PRESS RELEASE: Introducing Cocky Tours: See the Australia Most People Only Dream About — and Help Aussies with no or low sight experience more
Iconic Australian journeys. Small-group experiences. One cause that changes everything. Cocky Guides Australia launches Cocky Tours — exclusive charter experiences to the bucket-list destinations most Australians never reach, raising funds so blind and low-vision Australians can experience them too.
Cocky Guides Australia, the country’s leading not-for-profit accessible and inclusive travel company for blind and low-vision Australians, today announced the launch of Cocky Tours — a national program of premium, purpose-driven small-group charter trips to Australia’s most iconic and hard-to-reach destinations, designed for mainstream Australian travellers who want to see their country in full and give something back while they do.
Founded by Buck McFarlane, Cocky Guides Australia has spent years working to make travel genuinely accessible for Australians who are blind or have low vision. Cocky Tours is the next step: a fun-raising program that welcomes everyday Australians to experience their bucket-list places — The Kimberley, Uluru, Arnhem Land, Ningaloo Reef and more — with a portion of every ticket going directly toward expanding supported sensory tourism programs for the Australian blind and low-vision community.
“These trips are for people who want to experience Australia at its most extraordinary with less hassle — and feel good about how they got there. This isn’t a charity trip. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime journey for many, which also happens to open the world of travel to many more. Every seat sold funds real change for Australians who have limited access to touring products and have never had the chance to experience these remarkable places. We believe the best travel creates something with purpose — and Cocky Tours is built on that idea.” — Buck McFarlane, Founder, Cocky Guides Australia
Multiple destinations. One Purpose.
Cocky Tours will launch with carefully selected destinations across 2027 and 2028 — each chosen for its iconic status, its difficulty to access independently, and its natural sensory connection to the world of a blind or low-vision traveller. Departures will be strictly limited in numbers and run as exclusive private charters. The initial dream destinations targeted include:
– The Kimberley, Western Australia
– Uluru & Red Centre, Northern Territory
– Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
– Kangaroo Island & Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
– Cape York & Daintree, Queensland
– Nigaloo Reef & Exmouth, Western Australia
– Hervey Bay & K’gari, Queensland
– Cradle Mountain, Bay of Fires and Freycinet, Tasmania
Travel That Creates Real Change
More than 575,000 Australians are living with blindness or low vision today. For many, the destinations that define our national identity — the wild Kimberley gorges, the ancient rock of Uluru, the humpback whales of Hervey Bay — remain genuinely out of reach. Not because of a lack of desire, but because of inadequate infrastructure and a tourism industry not yet built with them in mind.
Cocky Guides Australia has been working to change that since 2018, delivering experiences across more than 70 Australian destinations. Cocky Tours is the fundraising engine that takes that work to a new scale — creating sensory, immersive cause moments within every trip that connect mainstream travellers to the experience of encountering these places without sight. Travel becomes legacy.
Register Your Interest — Gain Pre-Sale Access
Places on Cocky Tours will be strictly limited. In advance of the official public launch, Cocky Guides Australia is inviting interested travellers, community members, and corporate groups to register their interest now for exclusive pre-sale access — and to be the first to know when each trip goes on sale.
Registering means you will:
• Be first to access each Cocky Tours departure before public release
• Lock in your pricing before general release and beat any future price rises
• First option to guarantee your space on optional excursions
Register today at:
http://www.cockyguides.com.au/fun-raising-experiences
A Note for Travel Industry Partners
Cocky Tours operates through charter arrangements with selected Australian tour operators. We are actively seeking travel partners, corporate group coordinators, and industry referral partners who share our belief that travel should be meaningful — and that Australia’s most remarkable destinations should be within reach of anyone willing to go. Contact Buck McFarlane directly to discuss partnership opportunities.
