 Dinner (D)
• 9 Breakfast (B)

• Sydney: A modular trip means fellow travellers will join and leave at various locations. There’ll be some goodbyes, sure, but there’ll also be plenty of hellos with new like-minded travellers.
• Sydney: Contiki acknowledges the Traditional and Torres Strait Island owners of the land, sea and waters of the spectacular Australian continent. Dual-naming reflects that, as we explore this remarkable land, we recognise and respect Indigenous custodianship of a unique, ancient culture and country.
• Gimuy (Cairns): It’s best to wait at least 24 hours after your last dive before flying.
• Yunbenun (Magnetic Island): During your 2-night stay in Magnetic Island, you’ll stay in multi-share rooms with the same sex even (if you’ve booked single or twin room for the trip duration). But if you’d like some privacy, you can request a paid upgrade to a single or twin room, but the confirmation would depend on availability.Please note that this is a modular trip. That means you’ll be joining a trip that started 1 week earlier – if you wish to do the full version, please refer to the Ultimate Australia trip.
• Airlie Beach: Pretty darn epic, if you ask us. It’s a converted racing yacht that sleeps up to 20 people with all the basic amenities. It’s snazzy – perfect if you’re all about fun adventures out on the sea. 

• Whitsunday Islands: Set sail from Airlie Beach for two nights of pure Whitsundays magic. Think snorkelling, hiking, and sunset vibes (with a top crew and experienced skipper leading the way). All decked out with delish food – brekkie, lunch, dinner, and dessert – plus all the snorkelling equipment you’ll need.
• Whitsunday Islands: Float around the reefs, marvel at rainbow-coloured fish, then chill out on deck (and secretly hope no one brought a ukulele). 
• Whitsunday Islands: Visit the World’s Best Beach!! Seeing Whitehaven Beach is like seeing a little piece of heaven. With 15 of your new best friends! #lifegoals 
• Whitsunday Islands: Step aboard a converted racing yacht – where your friendly captain trusts you enough to let you try steering it. 
• Whitsunday Islands: The Great Barrier Reef is home to nearly 9,000 species of sea creatures. This means it’ll impress even the saltiest ‘sea dogs’.
• Townsville: Catch a boat from the mainland to Magnetic Island.
• Magnetic Island: Pack some comfy shoes and climb up to Hawking’s Point for sundown. Yoga poses for Insta: optional. 
• Magnetic Island: Go koala-spotting, see WWII fortifications, or just have a beer in the sun. There’s something for everyone on this trail. 
• Magnetic Island: Mingle with Magnetic Island’s resident Rock Wallabies at dusk. Just watch these cheeky little guys don’t steal your wallet! 
• Magnetic Island: Catch a boat from Magnetic Island to the mainland. Wave goodbye to your new BFF Reggie the Koala and promise you’ll write. 
• Townsville: Things heat up as the landscape gets even more tropical. Soak up the scenery on this train trip from Townsville to Cairns. 
• Cairns: Eat like a local with this chef-guided bush food tutorial and dinner (thankfully, not a witchetty grub in sight!)
• Daintree Rainforest: Check out the oldest rainforest in the world, home to frogs, butterflies, bats and more.
• Daintree Rainforest: Tour the world’s oldest rainforest with an expert. Sir David Attenborough called Daintree: ‘the most extraordinary place on earth’. 
• Daintree Rainforest: Learn how ancient ‘Dreamtime’ stories were shared through art. Then unleash your inner Banksy and create a masterpiece at the Janbal Gallery. 
• Gimuy (Cairns): Time to take to the sky. Uluru, here we come!
• Uluru: Chill with your new BFFs over dinner at Uluru.
• Uluru: Start the day the right way – by enjoying the sunrise over Uluru. This should be on everyone’s #lifegoals list. 
• Kata Tjuta: Walk around this sacred site. See the Valley of the Winds and Walpa Gorge, with its towering domes that change colour in the sunlight. 
• Uluru: Does it get any better than a ‘Big Brekkie’ cooked up on the BBQ? We think not. 
• Uluru: Salute this sacred landmark with drinks and nibbles as you watch the sun set. A moment you’ll replay in your mind forever. 
• Kings Canyon: Climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ to the aptly named Garden of Eden, Kings Canyon.

