Sydney Holidays

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Your holiday price includes

• International and domestic flights.
• Car vehicle rental has been calculated on a pick-up time of 09:00 hours on Day 01 and drop off at 17.00 hours on the last day of the itinerary.
• Thrifty Car Rental includes Lost or Damage Cover, which covers the renter for damage to the Thrifty vehicle, as well as Third Party Property damage. However, a standard liability charge applies to each claim.
• Also included in Thrifty Car Rental is Compulsory Third Party (CTP) which covers the renter for liability for injuries sustained to other persons/passengers in an accident. Please note this cover does not cover the driver of the Thrifty vehicle for any injuries. Protection against injuries sustained by the driver of the Thrifty vehicle is optional.
• Car rental includes unlimited kilometres.
• Accommodation where specified with private facilities.
• Accommodation – room only basis except where specified.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)

This 10 days adventure combines the exiting city of Sydney with arguably Australia’s most famous land mark and attraction, Ayers Rock or as locals call it, Uluru. The self drive takes you through the out back in a 4 WD to Bond Springs, Kings Canyon and the onto Ayers Rock. This is really the adventure of a lifetime.

Your itinerary

• DAY 1 ARRIVE SYDNEY

International arrivals

Upon arrival in Sydney, please proceed to The Meeting Point situated between GATES “B” and “C” outside Customs Hall (look for large blue wall with seating in front), where you will meet the SATS driver. This shuttle service operates every half hour from 06.00. If the driver is not at the meeting point when you arrive, please wait for the next service.

Domestic arrivals: Upon arrival in Sydney, please proceed to the BUDGET RENT-A-CAR DESK near the luggage carousels to meet your SYDNEY AIRPORT TRANSFER SERVICE driver. The driver will be holding a sign with S.A.T.S. (Sydney Airport Transfer Service). This shuttle service operates every half hour from 6.00am. If the driver is not at the meeting point when you arrive, please wait for the next service. On check in please collect your travel documents from the hotel receptionist.

• DAY 2 SYDNEY

Full day Grand Sydney Tour including Matilda Cruises Luncheon Cruise See the very best of Sydney in a single day. The tour will give you a comprehensive coverage of Sydney including the world famous Harbour Bridge, Manly and Northern Beaches. Join Matilda Cruises for a cruise on Sydney Harbour. Enjoy a smorgasbord lunch whilst cruising the waterways of Sydney Harbour. Return to Circular Quay and rejoin your coach for a tour of Sydney's Southern Beaches and Eastern Suburbs including Bondi Beach, Double Bay, Watsons Bay, Paddington and Kings Cross.

• DAY 3 SYDNEY

Enjoy a full day at leisure or you may wish to take an optional tour to the Blue Mountains.

• DAY 4 DEPART SYDNEY FOR ALICE SPRING

A SATS coach will collect you from your hotel for a seat in coach transfer to the airport. Please wait in the foyer of your hotel for the driver. Depart Sydney.

SYDNEY OPTIONAL TOUR

• FULL DAY BLUE MOUNTAINS WILDLIFE DISCOVERY TOUR – BM01

A true nature experience, travelling into the remote mountain wilderness with a qualified naturalist guide. Luxury 4WD vehicles provide safe and comfortable access to beautiful creeks and gorges, lookouts and kangaroos in the wild. Tour highlights include Featherdale Wildlife Park where you come “face to face” with the animals, spectacular gorge and ridgetop 4WD track, short bushwalks, Three Sisters and Govetts Leap canyon lookouts, lunch and morning tea with wild kangaroos.

Sydney accommodation

Vibe Hotel – 3 nights – room only

Discover the friendly relaxed atmosphere of Vibe Hotel Sydney. Whether in Sydney for business or leisure, the Hotel is conveniently located within easy walking distance to Hyde Park, Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Theatres and the Central Business District. When combined with our 24 hour in-room dining service, our award wining restaurant and our beautiful rooftop garden, heated pool and sauna, we believe Vibe Hotel offers the ideal environment for both business and relaxation.

ALICE SPRINGS TO AYERS ROCK (via Mereenie Loop Road)

• DAY 4 - ARRIVE ALICE SPRINGS

Pick up your TERRITORY THRIFTY RENTAL 4WD vehicle at either the Alice Springs Airport or Alice Springs Depot and commence your drive to your overnight accommodation at ORANGEWOOD BED AND BREAKFAST, located in the town of Alice Springs. ALICE SPRINGS is located almost in the centre of the continent. It rests at the very foot of the Mac Donnell Ranges, near Heavitree Gap, where the Todd River has cut its way through this rocky barrier and gives access through the range. Alice Springs began life as a repeater station on the Overland Telegraph Line in 1871. The station takes its name from the spring, or waterhole, in the bed of the Todd River, which was named after Alice, the wife of the Superintendent of Telegraphs, Charles Todd. Places to visit are the Royal Flying Doctors Service, Alice Springs Desert Park and Central Australian Museum.

Accommodation: Orangewood Bed & Breakfast (breakfast included)

Orangewood is a Traditional Bed and Breakfast Inn located in a quiet street within easy walking distance of Alice Springs town centre. The Bed and Breakfast is maintained exclusively for guests and promises quality accommodation and superior friendly service in a family home.

• DAY 5 - ALICE SPRINGS – BOND SPRINGS (20km)

Today commence your drive north of Alice Springs to Bond Springs along the Stuart Highway. Today is only a short drive, approximately 20km.

Accommodation: Bond Springs Outback Retreat

Bond Springs is a working cattle station spread over 1500 square kilometres of arid zone land. The station is owned by the Heaslip family, a family with long traditions in the outback South Australian and Northern Territory pastoral industry. At Bond Springs Poll Hereford cattle are bred for local and international beef markets.

