View on Cudgegong River from the Pagodas

Cliff details

The river at dusk

Wallabie

Wombat

HIGHLIGHTS DAY ONE

Three Sisters
Jamieson Valley: Circuit Walk
Grose Valley: Pulpit Rock
Township Hartley Vale: Aboriginal Art
Scenic drive to Jenolan Caves, ove the Great Dividing Range
The Pretty Faces Wallabies and Brush Tailed Wallabys
Platypus Spotting!
The guided tour of the Imperial Cave
Evening guided walk in the McKeown Valley to spot nightlife

Accommodation:
Jenolan Cave House

HIGHLIGHTS DAY TWO

A brisk morning walk to spot a platypus, a brush-tailed rock-wallaby or a wombat.
Off-road drive to the remote Kanangra Plateau, part of the 5% remaining true wilderness in NSW. Spot herds of eastern grey kangaroos and plenty of pretty-faced & swamp wallabies (true name) on the way.
The 2 hour walk on Kanangra Plateau. offering spectaculair views over large parts of the Greater Blue Mountains Worlds Heritage Area.
The views & ultimate photo opportunities at Kanangra Wall and the blue eucalyptus forest of Kanangra Deep. If ever you wondered were the name "Blue Mountains" comes from - this is it!
Lunch in the quaint and remote country town of Taralga
Scenic drive through the rolling hills of the Southern Tablelands and Highlands.
Wildlife at Kangaroo Valley

Accommodation: Kangaroo Valley Golf Retreat (or similar)

HIGHLIGHTS DAY THREE

Fitzory Falls, one of the highest single drop waterfalls in NSW.
Morton National Park with its imposing gorges dissecting the landscape
alongside pockets of rainforest that are full of wildlife.
The Hampden Bridge - the oldest suspension bridge in Australia.
The crystal clear water & white sandy beaches of Jervis Bay
Spotting dolphins, seals and penguins on our 1.5 hour, small group Eco Cruise past Honeymoon Bay, Long Beach, Booderee National Park, Hyams Beach and the awesome views of the towering cliffs of Point Perpendicular.

HIGHLIGHTS DAY FOUR

The spectaculair plumes of water spouting out of the Kiama Blowholes - the largest in the world!
The swamp wallabies of Minnamurra, the rare remnant rainforest that once reached throughout the Illawarra.
The 1.5 km Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk through the canopy of the beautiful warm temperate rainforest
The paragliding dare-devils at Bald Hill Lookout

Rediscover a spectacular part of Australia with this 4-day roadtrip from Sydney. From the deep valleys, isolated eucalyptus forests and age old cave systems of the World Heritage Listed Greater Blue Mountains, across the green planes and heritage towns of the Southern Highlands to the whitest beaches and blue lagoons of Jervis Bay and the wild & rugged sand-and limestone South Coast along the Grand Pacific. Showcasing some of the most beautiful and unspoiled parts of NSW, this perfectly paced and active 4-day trip delivers an unforgettable experience that will appeal to all your senses.

Activities include:

Wildlife spotting and bird watching (see as list of commonly spotted below)
Circuit valley walks in the Blue Mountains (according to preference, fitrness level) & Minnemurra Rain Forest
Return walk along the McKeown Valley, the Kanangra Plateau Walk & Fitzroy Falls
Cave Tour (1 hour, upgrade to longer tours optional)
Dolphin & Seals watching cruise (whales in May - July and November-December)
Tree top walk at the Illawara Fly
Beachwalks at Jerbvis Bay and South Coast
Swimming opportunities
Nightwalks in Kangaroo Valley and McKeown Valley
Scenic touring

Location: Australia

Itinerary

DAY ONE: BLUE MOUNTAINS & JENOLAN CAVES

Starting no later than 7.30 am to avoid the traffic, we're straight off to Australia's own Grand Canyon for a eventful day packed with close wildlife encounters, spectacular vistas and explorative walks. On route we'll cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge before enjoying morning tea with wild kangaroos deep in the Australian bush. See kangaroos up close plus friendly parrots and cockatoos.
On our circuit hike (app. 1-2 hours, pending on guests' agility and the weather) along the Jamison Valley today we'll discover waterfalls, magnificent canyons, eucalyptus and rainforests and an abundance of local birds. The true beauty of the Jamison speaks for itself at the famous Three Sisters.

