5 Day Tweed Valley Easter Surprise
Departs: Thursday 20th March 2008
SUPER SAVER FARE: $898 pp twin share
Murwillumbah in the Tweed Valley will be your base for four nights and five days of surprising Easter sightseeing for Easter 2008! Murwillumbah is situated on the banks of the beautiful Tweed River. Your Easter Surprise includes many wonders; discover quaint historical villages where local artists feature their unique work, visit a Hare Krishna Farm, Lisnagar Homestead, Stokers Siding Pottery, meet the ‘Bush Tucker Man’, be amazed by miniature horses at Crystal Creek, see Tyalgum Hall, browse the local markets, visit the Rainforest Centre and Art Gallery, enjoy an old fashioned picnic at Clarrie Hall Dam and discover the rainforest delights at Natural Bridge National Park. Come and be surprised at the treasures to be discovered in the Tweed Valley this Easter!
DAY 1 - HERVEY BAY—MURWILLUMBAH (D)
Thursday 20th March: An early start for travelling companions joining between Hervey Bay and Caloundra. Brisbane passengers join at Roma Street Transit Centre at 10.00am and Gold Coast passengers join enroute. At Currumbin we visit two attractions. Firstly, the Currumbin Chocolate Expo to see chocolate being made and to purchases of delicious Easter treats! And then another of the areas most famous attractions, The Currumbin Sanctuary. There are over 1400 Australian native animals ranging from mammals, reptiles and birds. Of course the Sanctuary is noted for its Rainbow Lorikeets that descend from the skies twice a day for feeding. Time to browse the exhibits, enjoy the shows and buy your lunch from one of the three food venues on offer. Late afternoon arrive at our home for the next five nights, the comfortable Murwillumbah Motor Inn. Settle into your room before a dinner outing to the Murwillumbah Bowls Club.
DAY 2 - HINTERLAND SIGHTSEEING (BD)
Friday 21st March: Enjoy a cooked breakfast in your room before a day of sightseeing. Travel the scenic backroads to the township of Chillingham. Here we meet the ‘Bush Tucker Man’ at his ‘Banana Cabana Garden and Shop’. In the garden see, touch and smell over twenty different species of bush tucker such as Lemon Aspen, Seedless Riberry, Aniseed Myrtle as well as many fresh Asian herbs. Enjoy a Devonshire tea that features many of the exotic fruits made into jams. Taste test to your hearts content and purchase any varieties that take your fancy! A little further up the track pass through the tiny township of Numbinbah for a walk in the forest at Natural Bridge National Park.
With your appetite ready for lunch after your rainforest experience travel to the former cedar getting village of Tyalgum. The town is famous for its Hall, renowned for its acoustics at the Classical Music Festival held in September each year (as long as it doesn’t rain!). Stroll the arts and craft shops with free time to buy your own lunch; suggestions include the pub or Flutterbies Cottage Café. Depart Tyalgum for Crystal Creek Miniatures. Enjoy an informative and interesting guided tour that showcases first hand the amazing miniature horses, cows, donkeys and other animals on this working stud farm. There’s even miniature dogs to see, Chihuahuas! If you like you can purchase afternoon tea at the Rainforest Café. Return to our motel to relax before dinner at Murwillumbah RSL.
Note: As it is Good Friday please advise if no red meat is your preferred meal options for the day.
DAY 3 HISTORIC VILLAGES SIGHTSEEING (BD)
Saturday 22nd March: A lighter continental breakfast in your room this morning before a full day of sightseeing. Start the day with a tour of historic Lisnagar Homestead. Enjoy tales of its 103 year history and see the homestead antiquities while enjoying a cuppa. Later in the morning a very different experience. Travel to the Hare Krishna Farm at Eungella, where we are introduced to their farming techniques and given an insight into their lifestyles and community. Our lunchtime venue is the quaint village of Uki (pronounced yook-eye), nestled in the shadows of Mt Warning. There is a myriad of shops and markets to browse in the Old Butter Factory. Enjoy a catered lunch at Mavis’ Kitchen, a magnificent renovated Queenslander home, recently moved from the Gold Coast to Uki to be set up as a restaurant. Next, travel to Stokers Siding Pottery to view local artisans as they work in this world class pottery centre. Tonight dine at the Murwillumbah Golf Club.
DAY 4 MURWILLUMBAH SIGHTSEEING (BLD)
Sunday 23rd March: Enjoy a cooked breakfast in the garden this morning, and while breakfast cooks we go searching for Easter eggs, did the Easter Bunny find us? Start the morning at the Murwillumbah Showground Markets, browse for some usual market fare. After the markets travel to Clarrie Hall Dam for a picnic lunch with excellent views from the dam platform. After lunch return to Murwillumbah to visit the Art Gallery, one of the finest regional art galleries in Australia. Set on a hilltop location it offers stunning, magnificent and panoramic views of the Tweed Valley, Border Ranges, Tweed River and Mt Warning as well as many fascinating art exhibitions. Next, visit the Rainforest Information Centre to watch a film that highlights the regions natural beauty. Time to relax in your motel room before a farewell barbeque dinner in the motel’s Rainforest Garden.
DAY 5 MURWILLUMBAH—HERVEY BAY(BL)
Monday 24th March: Time to farewell our Tweed Valley home that has surprised us with some wonderful and unique sightseeing over the Easter Break. Our sightseeing is not over as we visit the tiny township of Tumbulgum with its heritage style shop fronts and home to a myriad of local arts, crafts and antique galleries. Next, visit Tropical Fruitworld, home to the world’s largest variety of fruit. Explore the plantation at your leisure with lunch included at the Rainforest Café where fresh produce features. Arrive back in Brisbane at 4.00pm, with drop offs enroute through Caloundra, Gympie, Maryborough and Hervey Bay as required.