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Highlights Destinations Kangaroo Island, Coober Pedy, Barossa Valley, Flinders Ranges, Adelaide
Your Itinerary Includes
- International coach class air from Los Angeles
- Internal coach class air in Australia
- Round trip airport transfers
- 3 nights Kangaroo Island
- Kangaroo Island touring
- 2 nights Coober Pedy
- Desert Cave tour
- 2 nights Barossa Valley
- 3 night Flinders Ranges Experience including:
- 1 night Wilpena Pound
- 1 night Arkaroola
- 1 night Blinman
- 2 nights Adelaide
- Fleurieu Peninsula tour
- 4 breakfasts 4 lunches 2 dinners
Day-By-Day Itinerary This itinerary can be fully customized to your specific requirements.
Day 1 Fly USA to Adelaide
Day 2 Cross The International Dateline
Day 3 Fly Adelaide to Kangaroo Island Located only 70 miles southwest of Adelaide (a 30 minute flight or less than 2.5 hours by car and ferry), it is hard to believe that Kangaroo Island remains so pure, unspoiled and untouched and is really one of the only places in Australia where you can see an abundance of native wildlife in its natural habitat. One-third of the island is protected as conservation and national parks, and half the island has never been cleared of native vegetation. You can walk among huge weather-sculptured granite boulders at Remarkable Rocks and roll down the snowy-white sand dunes of Little Sahara.
Kangaroo Island Wanderer – Day 1 Fly to Kangaroo Island where you are met and transferred to your accommodation. This tour includes three nights accommodation, and two full days of touring with a small group, in a 4WD vehicle with a naturalist driver/guide.
Day 4 Kangaroo Island Wanderer – Day 2 The next morning, commence your first day of touring, starting with Cygnet River Valley and Lathami Conservation Park. Lunch is a delicious BBQ with local wine. Walk with your guide amongst Australian Sealions at Seal Bay Conservation Park and visit Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park. Return to your accommodation.
Day 5 Kangaro Island Wanderer – Day 3 The second day of touring, we head for Flinders Chase National Park, home to Kangaroos, wallabies, possums, goannas and many birds. At Cape du Couedic, visit a New Zealand furseal colony. Further down the coast explore Remarkable Rocks. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the bush before exploring more of the island.
Day 6 Fly Kangaroo Island to Coober Pedy Transfer to Kingscote airport for your flight to Coober Pedy. On arrival you will be met and transferred by shuttle to your hotel.
In the opal mining outpost of Coober Pedy, 4,000 residents from 50 countries have made an art form of all things quirky. The opal fields were discovered here in 1913 and today, Coober Pedy produces most of the world's opals. With half the population living in underground dugouts to escape high temperatures in summer, only in Coober Pedy will you find an underground church, underground hotels and a golf course without a blade of grass.
Why not try your luck at 'noodling' (fossicking) for opals at various spots around town, get a great insight into the history of Coober Pedy at the Old Timers Mine and Museum, and buy up big at more than 30 gem shops. Or, take a town tour that features underground homes and opal mines, an art gallery and pottery, as well as a host of awesome natural landscapes including desert locations that were the back drop for movies including Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
You may tag along with the famous Outback Mail Run to Oodnadatta and William Creek, or join the nightly star gazing tour on the barren Moon Plain. Then discover the landscapes beyond: the ochre hills of the Breakaways, and the 3,293 mile Dog Fence, the longest fence in the world. With so much to see and do in this town, be sure to spend at least one night here to truly gain an insight into how an underground community lives.
Day 7 Desert Cave Tour The rainbow flash of opal, underground homes, easy-going lifestyle and the mystery of the dusty lunar landscape make Coober Pedy a unique and special place. An underground town where you could arrive with just the shirt on your back and leave a millionaire? Coober Pedy holds a fascination for visitors from all over the world.
Tour the town and hear about its history, about our precious water supplies and power generation. Every element of life is hard-won in Coober Pedy.
On a Desert Cave Tour you visit: A Working Opal Field to see Opal mining methods. Venture down a former working mine to see opal traces embedded in the sandstone. The Breakaways, a range of colourful exposed sandstone outcrops spectacular views over the Moon Plain once an inland sea. This dramatically beautiful area has been the set for many internationally known movies. The famous Dog Fence (dingo fence) stretching 5,300km across Australia. The Serbian Underground Church spectacular excavation, traditional Serbian Orthodox architecture and fascinating sand stone carvings A genuine underground home or Dugout – see how the locals live. Underground Potteries. Opal cutting demonstration professional advice on opal quality and price.
You also receive a complimentary opal stickpin as a lasting memento. At the end of your tour, join the tour guide for a complimentary drink in the underground Levels bar.
Day 8 Fly Coober Pedy to Adelaide Transfer to the airport for your flight to Adelaide. On arrival collect your rental vehicle and drive to the Barossa Valley.
Drive Adelaide to Barossa Valley Follow Main North Road out of Adelaide for approximately 23 miles and then turn right on to the Barossa Valley Highway. Take the picturesque route through the Adelaide Hills, via Chain of Ponds and Kersbrook to arrive at Williamstown. Just outside of the town is the Barossa Reservoir with its engineering feat, the Whispering Wall.