After an Aussie picnic at our secret hideaway (far from any tourist canteen), we descent halfway down the remote Grose Valley for spectaculair and interrupted vistas over Mount Banks, the Bridal Veil Falls and Pulpit Rock.

In the afternoon, we drive up the Great Dividing Range and into the Central Tablelands to enjoy the solitude and beauty of country NSW, before arriving at Jenolan, home of one of the world's most spectacular limestone cave formations of the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve.

At Jenolan, an easy 1 hour guided tour will take us on a journey into the heart of the Imperial Cave to learn about the limestone rocks, the history of the caves and the region and to admire the beautiful sights with colourful lights illuminating the rock walls.

Having settled into our room of the charming, heritage listed Jenolan Caves House, it is time of another highlight: a walk around the fairy-like Blue Lake for a realistic chance to see the resident platypus in the wild!

An evening (or morning walk the next day) in de hidden, unknown McKeown's valley brings us close to the endangered Brush-Tailed Rockwallaby!

Dinner at the Jenolan Caves House (at own expense).

DAY TWO: KANANGRA, SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS & KANGAROO VALLEY

After a hearty breakfast at our hotel (included), we're straight off to yet another national park within the Great Blue Mountains World Heritage Area: the Kanangra Walls, of the Kanangra-Boyd National Park.

An easy but refreshing walk along the valley ridge seamed with silver banksia, bright red mountain devils and white flowering hakeas offers unparalleled views across one of Australia’s most spectacular landscapes with its waterfalls, exposed spikes of ancient rocks and misty mountains.

In the depths of the gorge, spot an Australian red cedar or the gorgeous flame robin. Or look up to see some soaring wedge-tail eagles.

Once we've made it back through the Australian woodlands of the Great Divide, we tour across the rolling hills of the Southern Tablelands and highlands. This is sheep country, with at it's centre: Goulburn and the Big Merino.

At Taralga we discover a remote, and quaint little country town.

In the hidden valley of Kangaroo Valley we experience yet another highlight of the tour: a close encounter with wombats in the wild! As most marsupials, these close relatives of the koala are active mostly early in the mornings or late at night, when they leave their undergrounds burrows to graze. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see this beautiful animal in its own habitat!

A well deserved cold one with the locals at the Friend Inn, before we turn in for the night.

DAY THREE: JERVIS BAY

Leaving the enclosed Kangaroo Valley across the rolling green hills of the Shoalhaven country-side, we'll soon feel the sand between our toes as we walk along the beaches that bring us up close to resident dolphins, furry locals including possums and gliders, pelicans, new holland honey-eaters and rosellas.

Today's highlight: a dolphin-watching cruise (between May and November we may even spot a Humpback or Southern Right Whale on its seasonal migration).

After our close encounter with the aquatic wildlife of Jervis Bay, we take plenty of time to enjoy the very white sands of Hyams Beach and, our favourite, Murrays Beach - deep in the Booderee National Park. There's nothing like a dop in the crystal clear surf to wash off today's road dust.

On the way back to our hotel at Vincentia, we'll make sure to include plenty of stops to observe the echidna's, swamp wallabies, bandicoots and eastern greys emerging from the bush.

DAY FOUR: SOUTH COAST

Our action-packed last day of the tour starts just as soon as we have left the Bay-area, when we're awed by a never-ending series of highlights:

- The towering plumes of water of the Kiama Blowholes.
- The million dollar views over Shoalhaven on the top of the Illawara Rainforest

- The amazing epiphytes of the remnant Gondwana rainforest at Minnamurra

- The waves violently crashing on the lime-stone rockplatform at Wombarra Beach

- The engineering wonder Sea Cliff Bridge

- The giant gumtrees aligning the Grand Pacific Drive through the Royal NP

- The daring para-gliders throwing themselves taking off from Bald Hill Lookout

Return to Sydney at ca. 5.30 PM