Shared Experiences: Mother & Daughter Adventure Trip to Australia

Sydney is a delight from the sky, as landing planes usually loop above Sydney Harbour Bridge before descending towards the coast and landing on a slither of land in the Pacific. Gazing out of the window is an exciting introduction, as is taking your first walk through the heart of the city. Check out the restaurants and boats around Darling Harbour, soak up the atmosphere around Circular Quay, and then walk out to Sydney Opera House. This is a surprisingly small city, its center is compact and it is easy to get around on foot or on the monorail. You will be greeted at the airport and transferred to your hotel near Circular Quay, which keeps you in the heart of everything. So go explore, and then succumb to the jet lag and get some rest.

Wake with a relaxed start and breakfast at your hotel as your body recovers gently from any travel fatigue. By late morning, you will be out and about, cycling through the heart of Sydney. Sydney is an easy city to get around, so there is not that much peddling to do as it is flat around the harbors. Travel through the cobbles of The Rocks, slowly cruise past the famous icons, and then head out through Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Returning to Circular Quay, you will have a free afternoon in Sydney. Consider the beaches, which are just 20 minutes from the hotel, or perhaps take a boat ride beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You could also spend the afternoon in the Queen Victoria Building, a splendid late-Victorian building turned into Australia’s most prestigious shopping arcade. Even if you do not love to shop, it is worth a trip there for a quick coffee and a piece of cake. As with yesterday, there are lots of good restaurants close to the hotel, or you can take the monorail to Darling Harbour for more waterfront dining choices.

You will have two options today and can choose based on how you want to develop those mother and daughter bonds. World-famous Bondi Beach awaits, a classic place for learning how to surf and check out the cool beachside vibe. You can take a board into the water, hang out in the surf cafes, and soak up the year-round sun as you see why Bondi is quintessential Sydney. Sydney Harbour Bridge is equally iconic, and it is a little scary walking along the metal arch, at first anyway. Slowly you will ascend and get used to the adventure, mother and daughter walking on top of one of the world’s most recognizable structures. You will be fully strapped in, and the views are astonishing, the Parramatta glistening below and the Blue Mountains along the horizon. Choose one of the experiences for the morning, and then enjoy another afternoon exploring some city chic.

Fly direct to Uluru, and you will have the window seat over the world’s biggest monolith, and it will be visible just before you land. Touch down in the outback, in the middle of the desert, and in the middle of nowhere before you set off in a four-wheel drive. Uluru looms larger and larger as you take a walk around its base, admiring Aboriginal paintings inscribed into the rock. Learn about local Aboriginal law and religion, and then sit back and watch the rock change. With sparkling wine and nibbles, you will take in the sunset, Uluru switching from red to a deep, ineffable orange before drifting into darkness.

If the moon is out, then Uluru provides the night’s silhouette. If it’s not, then the stars are even more impressive. You will be glamping out in the bush, amid the serenity and the solitude of the outback. Shooting stars are so common here you stop counting as the campfire crackles, the best way to keep local wildlife away. The glamping is very comfortable, with a unique bush bathroom and shower. There is nothing for miles but mother and daughter in one of the world’s most incomparable places. The Outback seems to simplify everything as there is nothing here, which is what makes it is so beautiful.

Wake up before the sun and watch it rise above the rocks of Kata Tjuta, and then take a stroll through this most spiritual place. In local Aboriginal culture, Uluru was a meeting place. Kata Tjuta was even more treasured, a private place of ceremony that is now mostly off bounds to visitors. Take a walk through the valley then head off way-outback, glamping near Kings Creek Cattle Station with incredible views over the George Gill Ranges. Like yesterday, there is a boundless sense of space and freedom, which always brings people together. Dine around the campfire, gaze up at the stars, and listen to the silence that pervades.

Crevices appear from nowhere, tumbling down to the earth’s red center. Walls rise evocatively, the sun-scorched rock of an ochre hue that seems synonymous with Australia. Amid this grand area of red sandstone, you will find a lush expanse of palms and ferns for evidence that life can exist. Walk a little further, and the rocks have been weathered into peculiar domes, a Lost City filled with rock paintings, engravings, and sheltered overhangs. Spend most of the day in Watarrka, renamed Kings Canyon by white explorers but now known by its sacred Aboriginal name. The four-wheel-drive track takes you up to Alice Springs, where you will spend the night in a famous desert outpost.

