Dates: June 25 – July 6, 2025

*Travel dates may be postponed by one week, to July 2 – 13, 2025, due to possible changes in the dates of the tribal festival in Laura. Exact dates are expected in mid-January 2025.

Duration: 12 days / 11 nights

Number of participants: 8 – 12

Cost per person: Under development


Early booking discount: 10% (for bookings made by January 25, 2025)


Everything is included except for:

• International flights to and from Sydney,
• International medical insurance,
• Australian visa (obtained online for 200 Australian dollars; conditions may change),
• Lunches and dinners.

Single supplement: Under development



TRAVEL PROGRAM: tour to australia


Day 1. June 25, 2025 (Wednesday). SYDNEY

Arrival in Sydney from your city. Transfer to the hotel, free time, and rest. We've planned an adventure-packed journey, so take some time to recover from the long flight. For those feeling energetic, head out to explore the city! Tomorrow, we'll have a guided city tour, but you're welcome to do some preliminary scouting today.

*Recommended flights to Sydney:
- Any flight from any city arriving in Sydney at any time on June 25.

Meals included: No
Accommodation included: Ibis Sydney Darling Harbour 3.5* or a similar hotel


Day 2. June 26, 2025 (Thursday). SYDNEY

Sightseeing tour of the city. Sydney is Australia's oldest and largest city, with a population of five million, serving as a business and financial hub and the capital of New South Wales.

The city is famous for its Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, and snow-white beaches. Words cannot do justice to its beauty - you simply have to experience it yourself. Sydney is a stunning and vibrant city of architectural contrasts, gardens, parks, and endless beaches set against a vast sky and a sparkling ocean. Its charm lies in its location along the majestic harbor with a spectacular coastline.

During our city tour, we will stroll through the city center, see historic buildings, and head to the wharf, where we’ll take a ferry ride across the beautiful harbor. There will be plenty of history, including stories of Russian connections. Near the ocean, we’ll sample some seafood and have lunch at a cozy fish restaurant.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: Ibis Sydney Darling Harbour 3.5* or a similar hotel


Day 3. June 27, 2025 (Friday). SYDNEY – CANBERRA – BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK AND "AUSTRALIAN BALASHIKHA"

In the morning, we set off from Sydney towards adventures in the capital of Australia—Canberra. After traveling 300 km, we’ll reach this unique city in the Australian Alps.

An unexpected choice: While most major Australian cities are located along the ocean, the capital is situated in the mountains. Many travelers are surprised to learn that Sydney is not the capital of Australia. The actual capital of the Green Continent is the relatively small city of Canberra, built from scratch in 1912 based on the exceptional design of an American architect. With a population of fewer than half a million, the city was meticulously planned with straight lines, clearly visible from above.
Our city tour will start from the highest point, the vantage point from which the city was originally designed. We’ll visit the old and new Parliament buildings, and if we’re lucky, we might even witness a parliamentary session.

We will also stop by the sacred Aboriginal fire at the "Aboriginal Embassy." The fire burns day and night right in front of Parliament as a reminder to Europeans of who the land truly belongs to.
We’ll walk along the main avenues and squares of the capital and see the War Memorial complex, a kind of "Victory Hill" of Canberra. Today, numerous parks and squares in Canberra have been taken over by the country’s native inhabitants - kangaroos! Neither fences nor relocation efforts can stop them; these bouncy creatures keep returning to the city’s green parks like boomerangs.

In the evening, we’ll travel to the Blue Mountains National Park, heading to its farthest section, away from tourist crowds! This is the genuine Australian homestead of our guide, who has created a paradise here with stunning viewpoints and cozy cabins. Here, wild nature rivals the famous tourist attractions of the park.
We’ll spend the night in cabins in the national park, surrounded by kangaroos.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: Wombeyan Caves Cabins, cabins in the Blue Mountains National Park


Day 4. June 28, 2025 (Saturday). BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK: KANGAROOS AND CAVES

The Blue Mountains are one of Australia's iconic landmarks, known worldwide. Every day, dozens of large buses bring tourists from Sydney to enjoy the stunning views, breathe in the eucalyptus air, and explore the caves.

