"Down Under" is a large continent, offering a great variety of interesting places to visit: from modern cities like Melbourne or Sydney to old tropical forests, the magical Ayers Rock and the wonderful Great Barrier Reef and beautiful beaches.

Mantrav and our partners in Australia guarantee high quality during the preparation and during the trip. You will be escorted by a very knowledgeable and friendly local gay guide. He knows everything from the most interesting places, the best restaurants and where to go out at night. The hotels and restaurants have been chosen very carefully. This trip is really unique and you will only find it with Mantrav. Lots of insider information and full of details and extras (excursions, snacks, insider knowledge). Come and join us!

Day 1

Arrival in Melbourne

On arrival in Melbourne you will be met by your gay specialist guide and transferred by private vehicle to your accommodation. Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, is known as the Garden, Arts and Sports capital of Australia. Its beautiful tree-lined boulevards, many parks and gardens and beautiful Victorian terrace houses, great restaurants, wonderful theatre and art galleries together with international sporting events all combine to make this elegant city one of the world's most liveable. Today's wonderful and unique tour of the city will provide a true "insiders access" of the art and culture of gay Melbourne. Visit the famous Cooks Cottage, enjoy a very unusual walk through the Royal botanic Gardens with an Aboriginal guide and learn about his peoples customs and traditions, travel past Victorian terrace houses, the city's exclusive suburbs and the Arts precinct. Your specialist gay guide will show you Melbourne as not seen by the average visitor. The Marque is ideally located in the cafe precinct and beach side suburb of St. Kilda in Melbourne. Local markets, art galleries, boutiques cultural diversity and a colourful history make St. Kilda one of the most vibrant areas of the city. The hotel is just 10 minutes from the heart of the city, and within moments to the commercial district of St. Kilda Road, Toorak, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Albert Park and Southbank. The famous Melbourne trams pass right outside the hotel entrance, and the light rail system offers immediate and easy access to the garden city and all it has to offer. This evening enjoy a welcome dinner at "Circa" in St. Kilda. This award winning very classy, but "without being stuffy" restaurant and bar exudes style, drama, lots of space, luminous curtains billowing, big comfy chairs and tables and some of Melbourne's best food.

Day 2

Melbourne - Coliban Park

Today drive into the countryside travelling to one of Victoria's oldest, delightful country properties - Coliban Park. At this private sheep station, wath sheep being shorn and learn first hand about one of Australia's most important industries. Enjoy lunch with Anthony and Rita Barber in their traditional family homestead. A highlight will be a tour of the property, perhaps seeing kangaroos in the wild. Return to Melbourne via one of the areas hottest new wineries, the Hanging Rock winery, where we include a tasting! This evenings dinner is under your own arrangements with many wonderful restaurants located in and around the area or city only a 10 minute tram journey from the hotel.

Day 3

Melbourne / Sydney

Meet your chauffeur in the hotel lobby and transfer by private vehicle to the Melbourne Domestic airport. 12:00 M Fly from Melbourne to Sydney (flight not included in the price). On arrival in Sydney you will be met and transferred by private vehicle to your accommodation. Sydney, the capital of the state of New South Wales, is Australia's most well known city. With its extraordinary icons both natural and man-made this is a city that never fails to please the eye. Its magnificent natural harbour spanned by the "coat hanger", the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the man-made sails of the Sydney Opera House are just some of its most widely photographed views. This afternoon enjoy wine and canapes on board "Aussie Magic". Sail on Sydney Harbour on this lovely catamaran enjoying unsurpassed views of this beautiful harbour and its icons, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Our hotel in Sydney is the Marriott Hotel. Boutique in size but grand in style and service, the Marriott Sydney is perfectly positioned on picturesque Hyde Park, in the epicentre of the business, cultural, theatre, sports and boutique retail centre of Sydney. Just a short stroll to Oxford Street's boutiques and vibrant nightlife.

Day 4

Sydney

Today enjoy a very special behind the scenes city tour of Sydney with our specialist gay guide. Delve into the "Ritz and Glitz" of this wonderful city visiting unique shops, bars and galleries owned and operated by some of Sydney's excentric gay community. Also visit Sydney's historic Rocks area known for its narrow cobbled streets and convict buildings, the quaint suburb of Paddington, Mrs Macquarie's Chair, providing on of the best vantage points in Sydney. This is a very personalised and unique tour with an opportunity to meet some wonderful locals. Lunch is included at Icebergs today. Just opened and currently THE place to be, the new Icebergs restaurant has million dollar views out to sea and along Bondi Beach and delicious food to match. Depending on the departure date, today you will have opportunity to party at Sleaze Ball (September 2007 departure) or at Mardi Gras (February 2007 departure).

Day 5

Sydney - Blue Mountains

Today meet your driver escort in the hotel lobby. Today's tour travels west across the coastal plain to the Blue Mountains to unlock a piece of Australia many don't know exists. Visit outstanding lookouts, see magnificent rock formations and unusual plants and wildlife. Look over the magnificent Jamieson Valley and the Three Sisters. After a real Aussie barbeque lunch drop into a hidden valley to seek out the many kangaroos that grazing in the wild! On the return to Sydney visit Homebush Bay, the site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and learn about all the amazing changes it has gone through to become on of Sydney's newest and hottest entertainment areas.

