BOOKING CONDITIONS
Please take the time to read and understand the conditions of booking set out below before booking an experience with us.
1. Our contract
All bookings are made with Cocky Guides Australia Limited (ABN 22 665 986 854) (us/we). By booking an experience with us, you are deemed to have agreed to these Booking Conditions (which constitute the entire agreement between you and us), and your booking will be accepted by us on this basis. The services to be provided are those referred to in your booking confirmation invoice.
2. Validity
Dates and itineraries are valid from 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Beyond 31 December 2025, dates and itineraries are indicative only.
3. Deposit requirement
You must pay a non-refundable deposit as outlined in the initial booking form before we accept your booking.
4. Acceptance of booking and final payments
A contract will exist between us from when you accept the quotation and have paid your deposit, and we have agreed to accept the booking. If we accept your booking, we will issue an invoice for the outstanding balance plus GST if paying with cash.

Suppose we accept your booking, and you are a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant who requests to use your NDIS to pay for our support services. In that case, we will issue you a quotation before departure with the support services outlined. A payment invoice will be issued on your return with a 7-day payment term.
If this balance is not paid on or before the due date, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled. If you pay with an NDIS plan, we reserve the right to issue you a new invoice as cash plus GST.

5. Prices & surcharges
Our experience prices are subject to variable and seasonal pricing, standard practices within the travel industry. Our experience prices may vary by demand, market conditions and availability. Different passengers on the same experience have likely been charged different prices. If you like the price, booking at that time is best. Any reduced pricing or discounts that may become available after you have paid your deposit will not apply. Full cancellation conditions apply if you wish to cancel your booking to take advantage of a cheaper price. The most up-to-date pricing is available on our website. We reserve the right to impose surcharges at any time before departure due to unfavourable changes in airfares or other transportation costs, increases in local operator costs, taxes, or if government action should require us to do so. Please note that a surcharge may be applied to all purchases made by credit card.

6. Your details
For us to confirm your travel arrangements, you must provide all the details you requested and the balance of the experience price. Necessary details vary by experience; they include but are not limited to full name as per passport, date of birth, nationality, passport number, passport issue and expiry date and any pre-existing medical conditions you have that may affect your ability to complete your travel arrangements. On some more demanding experiences, we also require you to complete and forward a Self-Assessment form. Failure to provide the requested details may incur additional charges or cancellation of the non-refundable experience.
If you are a participant's companion, you must support the participant. You are not required to support any other participants. You are a tour participant. You are not an employee or volunteer of Cocky Guides Australia Limited or any related businesses associated with this tour. Please refer to the participant's Service Level Agreement for more information if one exists.
Medical and health information

All participants need to be physically healthy to participate fully in this experience. When selecting your experience, please make sure you have read through the itinerary carefully and assess your ability to cope with our style of travel. Please note that if, in the opinion of our experience Leader, any participant cannot complete the itinerary without undue risk to themselves and/or the rest of the group, Cocky Guides reserves the right to exclude them from all or part of an experience without a refund.
You should consult your doctor for up-to-date medical travel information or any necessary vaccinations before departure. We recommend that you carry any personal medical requirements. Please ensure that you are adequately prepared.
Blind or low-vision support
Each adventure is designed for participants who are active and competent with mobility and use either a cane, guide dog or companion as a sighted guide. Our experienced Leaders and Support Guides provide vocal instruction to assist in navigating participants without companions in areas we know well. For technical navigation, like stairs or narrow environments, we may travel one at a time, with our experienced Leaders or Support Guides providing one-on-one assistance when requested. All our transport, accommodation, activity, and hospitality partners are proud to assist us in delivering our adventures for our participants and welcome service animals. We can provide a quote if you require a dedicated Cocky Guides employee or volunteer to act as your sighted guide for all or part of this tour. You may also provide your own support person; however, they must do so on a volunteer basis. A tailored quotation will be provided and accepted by you before departure.