But for us, it will all be private—no crowds, just for us—on private land and within the national park.
Bernhard Grzimek, a well-known West German zoologist and director of the Frankfurt Zoo, once wrote about Australia:
“Perhaps what I am about to say will shock the modern Australian, who is justifiably proud of their accomplishments, but I am firmly convinced: a tourist spoiled by the sights of the Rocky Mountains and Switzerland, who has already seen elephants and lions in the national parks of East Africa, will come to Australia for only one reason—to see kangaroos.”
Here, we will enjoy breathtaking views among hundreds of grazing kangaroos. Kangaroos are everywhere here; this is their land. In the morning, look out the window of your cabin—kangaroos will already be waiting for you.

And today, we’ll also explore caves! Once again, they’ll be just for us. The first cave will lead us to a viewpoint in a gorge with a river below. The second cave is known as the “Sydney Opera House” because it features a natural stage, royal box, and organ. Of course, all of these are natural formations, and with a little imagination, you’ll see an opera in the rocks.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: Wombeyan Caves Cabins, cabins in the Blue Mountains National Park


Day 5. June 29, 2025 (Sunday). BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK: CABLEWAY AND THREE SISTERS ROCK FORMATION

Today, we head to the famous attraction—the cableway in the Blue Mountains near the iconic Three Sisters rock formation.

The Blue Mountains are a tourist Mecca of Australia, known for their fresh air, great walking trails, and incredible viewpoints. The area features the steepest cableway in the world (with a 52° incline), Australia’s only horizontal cableway, and is steeped in Aboriginal legends about the renowned Three Sisters.
We will drive along Cliff Drive, a road running along the edge of the rocky plateau, offering breathtaking views of the valleys and waterfalls below. We’ll ride above the Australian jungle in a cable car with a glass floor, descend to the canyon floor on the steepest railway in the world, and walk beneath towering sandstone cliffs among majestic eucalyptus trees and ancient tree ferns.
We’ll spend the night at a hotel near the Three Sisters.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: The 3 Explorers Motel 4*


Day 6. June 30, 2025 (Monday). BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK – SYDNEY – CAIRNS

Today, we descend from the mountains back to Sydney and fly north, where it’s warmer. Yes, in Australia, the north is warmer. We’re heading to explore (and, of course, sunbathe!) the Great Barrier Reef, the jewel of Australia and the largest coral reef on the planet.
We’ll transfer to the airport and take a flight to Cairns around 3:00 PM (schedule subject to change).
Upon arrival, we’ll check into beachfront apartments at Trinity Beach.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: On the Beach Holiday Apartments


Day 7. July 1, 2025 (Tuesday). GREAT BARRIER REEF

Today, we embark on a full-day excursion cruise to the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef, considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, stretches along Australia's coastline for 2,500 kilometers. It is the largest living organism on the planet! While the reef is a symbiotic ecosystem of millions of tiny organisms, fish, and mollusks, creating vibrant colors and a mysterious underwater life (with thousands of islands and individual reefs), it functions as one vast organism.
A comfortable ocean cruiser will take us to the outer coral reef Agincourt, located 15 km from the resort town of Port Douglas, right on the edge of the ocean. Here, adventures await for everyone’s preference: snorkeling, diving, swimming, glass-bottom boat rides, and even an underwater theater where you can view the marine world through a giant window without getting wet.
The cruise includes a glass-bottom boat ride, access to an underwater observatory, snorkeling, lunch, and morning and afternoon tea.

