Activities
Our trips have three themes - action, action, and ACTION! You'll be astounded at the variety of cool things you get to do on our trips. Most of the scenery and wildlfe here is best seen on foot, from the saddle of a bicycle or horse, or on the water in a canoe, kayak or sailboat. Because of our ten years of experience running trips of this nature, we reckon we've got a handle on the right blend of action and relaxation! If you're looking to just sit back and look at the scenery, these aren't the trips for you. But if you're interested in seeing things on foot, in an active and interesting manner, then you'll love our trips. And if you want to push yourself, you won't be bored!
Outdoor adventures: Our trips are as much about where we go as what we do to get there!
There's just no reason to spend your entire time in Australia sitting in a bus or a hotel room. There's too much to see and do, so our trips include an abundance of physical activities. All ACTIVE trips focus on hiking, paddling, and cycling to some degree, but each of our trips operates in a unique geographical area, and we select appropriate activities accordingly. The Platypus, for instance, has a higher focus on marine activities than our other trips, because you simply must go snorkelling or scuba diving if you're within easy reach of the Great Barrier Reef. All of the activities we offer are suitable for anyone in reasonable physical shape. We make sure the things we do appeal to beginners and experts alike, so you'll have lots of fun whether you're a “newbie” or an old hand at, for example, paddling a sea kayak in the Whitsunday Islands (Platypus), hiking a steep trail in Tasmania (Wombat), or riding a mountain bike along the Great Ocean Road (Kookaburra).
All our trips include some hiking – and we've built our reputation on showing off the best hikes in the places we visit. Australia is not particularly known internationally as a hiking destination, which we find a little surprising, because there is some incredible wilderness here, and therefore some fabulous hikes. We think it's wonderful that Australian hiking hasn't yet been discovered by the world, because it means that we have many of the trails to ourselves! As you would expect in such a large country, there is a wide range of terrain and hikes available. On our Emu trip, we climb Mt Kosciuszko – at 7310 feet, it's Australia's highest mountain, and one of the world's Seven Summits. The most challenging hiking is found in the mountainous region of Tasmania, where it's not unusual to climb and descend 2500 feet in a day. There are also some awesome hikes in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales (Emu), and the other-wordly hike around the base of Ayres Rock (Dingo) has to be experienced to be believed! Of course, we have much gentler hikes available too – such as the dawn walk at Eungella National Park (Platypus) to see the adorable if elusive platypus playing in its natural environment! |
Canoeing and Sea Kayaking A great way to check out the scenery and wildlife from a different perspective is to get out on the water and do some paddling. You can paddle along the Kangaroo River (Emu), kayak out to Penguin Island (Bandicoot), or paddle off the coast of Maria Island National Park. If you'd like to do more paddling, you can take the multi-day sea kayaking and hiking option around the Whitsunday Islands on the Platypus trip. You'll paddle from deserted tropical beach to deserted tropical beach, amongst sea turtles and other marine wildlife swimming amongst the coral. This makes for a stunning few days on the water. If you've never experienced sea kayaking before, it's no problem - our guides will have you paddling in no time! If you're an experienced paddler we'll keep you well entertained too. |
We do some serious cycling on our Kookaburra trip, which is one of the most physically demanding trips we run. This is one of our favourite cycling routes – from cityscape to ocean views as we cycle around Port Philip Bay and along the Great Ocean Road. You can also cycle on the Bandicoot, where we offer Perth's cycling gem – a half day optional mountain bike ride on the Munda Biddi Trail through the ancient Western Australian Jarrah forests. All our cycling is fully vehicle supported, so we carry all your gear, and the guides are always nearby to help out with punctures and the like. You can also just take a breather in the air conditioned comfort of the van, if you'd like to avoid pedalling for a while! We use mountain bikes with front suspension for our rides, and remember, nothing is compulsory with ACTIVE AUSTRALIA – so if you'd prefer to trade in the cycling for other activities, our guides have plenty of other options for you. |
Surfing Every Aussie's favorite pastime – surfing! Australia is world renowned for its surf breaks, and even if you've never surfed before, your first day of surfing in Australia is an experience you'll remember forever. We'll check out some of the more uncrowded beginner-friendly surf spots on the Platypus and Bandicoot trips, and we'll have you hanging ten in no time! We use large stable surf boards, and our clients just about always say this was their favourite activity in Australia. Even – or perhaps especially – those who've never tried it before! If you are a surfer already, we'll take you to some of our favorite breaks so you can mix it up with the local surfers. |
Horses played a significant role in shaping the colonial phase of Australian history, and today they are still widely used on farms and stations. No previous experience is required, as you'll be given the best horse for your abilities, and we'll teach you all you need to know to enjoy yourself. You'll go riding into the sunset on an outback cattle station on the Platypus, and depending on what's happening on the farm that day, even help out with riding the boundaries or rounding up the cattle. On the Emu and Koala trips, you can try your hand at horse trekking in the Snowy Mountains – made famous by the 1980's film “The Man from Snowy River”. |
If you're a certified diver, you'll find the multi-day dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef ( Platypus ) to be one of the best dive experiences of your life. We'll head 30 nautical miles out from the Whitsunday Coast to the Great Barrier Reef, which is the largest living organism in the world. We'll spend three days diving in the warm clear waters of the Coral Sea, surrounded by teeming marine life and stunning coral formations. You'll see hundreds of species of fish as well as sea turtles, small black-tipped reef sharks, and even the odd dolphin. You don't need to be a scuba diver to be wowed by the Great Barrier Reef, though. About half our people prefer to snorkel than to dive, and they often say they saw more of the Reef from their viewpoint on top of the water. In fact it's well known that snorkelling tends to disturb the fish less than scuba diving, and also that the best visibility is within six feet or so of the surface, where the reef is the most colourful. On the Emu and Koala trips we do some awesome snorkeling amongst the resident dolphins at Jervis Bay. You'll also have the opportunity to get right alongside the wildlife on the Bandicoot trip – where we pay the playful seals and dolphins at Penguin Island a visit! |
Many of our trips have a “specialité du voyage” – an active adventure that's goes a step further than our usual fare of hiking, kayaking, biking and so on. For example, depending on the trip, we go canyoning in the Blue Mountains, sand boarding outside Perth, and horse riding across the endless Outback. You can even ride a camel in the desert near Ayers Rock if you like! If there's anything special you'd like to do, let us know. We've been known to make all sorts of things happen – we have even arranged weddings on our trips! |
An undoubted highlight of an Australian trip is checking out its weird and wonderful wildlife. Our trips are named after native animals, and you'll more than likely see some of your trip's namesakes along the way. We'll visit Steve Irwin's amazing Australia Zoo to check out some crocodiles, swim amongst the seals and dolphins at Jervis Bay and Penguin Island, and dive or snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef surrounded by hundreds of fish and other marine life. You can wake up to the call of the cockatoos, hike alongside wallabies in Tasmania, feed orphaned baby kangaroos at Myella Station, hear the wild dingoes howl on Fraser Island, see the multitude of bird species in the Blue Mountains… on all of our trips, the wildlife is an important part of the show! |
