ITINERARY ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Itinerary does not include airfares to Australia - you will need to purchase a QANTAS air pass. This is a journey of Aboriginal sacred sites with Anangu and Kuku Yalanji tribal guides, families, traditional healers and ceremonial dancers. It Includes Brisbane, Ayers Rock (Uluru), Daintree Rainforest with the mountains, coast & beaches, Great Barrier Reef at Port Douglas and Cairns.

See Aboriginal Australia for trip description. Day 1: If leaving from Los Angeles, say July 1 as an example, you'll fly overnight and over the international dateline day-skipping a day-date, landing in Brisbane the next other morning, July 3 (is this something like Einstein’s relativity of time/space?). We'll go right away to our downtown hotel for resting and Southern Hemisphere grounding. Quay West Suites Phone: +61 (7) 3853-6000 ( www.mirvachotels.com.au ) In the the afternoon a local tribal aboriginal will show us around. indigenousgallery.com.au

Day 2: In the morning we will fly outback to the red desert middle of Australia, landing in Alice Springs. This afternoon we'll visit the highly informative Alice Springs Desert Park; an excellent introduction to the natural habitats of Central Australia. http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/ We will stay one night at the Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge, famous for the evening visits of a great mob of rock wallabies. +61 (8) 8950-4444. ~ Black footed rock wallaby and joey

Day 3: This will be an early morning as we will be out driving through the outback just at the edge of daybreak. That is when the chances are high to see Australia¹s unique wildlife such kangaroos, wallabies, dingos, and the problematic feral camels. By mid-day we'll have arrived at Uluru, the famous red (Ayers) rock. We will stay three nights at the Outback Pioneer Hotel. ( www.ayersrockresort.com.au/outback ) In Uluru we will be joining the local Anangu aborigines several times so that they can guide and inform us of their ways and relationship with the sacred site. We will also be joining some of the artists in their homes to be able buy their art direct from the creators as well as a bit of socializing and dining. We begin this evening with their sunset tour. ~ Wedge tailed eagle

Day 4: Beginning with sunrise at the rock we will spend all morning with the aboriginal guides on their Uluru tour. And in the afternoon we will rejoin the Anangu for a class in their meditative dot painting. Day 5: Moving a bit slower today at mid-morning we will go to hike the Olgas, another nearby set of magnificent sacred rocks. ~ the Olgas

Day 6: Mid-day we will fly from the desert to Cairns on the northern tropical coast. In this area we will enjoy much involvement with the Yalanji tribe. Over the next 4-6 days we will be with them in their rain forest homeland as they share their arts such as the making of their woven dilly bags, telling the stories of their ancestral spirit beings and showing the traditions of their native foods and medicines. http://www.yalanji.com.au/ From Cairns we will drive 4 or 5 hours up into a Ghost Gum, Eucalyptus forest camp on tribal lands with some of the families. We will be inland from Cape Tribulation and a few kilometers south and within view of the mysterious Black Mountain (Kalkajaka) National Park. http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park/index.cgi?parkid=136 ~ 4 Mile Beach, Port Douglas

We will be camped tribal ancestral land; sleeping two nights in their traditional humpys, bark huts made comfortable with mosquito netting and beds. With us, and for those who choose, working on us, will be a few Aboriginal healers using plants, didgeridoo, and psychic and the spirit helpers of their tribal traditional healing methods.

Day 7: An easy moving with being guided through the forest and swimming stream. At the night's fire the tribal dance troop will be joining us in the ceremony of their prayers. ~Yalanji tribal dancers ~ Yalanji tribe traditional dot painter

Day 8: Today we will return to the coast. A couple hour drive will get us in the area of the Daintree Rainforest near the towns of Mossman and Port Douglas where we will be for the next week. ~ Mossman River and Aboriginal sacred spirit mountain We will be five nights at the beautiful tropical paradise Mai Tai Resort in Port Douglas http://www.maitai-resort.com.au/home.ph. Day 9: Our mornings here will usually start with sunrise at the beach. Midmorning we will go to enjoy the lush rain forest in Mossman gorge. After a bit of a hike we will stop in at the tribal center.

Day 10: Today we will drive for a day tour in the rain forest to the north up around Daintree; visiting the Daintree Discovery Center with it's canopy tower, aerial walkways, elevated timber boardwalks and display center in the midst of the rainforest itself. http://www.daintree-rec.com.au/daintree.html Day 11: Now we will enjoy a few days of Great Barrier Reef options; snorkeling, diving, sailing or glass bottom boats. The day trips range in price from $50 - $150. See www.quicksilver-cruises.com and www.poseidon-cruises.com.au Day 12: Again Great Barrier Reef options or just 'laze' around the beach.

Day 13: Midday we will drive back to Cairns, a hip and happenin' international beach resort town. There is great shopping if that's your thing or just people watching at the restaurants along the beach. We will be staying in the midst of it all in the Reef Casino +61 (7) 4030-8797 ( www.sofitel.com ) Day 14: A morning flight from Cairns gets us back to Brisbane connecting with our flight back to LAX. You will need to buy your Zone 2 air pass through QANTAS which includes your flights within Australia: www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/us/specials/webDeals217. Be aware: you cross the International date line so your dates will change as you fly into and out of the country. FOR EXAMPLE: If you were LEAVING from LAX on a Saturday night July 1, the overnight flight to Brisbane would have you arrive in Brisbane on Monday morning July 3. The next morning, July 4, your air pass would need to fly you to Alice Springs. 4 days later, July 8, we would fly from Ayers Rock to Cairns. Finally on July 15 we would fly from Cairns to Brisbane to meet our flight back to LAX. Overnight we again cross the dateline backwards to land in L. A. on Aug 12th by the calendar. What you choose to do with the extra day in life is up to you. So your air pass would need to look like this: July 1 LAX/Brisbane July 4 Brisbane/Alice Springs July 8 Ayers Rock/Cairns July 15 Cairns/Brisbane/LAX No worries mate...when you agree for the journey we'll send you the correct dates.

Return to Aboriginal Australia

TOP

Your journey will be a genuine part of cultural and ecological preservation.

Sacred Heritage Travel 6582B Stagecoach Rd, Santa Barbara. CA. 93105. 1-866-233-7600    info@sacredheritage.com