Reef,
rainforest, coast.
Fourteen days down Australia’s east, built around the natural set-pieces a science student wants to stand inside — a reef, a rainforest canopy, a coastline of limestone stacks, and a beach where penguins come ashore after dark. Sydney to Cairns to Melbourne, with a University of Sydney campus tour and a few theme parks folded in. The University of Sydney visit is a campus tour, not a lecture or lab; the Great Barrier Reef day, the helicopter ride and three Gold Coast astronomy nights are all weather-dependent and can move.
A University of Sydney campus tour, seeing where the science pathway can lead.- A day on the Great Barrier Reef at Cairns, weather permitting.
- The Kuranda Sky Rail and a rainforest glow-worm walk.
- Three Gold Coast astronomy nights under open sky.
- The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island and the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.
Arrival, Sydney
Arrive Sydney; check in, rest of day at leisure.
Sydney City Tour & University of Sydney
Sydney city tour, Opera House tour, University of Sydney campus tour.
Madame Tussauds & Sea World
Sydney — Madame Tussauds, Sea World and Animal Kingdom.
Gold Coast — SkyPoint & Helicopter
Fly to the Gold Coast; SkyPoint and a ten-minute helicopter ride.
Movie World & Glow-Worm Walk
Movie World or Wet n Wild; rainforest and glow-worm walk. Gold Coast — astronomy night.
Astronomy Nights
Two further Gold Coast astronomy nights.
Cairns & Kuranda Sky Rail
Fly to Cairns; Kuranda Sky Rail with the scenic railway.
Great Barrier Reef
Cairns — Great Barrier Reef.
Melbourne, Great Ocean Road & Penguin Parade
Fly to Melbourne; city tour and MCG tour. Great Ocean Road with the Twelve Apostles. Puffing Billy with the Penguin Parade, then depart.
Designed for the
naturally curious
Classes 8–12
Great Barrier Reef Included
Weather-Dependent Reef & Astronomy
Theme Parks to Balance the Science
Everything you
need to know
How are younger students supervised on the reef, the helicopter and after-dark walks?
We run one chaperone per eight for Classes 8 and 9, one per ten for seniors, always including a female chaperone. All Picknic staff are police-verified and first-aid certified, reef and helicopter operators carry full safety cover, and parents get an evening WhatsApp update with photos, headcounts and the next day's plan.
How far ahead should we book, and how firm are the reef and astronomy days?
What's included, and how is a school group costed?