The Red Centre & Top of Australia

The Playford
The Playford is a comfortable 5-star city hotel with a great location on the North Terrace, minutes from Adelaide’s major sights and central shopping & restaurant precinct.

The rooms are spacious and attractively furnished. Facilities include indoor pool, health club with spa & sauna, fine dining restaurant and high speed internet access in all rooms.

Adelaide’s Central Market is the largest food market in Australia, with a huge range of specialist food stalls serving the best quality gourmet produce. Your guide, Mark Gleeson, is a local store owner, and the perfect person to show you around! The tour lasts approx. two hours and ends with a delicious coffee served at one of the market stalls.

Sails in the Desert
Set in the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Sails in the Desert is a luxurious five-star hotel and one part of the Ayers Rock Resort. It is a striking blend of contemporary design—the name ‘Sails in the Desert’ comes from the white sail-like structures that shade the hotel grounds and gardens—and Aboriginal heritage. The rooms are large, spacious and lavishly furnished, and enjoy dramatic views of the desert. Facilities include swimming pool, tennis courts, and a selection of restaurants.

Australia’s Red Centre is home to three geological marvels – Kata Tjuta, Mt Conner and Uluru, otherwise known as Ayers Rock.

This evening at sunset, join a small group tour of Uluru, accompanied by a local guide (transfers, drinks and snacks included). A National Park fee of A$25.00 per person is payable directly.

Uluru is one of Australia’s most striking natural landmarks, a vast inselberg that dwarfs everything around it. It is also a site of great cultural significance, especially to the local Anangu people, for whom the monolith was traditionally a sacred site.

As you explore the site with an Aboriginal guide, you will learn more about the importance of Uluru in early Aboriginal culture, and of the stories told about its origins in the fabled ‘Dreamtime’.

The rock formations of Kata Tjuta are at their most spectacular in the early hours, when you can really admire their colours as they change in response to the shifting light.

Take the time to meander through the natural rock domes, of which there are 36, and to explore the Walpa Gorge. Your guide will explain the cultural significance of Kata Tjuta, and its role as an Aboriginal ceremonial site.

Return to Sails in the Desert late morning. Rest of day at leisure.

Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge
Kings Canyon Wilderness Lodge nestles among desert oak trees in a secluded part of Kings Creek Station, a working camel and cattle station in the Australian outback. The lodge offers stylish tented cabins (Meru-style tents – think African safari tents) each with air-conditioning units and en-suite bathrooms. The cabins open out onto private verandahs overlooking the desert landscapes.

There’s a range of activities available at Kings Canyon, from escorted camel rides to quad biking and helicopter flights—mostly at additional cost. Walking trails are accessible nearby and bikes available to hire.

The final night of your Red Centre safari is spent in Alice Springs, situated at the very geographic centre of Australia.

The Alice Springs Resort
The Alice Springs Resort is a comfortable hotel situated on the banks of the usually dry Todd River. Facilities include a solar-heated swimming pool, the Palm Restaurant and the Gum Tree Lounge. The deluxe rooms have a private balcony with a view of the surrounding area.

The Ghan
Travel through the heart of the Australian continent on the legendary Ghan. This iconic route was first pioneered nearly 200 years ago, in the early nineteenth-century. Then, the journey was made on camel, and led by Afghan handlers; today, you’ll be pleased to know, luxury trains are an option!

The Ghan train takes its name from these early pioneers and its emblem of an Afghan camel-rider is intended as a tribute to their efforts in opening up the harsh interior to the rest of Australia.

Gold Service Cabin Accommodation
Your stay on the Ghan will be in a twin sleeper cabin, which has been designed to convert from a three seater lounge during the day to a bedroom with upper and lower sleeping berths by night. The cabin has en-suite bathroom with toilet, shower and washbasin. Each cabin is fully serviced by carriage attendants. Meals are taken in the beautifully furnished restaurant car, while the gold lounge & bar is the spot to socialise and meet other guests.

You will make a number of stops during the journey (all off-train tours are included in the gold service – see PDF itinerary for details).

Mantra on the Esplanade
Mantra on the Esplanade is located in central Darwin, a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and shopping district.

It offers a selection of one, two and three bedroom apartments, all with en-suite bathrooms and separate living, kitchen and dining areas. From their balconies, the apartments overlook Darwin Harbour.

Hotel facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, restaurant and bar.

Mantra on the Esplanade is just a short stroll from a number of good restaurants.

It’s possible to stop on the way to Kakadu and take a Jumping Crocodile cruise on the Adelaide River—let us know if you’d like us to build this into your tour.

Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn
The Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn is a charming resort situated within Kakadu National Park. It provides a great base from which to explore the surrounding area, as it is close to a number of the more prominent rock art sites. Facilities include a large swimming pool and restaurant & bar.

Kakadu is found in the remote north of Australia, and is the largest National Park in the country. Its name recalls the Gagudju people, who once dominated the hills and floodplains that make up the bulk of the park’s land. Even today, Kakadu remains one of the few areas in Australia where Aboriginal traditions are still very much alive—traditions which stretch many thousands of years into the past, with archaeological finds suggesting that the area has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years.

Kakadu boasts perhaps the greatest concentration of rock art sites in the world, with as many as 5,000 recorded. Not without reason, then, is it considered a World Heritage Site. Many of the sites are hidden away in hard-to-reach gorges, but a number of the most impressive are easily accessible. The rock art, several examples of which are believed to date back over 20,000 years, depicts fauna and flora that has long since become extinct in Australia.

Kakadu National Park is as famous for its natural attractions as its historical and cultural sites. As Australia’s largest national park, it encompasses a huge area of land, and within it a vast range of terrain that is home to a diversity of wildlife—kangaroo, quoll, jacana, crocodile, wallaby, and more. At the heart of this eco-system is the South Alligator River, which flows through the centre of the Park and irrigates its floodplains. River cruises in the park provide the best opportunities for wildlife viewing.

There’s a huge amount to see and do in Kakadu. You can organise your own excursions from Gagudju, or if you prefer let us organise some activities for you in advance. Here are some ideas:

•    Sunset and sunrise cruises on the South Alligator River offers wonderful photo opportunities and great wildlife viewing – this is a must.
•    Take a scenic flight – in the months following the rains this is a great way to see inaccessible waterfalls and swollen rivers and billabongs.
•    Visit the ancient rock art site at Nourlangie or Ubirr and take in the magnificent views at sunset.
•    Visit the Murdurjul crafts centre, where you can learn more about Aboriginal handicrafts.
•    Jabiru Golf Club is the located within the park (the only such course in Australia)
•    There’s plenty of scope for guided safaris (4x4) and walks.