WOMBATS & WALLABIES

Your Australian family adventure begins in Sydney, the country’s largest and most iconic city. While Melburnians will claim their city to be Australia’s cultural capital, there’s no doubt that Sydney is its most beautiful city, with the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge among the most iconic sights in the whole country. The former is worth a visit just to see its unique architecture, resembling a ship’s billowing sails, but is also a world-class music venue, and the Art Gallery of NSW contains extensive collections of Australian art, including much by Aboriginal artists.

For a huge city, Sydney’s also rich in natural beauty, fittingly for the jumping-off point for your wildlife adventure. Bondi Beach is one of the most iconic stretches of sand in the world, and the cliffs, islands and rugged coastline of Sydney Harbour National Park is beautiful. Your home for three nights in Sydney is The Langham, a distinguished harbourside hotel in the fashionable Rocks district.

Departing Sydney, you’ll head down the New South Wales coast to the wilderness area of Tanja and the Tanja Lagoon Camp, which you’ll reach via a flight from Sydney to Merimbula followed by a short car journey. A magnificent collection of luxurious safari tents surrounded by forest and overlooking the lagoon, a stay here is all about immersion in and appreciation of the beautiful natural environment.

It’s here that your Aussie wildlife experience begins in earnest: the rich array of creatures who make their homes here includes red-necked wallabies, ringtail possums, bandicoots, pademelons and echidnas. You can spot them on bushwalks beginning right outside your door, with trails through the Mimosa Rocks National Park and around the lagoon. Beautiful Middle Beach is a top surfing spot, and canoeing and kayaking are great ways to spend an afternoon.

After 4 nights at Tanja, you’ll drive back to Merimbula to board a flight to Melbourne (1.5hrs), then make the 90-minute drive to Daylesford, your next stop. A beautiful spa town famed for its naturally mineral-rich waters, this is an unspoilt area home to a rich variety of wildlife.

Your hotel, Lake House, is a luxurious spa property on the shores of the beautiful Lake Daylesford, which is home to a variety of birdlife including rosellas, cockatoos and kookaburras. The hotel’s proximity to the Macedon Ranges means there’s great scope for wildlife watching further afield, too, with the Wombat State Forest home to the likes of kangaroos, wombats, wallabies and echidnas, as well as hundreds of bird species.

Driving back to Melbourne and boarding a flight to Kingscote, you’ll reach the final stop on your wildlife adventure, Kangaroo Island. An unspoilt island, a third of which is covered by national parks, it goes without saying that this is another great place to spot iconic Aussie wildlife; a unique type of kangaroo gives the island its name, while bandicoots, possums and echidnas all live here too. Rare species include the tiny, endangered dunnart, while sea lions and fur seals live around the coast. The diversity extends to the waters around the island.

Kangaroo Island is also renowned for its artisan food producers and wineries, and boasts a gastronomy scene which really punches above its weight. Your home for four nights is the luxurious Lifetime Private Retreats, which sit on the cliffs of the island, guaranteeing panoramic views.