The Great Barrier Reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of humanity’s natural treasures. No words or underwater footage can capture the magical feeling of being in the warm tropical waters of this enchanting, mesmerizing underwater world. The reef is a small universe: 300 species of hard corals, 1,500 species of fish, over 400 types of sponges, 4,000 species of mollusks, along with large green turtles and dugongs—the origin of mermaid legends.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: On the Beach Holiday Apartments


Day 8. July 2, 2025 (Wednesday). GREAT BARRIER REEF

After an action-packed tour, today we have the chance to relax on the beach.
Alternatively, you can continue exploring the chain of reefs and islands covered with lush vegetation, stretching for 2,000 kilometers along Queensland's eastern coastline.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: On the Beach Holiday Apartments


Day 9. July 3, 2025 (Thursday). GREAT BARRIER REEF – ATHERTON TABLELANDS

Another day to enjoy the magnificent beach.
For those eager to explore, we offer an excursion to the mountains—the Atherton Tablelands.
Today, we’ll visit tropical plantations, mountain farms, towering termite mounds as tall as a person, and coffee plantations.

We’ll also catch a glimpse of Russian history with a visit to the site of a former Russian colony from the early 20th century, nicknamed “Little Siberia.” In 1940, during World War II, when Australia was gripped by spy paranoia, many immigrants fell under suspicion. Authorities in Atherton—a small settlement hidden in the tropical forests of northern Queensland—found their "spy" in Nikifor Khomenko, a Russian settler from the forests of Gadgarra. As a non-naturalized foreigner, he had failed to register with the police, as wartime regulations required. Khomenko lived in an area populated by other Russians, allowing him to mostly use his native language.

For a touch of the extraordinary, we’ll also have a chance to spot the unique platypus—a creature with the body of a beaver and the bill of a duck that lays eggs yet feeds its young with milk! Jules Verne was indeed right when he said, " land of paradoxes and anomalies!"

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: On the Beach Holiday Apartments


Day 10. July 4, 2025 (Friday). CAIRNS – CAPE YORK: ANG-GNARRA AND KINKAN ABORIGINAL FESTIVAL IN LAURA

Today, we journey to Cape York, extending far to the north. In the small settlement of Laura, Aboriginal tribes gather—albeit infrequently - to showcase their dances. In the best years, this happens every two years, but recently even less often.
Do not expect to see tango or waltz; these are Stone Age dances—primitive yet utterly extraordinary. They can only be witnessed here. This is not a tourist show but an authentic Aboriginal festival.
Our guides, who have long studied Aboriginal culture, will share deeper insights into it. Two tribes, Ang-Gnarra and Quinkan, welcome everyone to their ancestral land to host a genuine dance battle with neighboring Aboriginal tribes. Expected participants include Kawadji Wimpa, Wik Aurukan, Malpa Paman, Ngabi Bama Irriba-mu, Pormpuraaw, Yidinji, Mayi Wunba, Whuntunah Jaban, Yarrabah Bama Ngappi, and Kalkutungu.

Australian Aboriginals refer to the "Dreamtime" as the period of world creation, when there was no past or future, and ancestral spirits freely interacted with the spirits of the forest and animals. They believe that through ritual dance, one can still access this timeless space.
Tonight, we’ll camp among the Aboriginal people, staying in tents.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: Tents in an Aboriginal campsite


Day 11. July 5, 2025 (Saturday). ABORIGINAL FESTIVAL IN LAURA

The location of Laura was chosen for a reason. Near the festival site are some of the world's oldest rock paintings, a place deeply revered by Aboriginal people. Tribes would come here to worship their gods, and we will have the opportunity to see these painted deities. We’ll visit three sacred sites—unique Aboriginal places of worship.
Following the prehistoric dances of Australia's Aboriginal people, the oldest living civilization on Earth, we’ll immerse ourselves in the spiritual and cultural heritage of this extraordinary land.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: Tents in an Aboriginal campsite

Day 12. July 6, 2025 (Sunday). LAURA – CAIRNS – SYDNEY – RETURN FLIGHT

We bid farewell to our Aboriginal hosts and travel 300 km back to Cairns. From there, we take a flight to Sydney, arriving no later than 7:00 PM.

Catch your connecting international flight from Sydney back home.

*Recommended flights from Sydney:
- Any flight to any city departing from Sydney no earlier than 11:00 PM on July 6.

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation included: No


**The order of the program may change while ensuring all major activities are preserved. If certain visits and/or activities cannot be carried out due to external conditions, they will be replaced whenever possible.