7. Cancellation by the participant
Cancellation fees will apply if you cancel some or all portions of your booking. A cancellation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation of the cancellation. If you cancel an experience:
After we confirm your spot, your deposit will be non-refundable.
Between 15 and 44 days before departure, we will retain 50% of the total booking cost, which is not claimable with NDIS.
14 days or less before departure, we will retain 100% of what you paid in connection with the booking.
Note that different cancellation conditions apply to some experiences and additional services. Your booking consultant will advise if differences apply. Please note that the cancellation charge may be higher for specific travel arrangements than those shown. Sometimes, a 100% cancellation fee applies when the booking is made and the ticket is issued. You will be advised of different cancellation charges at the time of booking. You are strongly advised to take out cancellation insurance when booking, which will cover cancellation fees. If you leave an experience for any reason after it has commenced, we are not obliged to make any refunds for unused services.

If you fail to join a tour, join it after departure, or leave it before completion, no refund will be made, and you will be required to pay your own expenses back to your origin. The above cancellation fees are in addition to fees levied by accommodation providers, travel agents or third-party tour and transport operator fees.
8. Cancellation by us
Unless the minimum group size specifically states otherwise, our experiences are guaranteed to depart once the participant has fully paid for them or the support quotation is accepted. We may cancel an experience at any time before departure if, due to terrorism, natural disasters, political instability or other external events, it is not viable for us to operate the planned itinerary. If we cancel your experience, you can transfer the amounts paid to an alternate departure date or receive a full refund. If the cancellation is due to external events outside our reasonable control, refunds will be less than any unrecoverable costs. We are not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred due to your booking, including but not limited to visas, vaccinations, travel insurance excess or non-refundable flights.

9. Booking amendments
If you wish to transfer from one experience to another or transfer your booking to a third party, you must notify us at least 15 days before the proposed departure date. A fee of $200 per person per change will apply (in addition to any charges levied by hotels, ground operators or airlines). The refund policy applies to cancellations if you notify us less than 15 days before the proposed departure date. Transfers to a third party are only permitted where the transferee meets all the requirements in relation to the experience, and transfers to another departure can only be made to a departure within the current validity period.
Amendments to any other arrangements made with your experience will incur a $100 administration fee per booking per change. This fee includes any charges levied by hotels, ground operators or airlines. No amendments are permitted to your booking within 14 days of departure.

10. Inclusions
The land price of your experience includes:
All accommodation as listed in the experience Itinerary
all transport listed in the experience Itinerary
sightseeing and meals as listed in the experience Itinerary
the support and services of an experienced Leader as described in section 6.

11. Exclusions
The land price of your experience does not include:

International or internal flights, unless specified
Any travel arrangements to get you to the experience departure point
Any travel arrangements after the experience has ended
airport transfers, taxes and excess baggage charges unless specified
meals other than those specified in the experience Itinerary
Visa, immigration and passport fees
travel insurance
Optional activities and all personal expenses (including that of your service animal)

12. Age & Health requirements
A minimum age at the time of travel applies to many of our experiences – please check with Cocky Guides for more details. For most of our experiences, we have no upper age limit. However, we remind you that our experiences can be physically demanding, and passengers must be suitably fit to allow full participation. All participants under 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian, or in lieu of a legal guardian, by an escort over 18 appointed by their legal guardian. The legal guardian or their designee will be responsible for the participant under eighteen’s care. Please note families must upgrade from shared accommodation to private rooms where applicable. We cannot guarantee experience or joining rooms for families; accompanying adults may be required to share with others in the group on a twin-share basis. Solo rooms are only guaranteed by the pre-payment of the solo room upgrade option when booking. If, at any time during your experience, you wish to change from a twin share to a solo room, you will be required to pay additional costs direct to the accommodation provider.

13. Small groups & combination experiences
At times, we can have groups with small numbers of participants. Many of our experiences are designed to fit with other departures to create a longer "combination" experience; this means that some of your group may have already been travelling together for some weeks when you commence your experience. If you want to know how many people are booked on your experience or any combination experience, it is part of. Please ask before booking.

14. Identification
You must carry valid photographic identification from your experience. If you are a dog handler, you must also have public access documentation for your dog guide.

15. Travel insurance
Travel insurance is recommended for all our participants and should be taken out when booking. We also strongly recommend that it covers cancellation, curtailment, personal liability, loss of luggage, and personal effects.

16. Flexibility
You appreciate and acknowledge that the nature of this type of travel requires considerable flexibility, and you should allow for alternatives. The itinerary provided for each experience is representative of the types of activities contemplated. Still, it is understood that the route, schedules, itineraries, amenities and mode of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events.

