A Catholic Roadtrip has all the features of a traditional pilgrimage and more, to ensure your journey is memorable and life-changing. This is why our pilgrims return again and again…
Harvest Catholic Roadtrips hold as a high priority the standards of quality that make your journey enjoyable and memorable. Excellent accommodation, coaches, leadership, sightseeing, cuisine, and inclusions have all been carefully planned to uphold an overall experience that is characteristic of the 33-year proven Harvest Journeys standard. Supporting local industry and the communities behind them makes us proud and allows us to offer sustainable journeys for the benefit of all that allow pilgrims to return again and again.
Each Catholic Roadtrip is accompanied by a Catholic priest who offers spiritual leadership and guidance for the group. Masses are a daily feature of the pilgrimage and are celebrated in unique locations, often in solidarity with the local parishes along the way. From churches and shrines to beautiful outdoor settings, the Mass sites will make the most of the distinctive itinerary settings and offer a moment each day on the journey for peaceful and prayerful encounters. The Sacraments, prayer and scripture will help connect our external physical journey with the interior journey of faith.
One of the features of our local context is the spectacular natural beauty of Australia and New Zealand. Sometimes, being away from the familiar, opens our eyes in a new way to the splendour around us so that we might see the Creator in the beauty of creation. From spectacular coastlines to sublime mountain ranges, from lush rainforests and waterfalls to breathtaking open plains, from stunning sunsets to heavenly stargazing, the wonders of our great southern lands await us. We consider the parables of the land as Pope Francis reminds us the “entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God”. (Laudato Si, 84)
From the moment the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandez de Quirós in 1606 declared Australia the “Great South Land of the Holy Spirit”, this region of Oceania has been steeped in a culture of Christian heritage. The beginnings of the Church in Australia and New Zealand are comprised of many incredible stories of courage, adventure, and heroism, to be mapped, discovered, and told for this generation and for many to come. The sites and tales of our Christian story bear revisiting and remembering as we walk in the footsteps of the early pioneers, heroes and of course, our first Saint, Mary MacKillop.
The First Peoples hold a special place as the original custodians of this land, and we are enriched by their culture and community. As we walk on country, we acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands we visit and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. We recognize the unique and essential contribution the Indigenous people are making to the identity of the Church in our region, and as pilgrims seek to honour and learn from our brothers and sisters. Along the pilgrim road, we pray for reconciliation and healing for all people.
Pilgrimage has always been about the footsteps of pilgrims along the road. Catholic Roadtrips discover the pathways on our sacred land and offer opportunities to walk along the old and new roads of learning and discovery. Enjoy moments of silence, reflection, and time-out along the pilgrim’s way. Whether it be in the footsteps of our Catholic heroes, or the pathways to the mountaintops where we can cherish a moment with God, look forward to treading the path of the pilgrim’s road where meaningful encounters await.
In addition to renowned sites of significance and beautiful scenic vistas, we also travel to meet and experience the local Catholic community in the places we visit. We wish to bless and be blessed by our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living out their faith each day in different contexts across our sacred lands. From outback towns to urban centres, there are colourful characters to meet and fascinating stories to hear as we receive the welcome and hospitality of local faith communities.
Have confidence that your fellow travelers share similar intentions to encounter faith and travel with purpose whilst still enjoying the very best of what the tourism trail has to offer. A common faith binds the group together, allowing you to feel at home and be yourself. Whether you are travelling alone or with others, you will be part of a group that combines companionship and individual freedom for the perfect mix to create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
EXODUS 3:5
As a member of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO), Harvest Journeys assures its compliance to the World Tourism & Travel Council (WTTC) global Safe Travel protocols.