Holidays in Australia: 10 great trips, festivals and places to stay
Holidays in Australia offer a diverse selection of trips: from canoeing and camping to diving and Aboriginal tours. There's even a classical touch of Wagner, too
TRIPS
Diving and conservation, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
A new National Geographic diving course combines exploration of the Great Barrier Reef with underwater conservation. Divers will improve navigation and buoyancy skills, while collecting data about fish and coral to help preserve the reef. The course is offered by Passions of Paradise, a diving company based in Cairns.
• Around £267 for a two-day course, including one classroom day and one boat day with two dives and lunch, passions.com.au
• Around £267 for a two-day course, including one classroom day and one boat day with two dives and lunch, passions.com.au
Indigenous tours, East Arnhem, Northern Territory
A new five-day expedition visits three remote Yolngu homelands in Arnhem Land, one of the largest Aboriginal reserves in Australia. Visitors will learn about indigenous life and culture while camping with families. Experiences include gathering bush food and medicine, making spears and fishing with them, and traditional painting, weaving, music and dancing.
• Around £1,335pp including all meals, accommodation, activities and a driver/guide, but not flights. Departs monthly from July,lirrwitourism.com.au
• Around £1,335pp including all meals, accommodation, activities and a driver/guide, but not flights. Departs monthly from July,lirrwitourism.com.au
Canoeing, Nitmiluk national park, Northern Territory
Photograph: Alamy
An overnight canoeing trip is an exciting way to explore the dramatic gorges of the Katherine river in Nitmiluk national park. Day-trippers will only reach the fourth gorge, but experienced paddlers on a two-day trip can get as far as the ninth. You can swim, bushwalk and picnic on the way, and look out for freshwater crocodiles, which won't hurt you. (Saltwater crocs can – but there won't be any in the dry season, when canoeing is permitted.) The first campsite is at the fifth gorge, 9km in , and there are others at the sixth, eighth and ninth gorges.
• From £42pp. Departures from March to October, nitmiluktours.com.au
• From £42pp. Departures from March to October, nitmiluktours.com.au
Campervan trip, Sydney to Cairns
Travelbag has great offers on trips to Australia, including a 13-night self-drive campervan holiday. The 1,539-mile road trip along the Pacific Coast Touring Route from Sydney to Cairns passes beautiful beaches, the Hunter valley wine region, mountains, rainforests and tropical islands. Brisbane is the biggest city for a break en route. Find out more ataustralia.com.
• From £1,199pp based on two people sharing a Britz motorhome, including flights to Sydney. Must be booked by 30 June; 0871 8111 609,travelbag.co.uk
• From £1,199pp based on two people sharing a Britz motorhome, including flights to Sydney. Must be booked by 30 June; 0871 8111 609,travelbag.co.uk
PLACES TO STAY
Zoo camping, Dubbo, New South Wales
A new camping experience at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo lets visitors spend two days at the zoo and one night camping around a billabong in the free-range wildlife area. The two-day package includes a talk by the dingo keeper, an encounter with native species such asechidnas, a night-time Aussie animal bush walk and a daytime Asian animal stroll. All meals are provided, including a barbecue dinner and supper with Australian treats such as lamingtons and damper.
• Around £103 adults, £58 children or £273 for a family of four,taronga.org.au
• Around £103 adults, £58 children or £273 for a family of four,taronga.org.au
Glamping, Flinders Ranges, South Australia
A more luxurious version of outback camping will open later this year. The Wilpena Pound Resort in the Flinders Ranges national park is adding 15 luxury safari tents in an area separate from the existing campsite. Each tent will have king-sized beds, en suite facilities, lamps, heater and fan, plus private decks overlooking the mountains. The lodge will have a bar, an open fire and dining space for 30 people. Construction started this month and the camp should be open by September.
• Around £107 a night for two, or £202 with dinner and breakfast,wilpenapound.com.au
• Around £107 a night for two, or £202 with dinner and breakfast,wilpenapound.com.au
Flashpacking, Yeppoon, Queensland
Photograph: David Messent/Getty Images
Coral Inn Resort & Flashpackers is a new budget accommodation option in Yeppoon on the Capricorn coast. There are dorms and private en suite rooms with sea views, plus a kitchen, lounge, barbecue area and pool. Tropical Great Keppel Island, with 17 white sand beaches, is 15km offshore, and there are beaches for 20km along the mainland.
• Dorm beds £18 a night, double rooms from £52, flashpackers.net.au
• Dorm beds £18 a night, double rooms from £52, flashpackers.net.au
FESTIVALS
Australian Garden Show, Sydney
The Chelsea flower show of the southern hemisphere is in Sydney's Centennial park from 5-8 September. It's less stuffy than Chelsea, and the show gardens will feature lighting projections after dark, with an alfresco bar open until 11pm.
• australiangardenshowsydney.com.au
• australiangardenshowsydney.com.au
Open House Melbourne
The doors of some of Melbourne's most stunning and significant buildings are thrown open to the public on 27 and 28 July for Open House Melbourne. Buildings dating back to, ooh, the 1800s can be visited, as well as examples of sustainable modern architecture. Free, but some events ticketed.
• openhousemelbourne.org
• openhousemelbourne.org
Corroboree, Sydney
Sydney's festival of indigenous arts and culture – the largest such event in Australia's history, runs from 14-24 November. It will include a firelight ceremony, exhibitions and performances at nine arts venues, film screenings, and music and dance events on Cockatoo Island, and a craft market at Walsh Bay.