Day 6

Sydney / Ayers Rock

Meet your chauffeur in the hotel lobby and transfer by private vehicle to the Sydney Domestic airport. Fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock (cost of flight not included in the price). On arrival into Ayers Rock you will be met and transferred to your accommodation. Uluru is a giant red monolith that has come to represent Australia itself. The massive sandstone rock - the summit of a buried mountain - generates an almost mystical power. "The Rock" is 8.8 kilometres around the base, 3.6 kilometres long, 2.4 kilometres wide and towers 348 metres above the surrounding plain. The Anangu people believe they are the direct descendents of the ancestral spirits who gave them the laws and rules that they live by. They believe they are responsible for the protection of the lands and ask visitors to respect their wishes not to climb the rock. Its significant power can be felt particularly in the early morning or at sunset as the Rock undergoes an extraordinary transformation of colour. Magnificent ghost gums and flowering native shrubs are the setting for the stylish Desert Gardens Hotel. Stroll down shaded walkways to spacious poolside rooms or through desert gardens to deluxe rooms, many offering stunning views of Uluru.

Leaving mid-afternoon hear about the desert of Australia's Red heart. After a short walk to the dune lookout enjoy panoramic views of Kata Tjuta (the Oltas) - a very sacred place to the Aboriginal people. Walk through the Gorge into this mystic place, to hear how it has evolved over millions of years. As the sun sets the great domes of Kata Tjuta (Olgas) flush red and there will be time to celebrate the fantastic colour changes over a glass of sparkling wine. The spectacle fades as you return to Yulara beneath a sky of brilliant stars.

Day 7

Ayers Rock / Cairns

Wake up early! Beginning prior to sunrise this 9.4 km walk will introduce you to the geology of Uluru and you will hear how plants and wildlife have adapted and survived in such a forbidding environment. Hear of the relationship of the Anangu people to Uluru, which provided shelter, water and a tangible link with their creation ancestors. On the walk around the base hear and see the creation time stories of these ancient people unfold, see where they lived and carried out ceremonies. From a distance Uluru is spectacular; from close up it is powerful and deeply moving. 12:20 PM fly from Ayers Rock to Cairns (cost of flight not included in the price) On arrival into Cairns you will be met and transferred by private vehicle along the Captain Cook Highway to your accommodation located in Palm Cove. The Beaches of Cairns stretch for 26km along a beautiful coastline beginning north of the city. One of them is Palm Cove - just 20 minutes north of Cairns, and considered one of the top 10 beaches in Australia. Palm Cove's beach offers warm tropical water year round and a silky sandy beach lined with majestic Palm trees with beautiful views of the Coral Sea - the ingredients for an idyllic tropical holiday; warm seas, watersports and uncrowded sand with a sweeping backdrop of rainforest mountains. Sebel Reef House is a charming boutique hotel, capturing the essence of the tropics with natural Australian style and offering elegant superbly appointed accommodation, three swimming pools, spa and a choice of restaurants and bars. With only sixty nine rooms it has the relaxed feel of a small, sophisticated hotel.

Day 8

Cairns - Great Barrier Reef

Meet your escort in the hotel lobby and transfer to Marina Mirage for today's cruise to the Outer Barrier Reef. Board "Quicksilver" and cruise to Agincourt Reef lying within the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. This reef is renowned for its water clarity and coral formations. The Agincourt Reef lagoon is ideal for swimming and snorkelling and is amongst the best in the world. During the day enjoy a buffet lunch. Sunbake, snorkel, dive or view the reef up close from the underwater observatory - the choices seem endless.

Day 9

Cairns - Kuranda

Depart to Kuranda, passing through magnificent scenery. Afterwards visit Rainforestation, where you will be able do "cuddle a koala" and see many Australian animals including the "Jack the Ripper" crocodile and even pythons! See the Pamagirri Aboriginal Dancers perform a traditional dance accompanied by the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo. Then it is time to climb aboard the Skyrail cable car to glide silently over the beautiful rainforest canopy. There are two stations en route to alight before arriving at Caravonica Lakes. Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park is next and includes a delicious buffet lunch. After lunch you have ample time to explore all the attractions of Tjapukai. Transfer back to your hotel at the end of a day. For this evening's "Flames fo the Forest" experience, journey to a secret location which is not too far away! As the sun sets in purple hued splendour across the secret valley, you will be served champagne and hors d'oeuvres. After darkness has fallen, the flames of the forest are lit and you find your way through a flame lit trail to a place beneath the canopy of the oldest rainforest. Enveloped by ancient trees, the music of the sleeping forest is a fairytale setting for a magical, mystical and sensual evening. After a sumptuous and innovative feast of delicate and exotic tastes amid the forest, a lone didgeridoo fills the air, the lights in the surrounding forest dim and candles fade. A bonfire now lights and guests see their friendly local, now clad in tribal dress, who takes them on a dreaming tale of the forest, pausing to listen to the sounds and sights of the living forest around them and concluding with the participation of guests in the evolution of the world's oldest rainforest.

Day 10

Cairns / Departure

Transfer to the Cairns International Airport to take your flight home.

You can also book extra nights in Palm Cove or book an extension to Tasmania or New Zealand (see our separate packages).

Agincourt Reef Kuranda Cairns Qantas Melbourne-Sydney-Ayers Rock-Cairns / Palm Cove

Included services:

* All accommodation as detailed in a twin / single room with private facilites

* The services of a professional gay escort from arrival in Melbourne to departure from Cairns

* All transfers and sightseeing by private air-conditioned vehicle

* Daily breakfast

* 5 lunches

* 2 dinners

* Entrance fees whilst sightseeing

* Hotel Porterage

* Bottled water on full and half day private excursions

* 24 hour on the ground assistance

* Australian Good and Service Taxes

Not Included:

* Flight bookings and airfares

* Items of a personal nature

* Optional touring

* Travel insurance

* Visas, passports and departure tax

* Drinks and meals not mentioned in the program, tips, costs not stated as included

* Other costs not stated as included