• DAY 6 - BOND SPRINGS

Today is yours to explore the property and its surrounds at your leisure. Experience a taste of life on a working cattle station in Australia's vast interior, situated on the banks a tree-lined creek, a tributary of the normally dry Todd River within the MacDonnell Ranges. The view from the homestead of the ever-changing colours of these rugged ranges with the passage of the sun throughout the day enthralls visitors to this area. Discover the MacDonnell Ranges, the kangaroos at morning and evening, and the silences of the bush. All of this and much more will help make your stay here very enjoyable.

Accommodation: Bond Springs Outback Retreat

• DAY 7 - BOND SPRINGS – KINGS CANYON (452km)

This morning drive to Kings Canyon via the Stuart Highway back to Alice Springs. On arrival at Alice Springs take the Larapinta Drive (Mereenie Loop Road) to Kings Canyon for your overnight accommodation at KINGS CANYON RESORT. Enroute to Kings Canyon you may want to visit Finke Gorge National Park, Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm. The direct drive is approximately 452kms.

FINKE GORGE NATIONAL PARK – This park was established to protect the incredible gorges which the Finke River and its tributary, the Palm River have carved through the ancient mountains of central Australia. The spectacular Palm Valley is home to two thousand red cabbage palms, unique in the world, and remnants of an era when this region was part of the wet tropics. This area is for 4WD vehicles only. The soft sands of the Finke River make for slow going along the river bed tracks. Once into Palm Valley there are rocky sections which need careful negotiating.

SIMPSONS GAP is the first of many gaps which bisect the MacDonnell Ranges. Some of the walks in Simpsons Gap include the Ghost Gum Walk which starts from the Visitor Information Centre and the Larapinta Trail, an exciting long distance walking track through the West MacDonell Ranges. The area is an important spiritual site to the Arrernte Aboriginal people, where several dreaming trails and stories cross.

STANDLEY CHASM – Midday, when the sun is directly overhead, is considered to be the best time to visit this narrow gap in the ranges. A nominal entry charge to the chasm applies. There are walks through and beyond the chasm. This is traditional Aboriginal land and tea rooms are managed and staffed by the traditional owners.

KINGS CANYON is the deepest gorge in the Centre and magnificently beautiful. Waterholes on the canyon floor never completely dry up and foster lush growth which includes palms of ancient biological origin. A path to the rim of the gorge leads to the Lost City, where the rock has worn away to resemble ruins. High in the canyon and very difficult to reach is the Garden of Eden, an oasis of waterholes and plant life. We suggest waiting until early tomorrow morning to attempt this walk.

Accommodation: Kings Canyon Resort

Kings Canyon Resort is sensitively designed resort and just seven kilometres from Watarrka National Park, the home of the magical sandstone formation of Kings Canyon. It is the perfect oasis from which to explore the wonders of Kings Canyon including the amazing rock formation called the Lost City and the Garden of Eden an oasis of an entirely different kind at the foot of the Canyon. The flora of Kings Canyon offers a clear indication that the climate of this whole area was once vastly different.

• DAY 8 - KINGS CANYON – AYERS ROCK (302km)

This morning depart Kings Canyon via Luritja Road until you reach the turn off for Ayres Rock – Yulara. Continue along the Lasseter Highway where you will over night at SAILS IN THE DESERT HOTEL. This drive is approximately 302 kilometres.

AYERS ROCK (ULURU) is the world's largest monolith, measuring over 9 kilometres around the base, and rising 348 metres above the mulga plain. Named "Uluru" by the Aborigines, it is a sacred monument to them, and the walls of the caves which comb the base are covered in Aboriginal carvings and paintings, many of which are thousands of years old.

Accommodation: Sails in the Desert

Named after the soaring white sails that crown its roof, this is Ayers Rock Resort's premier hotel. Exquisitely furnished and designed, the interior decor focuses on Aboriginal heritage and culture, with a gallery in the lobby and significant artworks featured throughout the public areas and in the private rooms.

• DAY 9 - AYERS ROCK (ULURU)

This morning you may wish to climb Uluru (for the fit and energetic only), or to take a walk through the caves at its base. We suggest the walk is done is the cool of the mornings. This afternoon, you have the option to take a drive out to the nearby spectacular Olgas Range, and take a walk through Olga Gorge, before returning to the many viewing areas of Uluru in time to view the sunset.

Accommodation: Sails in the Desert

• DAY 10 - DEPART AYERS ROCK

Please drop off your rental vehicle at the Ayers Rock Depot and make your own way to the airport for your inbound flight via Sydney.

Single supplement: No single travellers

Infants: Not available (adults sharing only)

The package does not include

• Fuel for both Car rentals.
• Government Stamp Duty Taxes on both Car and 4WD rentals (approximately 2% f the rental cost per day). This is to be paid by clients upon collection of rental vehicle.
• Premium Location Surcharge for collection of vehicle at airport.
• Vehicle Registration Recovery Fee.
• Any bonds for the rental vehicle. (It is strongly recommended that clients travel with a widely recognised Credit Card).
• Meals, Tips, Porterage, Gratuities or items of a personal nature.
• Any touring not mentioned in itinerary.
• Any personal expenses such as some entry fees, drinks, laundry etc.
• Gratuities

Please note: The following extra charges will apply when booked by credit card: Visa/Mastercard - 2%, Amex - 3%, Diners - 4%.

Ticketing information: You will be contacted by the tour operator after making your booking.

Nearest Airport : Sydney Kingsford Smith Apt (SYD)