From the Outback to Oh Wow!
Seasoned adventurers know that no matter where you've traveled or what you've experienced, there's always more to see. In that spirit, Adventures by Disney® keep adding new and exciting adventures – from U.S. destinations "just around the corner" to far-flung and amazing corners of the world.New itineraries might not be a surprise – but did you know that Adventures by Disney also fine-tunes existing adventures, changing elements, adding experiences, and constantly striving to make the vacation of a lifetime that much better? And sometimes, those tweaks and additions are so dramatic that they can make an existing adventure into a whole new experience!
That's just the case with the Discovery Down Under Adventure to Australia. Adventures by Disney's Bruce Austin tells us, "We have been visiting this destination for three seasons already. I took a trip to Australia last March, and saw a chance to move the trip to the next level. We kept most of the core elements, but added some things that are so compelling we think that even people who have done the trip before will want to go again!"
The biggest new component to Discover Down Under is one that few Americans have experienced – the trip will now include Tasmania. As Bruce explains, "The original thought was add a New Zealand component to the trip. The problem we ran into is that most of our trips are scheduled for June through August to take advantage of American families' summer breaks, but of course that's winter in Southern Hemisphere!" Fortunately, Bruce's team found a less chilly alternative. "We discovered that the island of Tasmania has a much more temperate climate than New Zealand in the winter months, but is similar to New Zealand in other ways – stunning landscapes, unusual wildlife, coastal scenery, and wonderful seafood. Like New Zealand, it also has a wine industry and beautiful hotels. In fact, our trip includes lunch at a very famous winery, Meadowbank Winery, followed by wine-tasting for the adults and lawn-bowling for the kids."
While New Zealand has become more familiar to us Northern Hemisphere types in recent years thanks to its popularity as a film location, Tasmania remains more mysterious – and according to Bruce, a delightful surpise. "Tasmania was a huge revelation. For an active, family-style vacation, I'd never been anywhere that quite fit the ticket the way it does. The food is amazing."
If Tasmania has one association in the popular mind, it's with the Tasmanian devil – the only remaining meat-eating marsupial in the world. And Guests will get a personal introduction to this fascinating critter – which, Bruce says, does not live up to its fearsome reputation, during a journey to the Bonarong Wildlife Sanctuary near Hobart. "The babies are so cute, you just want to pick them up and hug them!" Bruce laughs. "The adults do have an amazing set of teeth, and when they feel threatened they yawn at you, which looks impressive. But in fact they're quite timid."
If up-close encounters with the Tasmanian Devil aren't thrilling enough for you, you can always take to the treetops. "We've added a great ziplining activity. One of the beauties of Tasmania is that much of the original eucalyptus forest is still intact there, and the zipline goes through a part of the forest known as Hollybank Treetops and flies over a river – it's on a par with, if not even superior to, our ziplining trip in Costa Rica, which is quite famous!"
One of Tasmania's attractions is its great natural beauty, and Adventures by Disney will make sure that Guests see the island's splendor to the fullest with two nights at an Australian version of a national park lodge on the Freycinet Peninsula. "The scenery is unbelievably stunning here – deserted white-sand beaches featuring crystal-clear water," Bruce says. "We'll take a hike to Wineglass Bay on one side of the peninsula, and on the other side on Cole's Bay, we'll go sea-kayaking with local guides. With any luck we'll see some sea and marine life – whales and dolphins, incredible bird life, and all types of unusual plants you'll never see outside of Tasmania.
"They have amazingly pure air, because there's something like eight thousand miles of unobstructed ocean that the breeze travels over. Like Australia itself, the current society was founded by convicts shipped from England in leaky old ships." That history provides for a delightfully spooky final night before the Adventure moves on from Tasmania. "We will have our final night farewell dinner in Port Arthur. Although it was a sad and lonely place at one time, it's a beautiful location on the coast. Our farewell dinner will be hosted in the prison's former insane asylum, and after dinner we will go on a ghost-walk through the prison grounds with hurricane lanterns and a local guide. There's something about being in a setting like that, with the only lighting the flickering glow from hurricane lanterns, hearing these stories, that lends itself to a feeling of great spookiness." How spooky? Bruce can vouch for the eeriness of the ghost walk from first-hand experience! "You can't count ghosts to show up on schedule, but it certainly seems like the kind of place where you might encounter one. In fact, I think I saw a ghost myself – and I don't really believe in ghosts! We were down in the basement of prison cell block dating back to the 1840s and 1850s, and there was just this presence there – very cold and clammy."
There's even more to do on the Australian mainland as well. In addition to highlights from the existing Discoverery Down Under itinerary, like snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef and visiting the sacred landmark rock Uluru, Guests will now get to visit Flames of the Forest, an evening of Aboriginal culture and entertainment. "We've also added a visit to Kuranda, which is a quaint village in the rainforest. There's an amazing cable-car that takes you over the canopy of the rainforest. You can get out and explore elevated walkways through the canopy, and then see Baron Falls, a beautiful waterfall in the forest." Even Sydney, already part of the itinerary, seems brand-new with additions like a behind-the-scenes tour of its famous landmark Opera House, and surfing at Bondi Beach.
As Bruce himself found out – whether it's your first foray down under or your fiftieth, the new Discoverers Down Under itinerary can show you something you've never seen before. Tasmanian devils, treetop strolls, and possibly even a ghost or two await.