Continue on to Lyndoch, perhaps stopping for morning tea at the Lyndoch Bakery, where the first taste of the European influence on this region can be found in its specialty breads and pastries. From Lyndoch on, there is an endless choice of attractions and wineries to visit. On the road to Tanunda stop at the Jacob's Creek Visitor Center, home of the famous wine and the cellar door of the major wine company Orlando Wyndham. The town of Tanunda is a delight, and a walk around is the best way to see its unique historic attractions.
The Barossa Valley is approximately a 1.5 hour drive (43 miles) not including stops.
Day 9 At leisure, Barossa Valley Perhaps the most Germanic region in Australia, the Barossa Valley combines old world charm with world class wine. Luxury labels, including Penfolds, Henschke, and Rockfords, are proudly displayed next to smoked meats, pastries and freshly baked breads.
Producing nearly one-fourth of the nation's wine is hard work and locals wind down with day trips to the historic hamlet of Bethany, cycling through the valleys of grapevines or hosting the boisterous Barossa Vintage Festival. It is an impressive liquid lineup with renowned labels such as Jacob’s Creek starring regularly on dinner tables the world over.
At the other extreme this is the home to every auctioneer and collector's dream, the hallowed turf that produces none other than Penfold's Grange Hermitage. Why not experience the best of the wine growing region with A Taste of South Australia. Their expert guides ooze information that will educate you on this spectacularly scenic locale as well as tantalize your taste buds with some locally grown gourmet foods.
Day 10 Drive Barossa Valley to Adelaide Follow the picturesque Barossa Valley Highway towards Adelaide. This drive is at your leisure to explore the endless choice of wineries and attractions along the way. Adelaide is approximately a 1.5 hour drive (43 miles) not including stops.
Drop off Budget Rental Vehicle
Flinders Ranges Experience – Day 1 This 4WD adventure starts by heading north through historic Mintaro and into the Clare Valley, an area filled with vineyards and quaint villages. Continue to the border of the Outback and the start of the Flinders Ranges, with its majestic gorges gum trees and plenty of wildlife. The first night is spent at Wilpena Pound Resort, an ideal base for exploring the Southern region of the Flinders Ranges.
Day 11 Flinders Ranges Experience – Day 2 The second day we travel through the heart of the Flinders Rangers, traversing hills and gorges as we drive through the wildlife wonderland. The destination is Arkaroola Resort at the northen end of the Ranges – some of the oldest landscape on earth. Arkaroola is known for its 4WD tracks, some of which we will explore.
Day 12 Flinders Ranges Experience – Day 3 On Day three we start with the ‘Ridgetop Tour’, providing some breathtaking views, before heading west through Aboriginal communities. We spend our third night at an Outback Pub!
Day 13 Flinders Ranges Experience – Day 4 The fourth day we head toward civilization. We will pass though several historic towns along the Western Ranges, before reaching the coast and journeying through some of the ports and villages. The richness of the pastoral land as you near Adelaide is in stark contrast to the arid outback just visited.
Day 14 Life’s A Beach – Fleurieu Peninsula All over the world, Australia is known for its beaches. The area to the south of Adelaide shows why. This region is known as the Fleurieu Peninsula and is rich, not only with beaches and striking seascapes, but also has an abundance of native animals in their wild habitats. This adventure, takes you from Adelaide, down the rugged southern coast, along adventurous 4WD terrain, through conservation parks teeming with wildlife and down to the shores of the Great Southern Ocean with views to Kangaroo Island.
You will visit the Deep Creek Conservation Park. This Park is 4000 hectares of coastal views to Kangaroo Island, cliffs, heath, wild orchids and ferns growing by gully creeks and is home to a multitude of kangaroos that feed in the open grasslands and brightly coloured parrots. From here, you go on to visit Victor Harbor. This historic town was once a major whaling centre. With the hunters gone, the whales may be seen in the winter months frolicking in the coastal waters off Victor Harbor.
A visit to Urimbirra Wildlife Park is a special experience where you can meet a koala up close and personal! In addition, this sanctuary is home to birds, including parrots, cockatoos, kookaburras and eagles as well as dingoes, wombats, kangaroos and even crocodiles. Next stop is the historic town of Goolwa. This was a thriving port in the days when paddle steamers traded up and down the Murray River. Here the Murray River, Australia’s largest waterway, is separated from the sea by only a very narrow strip of sand dunes.
At Goolwa, you will make your way down to the beach. This huge expanse of sand stretches as far as the eye can see towards the mouth of the Murray River. The distance is hidden in the mist of the surf as it rolls in from the Great Southern Ocean, where when conditions are suitable, your 4WD guide will drive onto the beach.
As we travel back up towards the Mt Lofty Ranges we travel through Strathalbyn, one of the regions prettiest towns, settled by Scottish immigrants and is one of South Australia's oldest towns. The scenic drive through the hills surrounding Adelaide brings you back home to complete your day of surf, sand and scenery. Your day tour includes small group 4WD touring, morning tea, lunch and park entry fees.
Day 15 Fly Adelaide to USA (1 stop) Transfer by private vehicle to Adelaide airport for your departure flight.
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