Australia: Eco-Adventure, Travel and Discovery
Location
Australia: Adelaide, Sydney
Description
The island continent, Australia, is a kaleidoscope of natural beauty, cultural diversity, and ecological wonder.
Orientation in Sydney & Adelaide
Spend your first three days exploring the lively streets of Sydney. Learn about Australia by cruising the harbor, taking in a show at the majestic Sydney Opera House, visiting local beaches, and relaxing in Hyde Park. In Adelaide, enjoy bush walks, and meet koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies in the Cleland Wildlife Park.
Homestay
For 10 days, you live with a local family in rural South Australia. Although you speak the same language, you quickly learn that Aussies have a distinct way of expressing themselves, with 5,000 words and phrases they call their own.
Sample activities:
Climb Mount Remarkable with your host family; play netball and "Aussie rules" football; taste traditional Australian barbeque; shear sheep with local farmers and ranchers.
Sample host communities:
Orrorroo, Adelaide Hills
Into the Outback
Spend 10 exhilarating days hiking, camping, and traveling through the Australian Outback with a local historian and guide. Delve into the geographic and spiritual heart of Australia with visits to Aboriginal communities, overnights in bush camps, and hikes through sacred landscapes.
Sample activities:
Venture to the Wadlata Outback Center to learn about Aboriginal culture; visit sacred Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta; camp under the wide night sky; travel to Alice Springs.
Eco-Adventure & the Great Barrier Reef
Your Australian odyssey finishes in sun-drenched Queensland, where you learn more about Aboriginal culture and history in a rainforest community before heading to the Great Barrier Reef to explore critical ecological issues.
Sample activities:
Listen to mystical dreamtime stories of local Aborigines; camp in the rainforest; practice your boomerang skills; snorkel the Great Barrier Reef to see the world's most bountiful display of tropical marine life; relax on the long, soft beaches of Queensland.