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DAY 1: WELCOME TO SYDNEY
A driver collects you from the airport and takes you to your hostel in central Sydney. At Ultimate's base you meet your group leader and travel mates, then walk the city past Chinatown, Darling Harbour, the Royal Botanic Garden, founded in 1816 and the oldest scientific institution in the country, and the Sydney Opera House, World Heritage-listed since 2007. The night ends with a welcome dinner at a backpacker bar.
Overnight: Sydney
DAY 2: SYDNEY HARBOUR BY CATAMARAN
A private catamaran takes your group out on Sydney Harbour, under the Harbour Bridge, whose steel arch has carried traffic since 1932, and past the Opera House sails. The harbour has more than 240 km of shoreline, full of hidden bays, and the boat drops anchor in one for a swim before your first Aussie BBQ on deck, with drinks on the water.
Overnight: Sydney
DAYS 3 TO 5: PORT STEPHENS
The group heads north to Port Stephens and two nights in eco cabins five minutes' walk from the beach. A 4WD carries you onto the Stockton Bight dunes, the largest moving coastal sand mass in the Southern Hemisphere at 32 km long, inside the Worimi Conservation Lands, owned by the Worimi people. Grab a board and sandboard down the slopes. Hike to the summit of Mt Tomaree, 161 metres above the bay, for views along the coast. Then cruise the bay, home to about 90 resident bottlenose dolphins, before heading back to Sydney.
Overnight: Port Stephens (eco cabins, 2 nights), then Sydney
DAYS 6 TO 8: COOGEE TO BONDI
Back in the city, walk the 6 km coastal path from Coogee to Bondi, past sandstone cliffs, ocean pools and the clifftop cemetery at Waverley, then spend the afternoon on Bondi's famous crescent of sand. The Ultimate pub crawl is the big night out. Your leader can help you add a Blue Mountains trip or a Harbour Bridge climb, both at extra cost. On day 8 the rest of the travel group arrives and you board the overnight coach north together.
Overnight: Sydney, then the overnight coach to Byron Bay
DAYS 9 TO 12: BYRON BAY
Ride the overnight coach north and wake up on the far north coast of New South Wales in Byron Bay. Here Cape Byron is the most easterly point of mainland Australia, and its white lighthouse has been shining since 1901. Walk the lighthouse track at sunrise and watch for dolphins in the swell below, and from June to November humpback whales passing on their migration. Your two-hour beginner surf lesson is on the town's gentle beach breaks, and there's a private yoga session too. The rest is beach time, markets and evenings in town.
Overnight: Byron Bay
DAYS 13 TO 15: SURFERS PARADISE
A short run up the coast brings you to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. The town took its name from the Surfers Paradise Hotel, built in 1925, and was simply Elston before that. Spend the days on the sand and the nights in the bars with your group. Fancy the view from the top? The SkyPoint deck sits 230 metres up on level 77 of the Q1 tower, and stand-up paddleboarding and jet boating are on offer too, all at your own cost.
Overnight: Surfers Paradise
DAYS 16 TO 18: BRISBANE
In Brisbane your group leader takes you on an orientation walk through South Bank, the riverside parklands built on the site of the 1988 World Expo, with a swim at Streets Beach, a lagoon with real sand in the middle of the city. Then it's the Brisbane sign and Queen Street Mall. Free days follow. You could head north to Australia Zoo, which Bob and Lyn Irwin opened in 1970 as a small reptile park and their son Steve made famous, or snorkel the shipwrecks off Moreton Island, both at extra cost.
Overnight: Brisbane
DAYS 19 AND 20: NOOSA
Noosa is a smart beach town at the edge of Noosa National Park. Walk the coastal track around the headland, keeping an eye on the gum trees for koalas and on the water for dolphins and turtles. Swim in the Fairy Pools, rock pools filled by the waves, and finish the day watching the sunset from Laguna Lookout high above the river. Surfboards and bodyboards are free to borrow from the hostel.
Overnight: Noosa
DAYS 21 TO 25: RAINBOW BEACH AND K'GARI
From Rainbow Beach, named for its cliffs of coloured sands, take the walk up to the Carlo Sand Blow, a dune of about 15 hectares that looks out over the ocean and Tin Can Bay. Then a 4WD crosses to K'gari (Fraser Island), at 123 km the largest sand island on earth and World Heritage-listed since 1992. 75 Mile Beach is the island's highway, and the stops include Lake McKenzie, a perched lake of rainwater over white silica sand, Eli Creek, which pours up to 80 million litres of fresh water a day onto the beach, and the Champagne Pools, where waves foam over a rock wall into sheltered pools. Two nights are spent camping by the beach. The island trip is three days and two nights, with all meals included.
Overnight: Rainbow Beach and K'gari (beachside camp, 2 nights)
DAYS 26 TO 31: AIRLIE BEACH AND THE WHITSUNDAYS
Airlie Beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, 74 islands named by Captain Cook in 1770. Cool off in the town's free lagoon, then board your sailing boat for two days and two nights among the islands, with snorkelling stops on fringing reefs. The highlight is Whitehaven Beach, 7 km of silica sand so pure and fine it squeaks underfoot and stays cool in the sun. From the Hill Inlet lookout at its northern end you watch the tide swirl the white sand and turquoise water into changing patterns. Back on land, the after-boat party in Airlie is a tradition.
Overnight: Airlie Beach and 2 nights on board
DAYS 32 TO 34: MAGNETIC ISLAND
A ferry from Townsville takes you to Magnetic Island, named by Captain Cook in 1770 because he believed it upset his ship's compass. More than half the island is national park. The guided Forts Walk climbs through granite boulders and eucalypt woodland to gun emplacements built in 1942 and 1943 to guard Townsville, and it's one of the best places in Queensland to see a wild koala asleep in a tree. Rock wallabies, snorkelling in the sheltered bays and the option of hiring a topless jeep fill the other days.
Overnight: Magnetic Island
DAYS 35 AND 36: MISSION BEACH
Mission Beach is a quiet strip of 14 km of beach backed by rainforest, one of the last strongholds of the southern cassowary, a flightless bird that can stand nearly two metres tall. Walk the rainforest tracks of Djiru National Park, where cassowaries are sometimes seen crossing the path. Want more adrenaline? White-water rafting on the Tully River next door, which drains one of the wettest parts of Australia, is an optional extra. If you've pre-booked a skydive, it's on the morning you leave for Cairns.
Overnight: Mission Beach
DAYS 37 TO 43: CAIRNS AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
The last stop is Cairns. Your full-day snorkel trip heads to the outer Great Barrier Reef, which runs more than 2,300 km down the coast and holds around 1,500 kinds of fish. Another day goes up to the Atherton Tablelands, the cool volcanic plateau behind the city, for swims beneath its waterfalls and slides down natural rock chutes. In between, swim at the Esplanade Lagoon, sample the nightlife, and if you dare, book a skydive. The group comes together one last time for a farewell dinner. The trip ends at 10am on the last day, when you check out of the hostel.
Overnight: Cairns (Gilligan's)
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