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Central Australian Discovery

15 Days Request Quote
Trip Code: GODA15
  • Trip Highlights
  • Map & Itinerary
  • Travel & Accommodation

Your Vacation Includes

  • Experiences in 18 destinations
  • The services of an expert APT tour director and driver
  • Locally inspired dining - a total of 41 meals
  • Board a scenic flight over the Lost City, a series of large sandstone outcrops
  • Experience the incredible ‘Night at Field of Light’ at Uluru
  • Enjoy a cruise through Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and keep an eye out for crocodiles
  • Embark on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk and take in spectacular views
  • View the salt flats of the largest inland lake in Australia, Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre

Map & Itinerary

Australia Map 2024 GODA15
Darwin → Adelaide

Reverse Trip

Designed Exclusively for APT guests

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

These once-in-a-lifetime moments allow you to experience an unforgettable world of exclusive moments, incredible cultures and charming surprises

Be met on arrival in Darwin and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure before a relaxed welcome dinner.

Stay: Hilton Darwin

Daily :
  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Board a cruise through Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and marvel at the winding network of gorges carved from centuries-old sandstone. Keep an eye out for freshwater crocodiles and birdlife along the way.


Head towards the remote township of Katherine and enjoy a Signature Experience. Later, discover the music, stories and ways of the local Jawoyn people.

Stay: Mataranka, Territory Manor

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Unwind in the natural Mataranka Thermal Pool, said to have healing properties for aches and pains. Afterwards, travel to Lorella Springs Wilderness Park, a one million-acre working cattle station that stretches all the way to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Stay: Lorella Springs Wilderness Park

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Board a scenic flight over the Lost City, a series of large sandstone outcrops that evokes the remains of an ancient civilisation.


Today, we will explore this coastal wilderness sanctuary, driving through a variety of landscapes and enjoying some bush walks and a scenic flight. This 4000-square-kilometre park contains coastal floodplains, salt flats and mangroves, escarpment country and dense forest.

Stay: Barkly Homestead

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
View of The Lost City with Helicopter Tourism NT Peter Eve

Venture to Alice Springs via Tennant Creek. Along the way, stop at Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles). A living cultural landscape, nearly the entire reserve is a registered sacred site.

Stay: Two Nights, Double Tree by Hilton Alice Springs

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Explore Simpsons Gap, which pierces the West MacDonnell Ranges. This sacred area is an important spiritual site to the Arrarnta Indigenous people, where several Dreamtime stories have said to take place. Continue to the West MacDonnell Ranges National Park, whose landscapes played a significant role in the stories of Western Arrernte Indigenous culture. At Angkerle (Standley Chasm), follow a creek where spring-fed pools attract a variety of unique birdlife. Afterwards, visit Ormiston Gorge, home to a variety of unique species. Later, take the afternoon to unwind.

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Travel to Hermannsberg and visit the Namatjira School of Art, where you can view authentic art pieces. Afterwards, travel to Gosses Bluff crater, before heading off-road along the Mereenie Loop Road. Take in the outback scenes as you travel to Kings Canyon.

Stay: Discovery Resorts - Kings Canyon

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Embark on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. On this challenging hike, venture around the rim of the canyon’s incredible sandstone walls, then after reaching the lookout, marvel at the canyon itself. About half way along is the Garden of Eden, featuring a waterhole and riverine vegetation.


Journey into the heart of Watarrka National Park today, where unspoiled bush and red rock canyons create an amazing experience. The Luritja people have called Watarrka National Park home for more than 20,000 years. After lunch, head inside Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Visit Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), consisting of 36 domes that form deep valleys and steep-sided gorges. Explore Walpa Gorge before arriving at Ayers Rock Resort.

Stay: Two Nights, Uluru, Sails in the Desert

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

This evening, experience ‘A Night at Field of Light’. Indulge in a Sounds of Silence dinner under the stars. Savour a glass of sparkling before helping yourself to a ‘bush tucker’ inspired budget accompanied by the music of a didgeridoo. At the same time, immerse yourself in the spectacular Field of Light art installation.


At sunrise, embark on a base tour of Uluru, learning stories from the Dreamtime while you explore this icon.

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
Pax at Sounds of Silence Dinner, Uluru

Cross into South Australia and arrive in the outback town of Coober Pedy. Visit the Umoona Opal Mine, where you'll get an insight into Indigenous and European settlement in the area, as well as learning about how opals are mined.

Stay: Coober Pedy, Desert Cave Hotel

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

Traverse the remote Oodnadatta Track.

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE

View the salt flats of the largest inland lake in Australia, Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre.


Today you will journey along the Oodnadatta Track, pausing at William Creek for lunch. Perhaps board a scenic flight over the awe-inspiring Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre. Take to the skies and gain a true appreciation of this natural wonder from above (own expense). Afterwards, drive to the edge of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre and look out over the seemingly endless salt flats. Later, arrive at the small town of Marree.

Stay: Marree Hotel

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
Aerial shot of Lake Eyre with the wing of the plane in view

On the way to Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, stop for lunch at Parachilna’s famous Prairie Hotel. Arrive at the national park, which is a cultural site renowned for its 800-million-year-old landscapes. Explore Wilpena Pound, cradled within a natural amphitheatre of mountains. Continue to your accommodation, set amongst river red gums and native pines. Enjoy dinner before relaxing on your deck overlooking the bush.

Stay: Two Nights, Wilpena Pound Resort

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

This morning is yours to explore at leisure. Perhaps take a scenic flight over Wilpena Pound to gain a true appreciation of this natural wonder (additional expense). Or alternatively embark on a self-guided walk to the spectacular Wilpena Pound, a natural amphitheatre of mountains in the heart of the national park. After Lunch, venture into Flinders Ranges National Park and follow in the footsteps of Douglas Mawson as you spend the afternoon in the geological site of Brachina Gorge, an important refuge for the endangered yellow-footed rock wallaby.

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

Signature Experience

Visit the highly acclaimed Watervale Hotel for a delightful meal featuring local produce from their organic, bio-dynamic farm in the Clare Valley.


Farewell Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park as you make your way through the wine-growing district of the Clare Valley. Here, enjoy your signature experience, showcasing exceptional locally grown produce and wines of the region. Arrive in Adelaide and celebrate the end of your journey during a farewell dinner.

Stay: Adelaide, The Playford Hotel

Daily :
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

After breakfast, farewell your new-found friends and be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

Daily :
  • Breakfast

It has been a privilege to welcome so many guests aboard APT’s award-winning journeys, and a joy to see those guests fall in love with each new experience the world presents.