17. Change of itinerary
While we endeavour to operate all experiences as described, we reserve the right to change the itinerary. Please refer to our website before departure for the most recent updates to your itinerary.
Before departure: If we make a major change, we will inform you as soon as possible if there is time before departure. The definition of a major change is deemed to be a change affecting at least one day in five of the itinerary. When a major change is made, you may choose between accepting the change, obtaining a refund of money paid on the land portion of the experience, or accepting an alternative tour offered.
After departure: We reserve the right to change an itinerary after departure due to local circumstances or events outside of our control. You will cover the additional cost of any necessary itinerary alterations in such emergencies. Please note we are not responsible for any incidental expenses incurred due to the change of itinerary, such as visas, vaccinations or non-refundable flights.

18. Authority on tour
Our group experiences are run by Leader. Their decision is final on all matters likely to affect the safety or well-being of any participant or staff member participating in the experience. If you fail to comply with a decision made by the Leader or interfere with the well-being or mobility of the group, the Leader may direct you to leave the experience immediately, with no right of refund. We may also elect not to carry you on any future experiences booked. You must always comply with the laws, customs, foreign exchange and drug regulations of all countries visited and agree to travel following our responsible travel guidelines.
19. Acceptance of risk
You acknowledge that the nature of the experience is adventurous, and participation involves a degree of personal risk. You will be visiting places where political, cultural, and geographical attributes present more significant dangers and physical challenges than they do in our daily lives. We use information from foreign government departments and reports from our own contacts to assess whether the itinerary should operate. However, it is also your own responsibility to acquaint yourself with all relevant travel information and the nature of your itinerary. You acknowledge that your decision to travel is made in light of consideration of this information. You accept that you know the personal risks attendant upon such travel, including your service animal.

20. Limitation of liability
We contract with a network of companies, government agencies and individuals to assist in running our experiences as agents for these third parties. We are not responsible for the acts and omissions of these third parties.
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
- any liability for any loss, death, injury or damage which you may suffer (directly or indirectly) in connection with or arising out of your participation in an experience, or any breach of the Booking Conditions, is excluded;
- you release us and our officers, employees, agents and representatives from any liability and expressly waive any claims you may have against us arising out of or in connection with your participation in an experience; and
- Any condition or warranty that would otherwise be implied by law in these Booking Conditions (Implied Warranty) is excluded.
To the extent an Implied Warranty cannot be excluded, our liability in respect of the Implied Warranty is limited to (in our absolute discretion) (i) the provision of a similar experience to an equivalent value or (ii) a refund of the total amount received by us from you in connection with your booking.
Any claim by you is excluded to the extent that it is for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits or economic loss, however it arises, or for indirect, special, punitive or exemplary damages.

21. Optional activities
Optional activities not included in the experience price are separate from the experience or this contract. You accept that any assistance your experience guide/leader or local representative gives in arranging optional activities does not render us liable for them in any way. The contract for the provision of that activity will be between you and the activity provider.

22. Claims & complaints
If you have a complaint about your experience, please inform your Leader or our local representative at the time so they can attempt to rectify the matter. If satisfaction is not reached through these means, then any further complaint should be written to us within 30 days of the end of the tour.

23. Severability
Suppose any term or condition contained in these Booking Conditions is unenforceable or void by operation of law or as being against public policy or for any other reason. In that case, such term or condition shall be deemed severed from this contract or amended accordingly only to the extent necessary to allow all remaining terms and conditions to survive and continue as binding.

24. Photos and marketing
You consent to us using images of you and your service animal taken during the experience for advertising and promotional purposes in any medium we choose. You grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable licence to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes.

25. Privacy policy
Any personal information we collect about you may be used for any purpose associated with the operation of an experience or to send you marketing material concerning our events and special offers. The information may be disclosed to our agents, service providers or other suppliers to enable us to operate the experience. We will otherwise treat your details under our privacy policy (available for viewing on our Website).

26. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants
We provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for NDIS participants to engage our services.
Where no SLA exists with a participant, these conditions and a quote for services will form an SLA.

27. Applicable law

New South Wales, Australia's laws fully govern these allowable booking conditions. Any disputes concerning an experience or these Booking Conditions must be initiated in the courts of New South Wales, Australia.

28. Registered address
Unit B3, 2-12 Bourke Road, Alexandria 2015, NSW, Australia

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