Fly to Darwin for some downtime in the northern city. It will be hot and tropical here, with crocodiles in the river and a slow pace of life that’s perfect for a quiet day. A local guide leads a walking tour, focusing on Aboriginal galleries and culture. Great collections are found here, dots, and lines filling the paintings with significant meaning. Aboriginal culture has survived best in the Northern Territory, and you will get a sense of its ancient roots, particularly thoughts of language and nation. The Aborigines are a complex web of 500 nations and almost as many languages, each with their own specialism based on what existed on their lands. This first day will be a fabulous and eye-opening introduction to what you will experience over the next three days.

Litchfield and Kakadu are wild, as these are enormous national parks are where time has stood still. Saltwater crocodiles peek their noses from rivers, swampy wetlands stretch out beneath red sandstone, with rare birds flutter on their fringes. At times, it will seem that there really is nothing here, other than the landscape’s raw splendor. For an hour, nothing may change, just sandstone escarpments and dust trailing your vehicle. But then a sharp turn on a bumpy track, and you will find a towering waterfall. Jump in for a swim, as there are no crocodiles here, and it will feel as though you are swimming on Mars. Go a little further along the track, and you will find Aboriginal art with sites like Nanguluwur and Nourlangie, both so expressive in their suggestions of time.

These two days are a real adventure, and you will feel your comfort zones softly extended once more. Begin with a drive through Litchfield National Park, and then enter Kakadu to feast your eyes on the works of nature. Waterfalls tumble through the forested canyons with swimming pools cut off from the world. Hiking trails cross the surreal ochre rocks, but you will then land in some very comfortable accommodations in wooden cabins, a step up from the outback glamping experience. This is the real wilderness, and it is a place you want to share with somebody you love. Not many people set foot here, and even fewer get to spend three days. So appreciate the inimitability of where you are and continue to wonder at these remarkable landscapes.

The final day of your Kakadu adventure brings you in a loop, back towards Darwin, with more rock paintings and waterfalls and hiking to take in. You should be fully tuned into the Kakadu vibe now, waking early to enjoy the cool morning hours, listening to the silence that exists, drinking four liters of water a day, and understanding the power of nature. Continue along the rocky, four-wheel-drive tracks and then cruise through the Mary River Wetlands for the best way to safely get close to the world’s largest crocodiles. You will return to Darwin in the late-afternoon and hop straight on a flight to Cairns, where the atmosphere and experience change completely.

Cairns is a tropical town on the coast where palm trees line the beachfront boulevard, and outdoor public swimming pools stretch out above Pacific waters. Rainforested mountains provide the backdrop for a carpet of green to contrast with the coral sea. The town is tiny, barely more than a few blocks, and it is crammed with contemporary pleasures with shops, craft markets, cafes, restaurants, everything you need after a few days in the wilderness abounding. Today is left free so that you can spend some time on the beach, take a walk through the town and relax.

All around Cairns there is a kaleidoscope of color with the forested mountains, the sparkling coast, and even the sizzling barbecue stalls in the food markets. But none of these colors rival the Great Barrier Reef, and Cairns is the gateway to this fabulous work of nature. A day cruise will take you to the very edge of the continental shelf. It is a 90-minute ride out to a reef, where the boat docks and you can choose from different experiences. The Great Barrier Reef is a barrier formed by almost 3,000 individual reefs, along with islets and islands. Today you will visit two of the reefs, to experience the incredible beauty together.

Snorkel around as purple fans stretch out below, along with the yellow staghorn coral and vibrant sea pens. Small and dainty fish swarm around elkhorn coral, adding their peculiar colors to the scene. Some corals are hard, while others are soft and wavy. Sometimes a turtle swims past, and you might occasionally spot a grouper or another large fish. Snorkeling is just one way to discover the reef, and if you are qualified, you could also go scuba diving. You could also travel around in a semi-submersible, staying dry while encountering the vibrant underwater world. Visit a second reef to contrast the colors before returning to Cairns late in the afternoon, perhaps heading to a waterfront restaurant to toast to your vacation.

After a quiet morning, you will be transferred to Cairns Airport to start the journey home, enjoying how new connections have been made on this mother and daughter adventure across Australia.