Contiki

Set out to set sail across the Whitsundays on a nimble, ex-racing yacht with an expert skipper and crew. Feel the spray as you trim the sails, even try steering the helm, and drop anchor off Whitehaven Beach, where the silica sands shimmer beside turquoise water.

Swim ashore and wander the inlets before you snorkel fringing reefs alive with reef fish, soft corals and cruising turtles within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. With small-crew camaraderie and sunset deck time, this is the Whitsundays at its most elemental.

Follow a short, rocky path to the Hawkings Point Lookout, where granite boulders frame a sweeping theatre of bays and headlands. As the light softens, watch the sunset over Cleveland Bay burnish the sea and silhouette distant ranges.

This natural balcony above Picnic Bay captures Magnetic Island’s sculpted landscape—granite tors, hoop pines, and reef-rimmed coves—at its most cinematic. Arrive with time to pause for photos and reflection as the evening breeze cools the hillside.

Wander to Geoffrey Bay as day fades and watch Magnetic Island’s petite celebrities emerge from the rocks. Gentle, curious and agile, the Rock Wallabies at dusk hop between boulders while seabirds arc overhead.

Learn about respectful wildlife viewing—no feeding, keep space—and capture close-up moments as reef-tinged twilight washes across the shore. It’s an intimate encounter with a resilient colony adapted to a rugged, wave-tumbled habitat.

Join an interactive Bush Food tutorial led by expert hosts and discover the aromas of lemon myrtle, wattleseed and pepperberry. Taste, grind and blend as you sample native spices and fruits before a chef-guided dinner featuring native game and seasonal produce.

Hear how First Nations knowledge shaped sustainable foodways across rainforest and savanna. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER experience celebrates Australia’s oldest living cultures through story, flavour and technique—shared at a convivial table in the tropics.

Venture into the Daintree Rainforest, where fan palms and ancient ferns thrive beneath cathedral canopies. Take part in a smoking ceremony, learn about Kuku Yalanji culture and Dreaming stories, and join an art session to create your own canvas inspired by Country.

Older than the Amazon, this World Heritage landscape shelters cassowaries, forest dragons and luminous butterflies. Guides interpret bush foods, medicines and seasonal rhythms as creeks curl through mossy gorges and the forest hums with life.

Hike between the towering domes of Kata Tjuta on trails that reveal wind-carved corridors and desert gardens. Stroll the cool chasm of Walpa Gorge and tackle sections of the Valley of the Winds for big-sky views and sculpted rock panoramas.

Meaning “many heads” in Pitjantjatjara, these 36 conglomerate domes shelter hardy plants and birds adapted to arid life. Guides share geology, stories and respectful ways to experience this deeply significant cultural landscape.

Fuel up with a hearty Big BBQ Brekkie at historic Kings Creek Station, where red dirt tracks and camel paddocks frame the horizon. Then set out on the famed Kings Canyon Rim Walk, following sandstone terraces and beehive domes along the cliff edge.

Descend into the shaded Garden of Eden, a hidden waterhole alive with cycads and birdsong, before celebrating a wide-open sky with sunset over the Outback as the ranges deepen to purple.

Board a high-speed catamaran to the Great Barrier Reef and slip into crystalline water to snorkel or dive above coral gardens teeming with life—clownfish, parrotfish and graceful rays paint the scene in technicolour.

Learn from marine experts about reef ecology and conservation, then relax on deck as the Coral Sea sparkles to the horizon. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; diving options follow local safety guidelines.

Dial up the adrenaline with a skydive over reef and rainforest, a tower-top bungy jump amid tropical canopy, or a whitewater raft through boulder-strewn rapids. Each option pairs expert guides with world-class North Queensland scenery.

From freefall views to river spray, these iconic Cairns thrills deliver pure endorphins in spectacular settings. Experiences are at additional cost and bookable on tour; age, weight and weather conditions may apply.

Stroll illuminated pathways through Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, where tens of thousands of glass spheres bloom across the desert floor beneath the Uluru skyline and a star-salted desert night sky.

This ephemeral artwork washes the dunes in gentle colour, inviting quiet contemplation as constellations rise. The experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; capacity is limited and evening departures vary with season.

Cover more ground on a Segway guided base tour, cruising smooth pathways to rock shelters, waterholes and wind-sculpted folds of the sandstone. Guides share sacred stories and highlight desert plants adapted to this arid country.

Enjoy frequent interpretive stops for photos of textures and caves while learning about Anangu culture and geology. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; all equipment and instruction provided.