EXOTIC ADVENTURES Presented by Zegrahm Expeditions celebrating 30 years of adventure travel Are you yearning to explore an exotic destination that travels far off the beaten path? We created this guide to inspire you to strike out beyond the average vacation and discover some of the world’s most exotic destinations. Typically found far from civilization, many of the world’s most exotic destinations can be difficult to reach on your own. However, once you get there, you’ll have these magical places all to yourself. Let us expand your travel horizons—within these pages we’ve listed our top picks for far-flung destinations that are sure to take you out of your element and help you embark on the life-changing adventure of your dreams. • Australia ................................... page 2 > • Australia’s Kimberley .................. page 3 > • Best of the Great Barrier Reef .... page 7 > • Philippines ................................ page 11 > • Philippines with Palau & Taiwan . page 12 > • Seychelles ................................ page 16 > • Ultimate Seychelles with Aldabra page 17 > • How to Pack ............................. page 21 > • Ultimate Packing List ................. page 22 > AUSTRALIA AN ADVENTURE DOWN UNDER In Brief When to Go Australia is a goldmine when it comes to bucket list experiences– Australia is great year-round in most states. The weather an enormous country blessed with a variety of different is temperate for most of the year, but the northern states landscapes, enough activities for multiple trips, and attractions experience warm weather all the time while the southern states for absolutely every taste. While most visitors head straight for have cool winters. Cyclone season, which affects the northern Sydney or Melbourne, those who venture beyond these iconic states, runs from November to April. In tropical Queensland, cities will find a number of unique Australian adventures. daytime air temperatures vary from the mid-80s°F in winter to the mid 90s°F in summer. If your are interested in exploring Australia’s underwater wonders, December through February Exotic Adventures means great visibility and warmer water, while June through November pays off with minke and humpback whale spotting The Kimberley - The Kimberly region is a remote, rugged and coral spawning. Expect water temperatures around 85°F and raw ancient landscape that is larger than 75% of the world’s during the summer in the central and northern Great Barrier countries, dotted with untouched swimming holes, majestic Reef and 75°F in winter and cooler water off the Sunshine Coast. canyons, and desolate mountains. The oldest living culture in the world originates here (dating back 50,000+ years), and the small population of Aboriginal Australians who continue to live Explore with Zegrahm off the land have kept their traditional culture largely intact. This is the place for escapism, adventure, and a chance to delve into Zegrahm Expeditions pioneered tourism in the remote Australia’s most untouched natural beauty. Kimberley region over two decades ago. Over the years, Great Barrier Reef - The world’s largest and healthiest coral we’ve developed the perfect itinerary that showcases the region’s reef system is also the only living structure on Earth that can amazing landscapes and unique wildlife. This is one of the last be seen from outer space! Made up of nearly 2,900 individual places in the world where you can still find pure, uninterrupted reefs, 600 continental islands, and 300 coral cays, it’s the wilderness. world’s largest single structure comprised of living organisms. And while the Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s While scuba diving, expect colorful, shallow coral gardens and a most popular destinations, you can still find plenty of world- variety of marine life like green sea turtles, white-tip reef sharks, class snorkel and dive sites far from the crowds. Zegrham’s and beautiful Napoleon wrasse. Many bommies serve as manta comprehensive itinerary takes you to the outer edge where the ray cleaning stations, while schools of jacks, barracuda, eagle reef meets the Pacific, as well as remote Osprey Reef, which can rays, and sharks sweep in from the great blue. Curious sea only be accessed by ship. Nature hikes in the Daintree Forest snakes, carpet sharks, moray eels, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs and the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland are the perfect can be found in the shallows. This is the world’s largest reef compliment to your underwater adventures. system, so you can truly expect to see a bit of just about everything. Ningaloo Reef - The Ningaloo Marine Park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site found halfway up the West Australian coastline. While not as well known as the Great Barrier Reef, here you will find the world’s largest fringing reef, a 162-mile-long coral reef swarming with turtles, tropical fish, manta rays, humpback whales, and the elusive whale sharks. Nowhere on Earth do these majestic creatures reliably congregate in such large numbers as at Ningaloo Reef. ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS < 2 > AUSTRALIA’S KIMBERLEY A VOYAGE TO THE OUTBACK April 21 – May 5, 2020 | 15 Days | Aboard the Coral Discoverer TIMOR SEA Tiwi Islands Expedition Highlights KING GEORGE RIVER Darwin Jar Island / Woku • Fly via helicopter to explore the Woku Island Sterna Island / dramatic gorges of Mitchell Plateau Bigge Island CAMBRIDGE GULF and swim in the crystal-clear pools HUNTER RIVER above photogenic Mitchell Falls. Montgomery Reef KING MITCHELL GEORGE • Discover Australia’s unique wild- Yampi Sound FALLS FALLS life—rock wallabies, turtles, and Raft Point mighty saltwater crocodiles. Lacepede Talbot Bay Islands THE KIMBERLEY • Take a guided bush walk that AUSTRALIA reveals Aboriginal cultural tradi- Broome tions and view well-preserved rock art at Raft Point and Bigge Island. WESTERN RAFT POINT AUSTRALIA SALTWATER CROCODILE • View the amazing spectacle of the Horizontal Falls, created by massive tidal currents. • Photograph the Kimberley’s dramatic scenery, a land of striking red rocks framed by sparkling white sands and deep blue skies. © Brent Stephenson Brent © © Mike Moore ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS < 3 > AGILE WALLABY © Jamie Anderson © Brent Stephenson Brent © TIWI ISLANDS Itinerary Permission pending, go ashore on the Tiwis and join local Aboriginal guides for a tour of the small community of Nguiu, its museum, and the old Mission Precinct. You will also have an Based on the expeditionary nature of our trips, there may be ongoing opportunity to visit the local arts center, to view and purchase enhancements to this itinerary. high-quality Tiwi crafts and screen-printed fabric. Tuesday - Thursday, April 21 - 23, 2020 DEPART USA / DARWIN, AUSTRALIA Sunday, April 26 Board your independent flight to Darwin, Australia, losing KING GEORGE RIVER / KING GEORGE FALLS a day as you cross the International Date Line. Arrive in Cruise through a spectacular canyon where vertical cliffs, Darwin on April 23 and enjoy an afternoon at leisure. gorges, and mangroves line the shores of the mighty King Gather this evening for a welcome dinner and overnight George River. The final destination is King George Falls, a at the Hilton Darwin. supremely photogenic area of 325-foot cliffs of rust-colored sandstone rising from the tidal waters. Friday, April 24 DARWIN / EMBARK CORAL DISCOVERER Monday, April 27 Today explore historic Darwin with a visit to the George JAR ISLAND / WOKU-WOKU ISLAND Brown Botanic Gardens, the Darwin Military Museum, and the View fine examples of ancient Bradshaw or Gwion Gwion art, impressive Darwin Museum and Art Gallery which celebrates thought to be 20,000 to 15,000 years old, on Jar Island, a Aboriginal art and the history of the region. This afternoon rocky uninhabited island endowed with lovely white-sand board the Coral Discoverer and set sail. beaches. Tides permitting, step ashore on Woku-Woku Island to search for the remnants of old Macassan trepang stoves that were used to boil sea cucumbers collected on their KING GEORGE FALLS journeys through the Kimberley hundreds of years ago. Tuesday, April 28 BIGGE ISLAND / STERNA ISLAND A unique experience awaits us on Bigge Island, sacred to Aborigines for thousands of years. Well-preserved Aboriginal paintings grace the walls of caves, depicting mythical figures and offering visual evidence of the European entrance into the Aboriginal way of life. Keep an eye out for Monjon (the smallest of the wallabies), which can often be seen sprinting from one rock ledge to another. In the afternoon step ashore Sterna Island to search for a variety of seabirds, including four species of terns, pied cormorants, white-bellied sea eagles, and osprey. Saturday, April 25 Stephenson Brent © ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS < 4 > © Peter Zika RAFT POINT MITCHELL FALLS Wednesday, April 29 Sunday, May 3 HUNTER RIVER / MITCHELL FALLS LACEPEDE ISLANDS From Hunter River, fly via helicopter to the Mitchell Plateau to The Lacepede Islands are a group of four low, sandy islands visit Mitchell Falls, a series of waterfalls and pools culminating lying on a coral reef. The islands are an important nesting site in a deep gorge carving its way through the Outback. Explore for green sea turtles and several species of seabirds including the surrounding area on foot and enjoy a refreshing swim in frigatebirds, brown boobies, crested terns, sandpipers, and ruddy the rushing freshwater pools. In the vicinity of our anchorage, turnstones. Cruise the area by Zodiac for a closer look at the you may explore the small tributaries by Zodiac, searching the seabird colonies. Be on deck this evening as the sun sets and the mangroves and tidal mud flats for crocodiles, mudskippers, and night sky comes alive—far from the city lights, stargazing in the fiddler crabs, as well as the many bird species that make their Kimberley is simply spectacular. home within the dense vegetation. Monday & Tuesday, May 4 & 5 Thursday - Saturday, April 30 - May 2 BROOME / DISEMBARK / SYDNEY / USA MONTGOMERY REEF / TALBOT BAY / RAFT POINT / Disembark in Broome with time for a bit of sightseeing.