16 Day Adelaide, Kangaroo Island & Great Ocean Road
Departs: Saturday 11th October 2008
TOUR COST: from $3627 pp twin share
On this holiday you’re bound for South Australia. Enjoy many wonderful delights exploring the Barossa Valley then it’s off to Adelaide to discover the many attractions of this charming city, including Hahndorf. Across the waves from Adelaide awaits a wonderland...Kangaroo Island. Wild life abounds and there are many exciting attractions to explore with our local guide. From the coast of South Australia it’s off through Mt Gambier and Warrnambool to one of the World’s most dramatic coastlines with gorges and impressive offshore formations along the Great Ocean Road. Enjoy the fascinating gold towns of Ballarat and Bendigo. Conclude your holiday with a tour of Narrandera Inland Fisheries and scenic New England sightseeing. All in all a special holiday - a wonderland of man-made and natural attractions that will provide highlight after highlight and memories to last a lifetime!
DAY 1 BRISBANE — MOREE (D)
Saturday 11th October: All aboard for the first day of our Discovery Tour. An early start for travelling companions joining between Hervey Bay and Caloundra. Brisbane and Gold Coast passengers join at Roma Street Transit Centre at 10.00am. Travel west to Toowoomba where the gardens are still bursting with spring colour. On to Millmerran for lunch with time to explore the town. At Goondiwindi see the famous statue of Gunsynd “The Goondiwindi Grey”. Travel on to Moree to stay at the Burke & Wills Motor Inn.
DAY 2 MOREE — COBAR (BD)
Sunday 12th October: Away early along the Gwydir Highway to Brewarrina on the banks of the Barwon River for lunch. Continue westward to the frontier town of Bourke to relive its pioneering history at the Back O’Bourke Exhibition. Travel the famous Kidman’s Way through some of Australia’s most stunning outback scenery to Cobar for overnight at the Cobar Motor Inn.
DAY 3 COBAR — BROKEN HILL (BLD)
Monday 13th October: Tour west along the Barrier Highway keeping an eye out for emus and soaring eagles. Break at the Emmdale Roadhouse then into Wilcannia for lunch at the Golf Club. Enjoy a guided tour of this town that was once the third largest shipping port in Australia and known as the “Queen City of the West”. On to Broken Hill, settle into the Mine Host Hotel.
DAY 4 BROKEN HILL — CLARE (BD)
Tuesday 14th October: Travel across the border to South Australia, for morning tea in Yunta and then the historic rail town of Peterborough for lunch. Time to explore the town before continuing south through Jamestown to Clare, the focal point of the famous Clare Valley wine making industry. At Sevenhill Cellars, the oldest existing winery in the Clare Valley, established by Jesuit Priests in 1851 enjoy a guided tour by the brothers and a welcome tasting session. Suitably fortified on to the Clare Central Motel for the night.
DAY 5 CLARE — ADELAIDE (BD)
Wednesday 15th October: The Barossa Valley beckons! At Angaston visit Angas Park Fruits where dried fruits, nuts and confectionery are hard to resist! At Collingrove Homestead, tour the former home of the Angas family. Admire the stunning colonial architecture while enjoying morning tea. Next, free time in Nuriootpa, the commercial centre of the valley.
This afternoon a highlight tour of “Cedars”, the home of the late famous Australian artist Sir Hans Heysen. Wander through the garden and his studio and enjoy a guided tour of his home decorated with many of his original works. Afternoon tea will be served. Complete our touring with a look at the township of Hahndorf, reflecting its German heritage. Our home for the next two nights is the Glenelg Motor Inn alongside the beaches, trams and waterways of Glenelg.
DAY 6 ADELAIDE SIGHTSEEING (DB)
Thursday 16th October: A local guide joins us for a morning discovery tour of Adelaide. For a treat we visit Haigh’s Chocolates and after free time in the city for lunch we tour Tandanya, the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. No visit to South Australia is complete without an encounter with their wonderful wines at the National Wine Centre of Australia. Enjoy an interactive journey through the past, present and future of the Australian Wine Industry. Tastings of course! Comfortably fortified we return to our motel in Glenelg and put our feet up before dinner.
DAY 7 ADELAIDE — KANGAROO ISLAND (BLD)
Friday 17th October: An early start to travel to Cape Jervis by 8.30am to board the Sealink 2000 for our crossing to Kangaroo Island. The Island is the third largest island off the coast of Australia, and one of the world’s least spoilt wildernesses with 450 kms of spectacular coastline. Upon arrival we collect our tour guide for a full day of sightseeing.
Highlights include Clifford’s Honey Farm, Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, lunch at the Parndana Hotel, a visit to Parndana Wildlife Park, which houses Australian parrots, cockatoos, finches, Cape Barren Geese, kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, emus and many other native animals. We also visit the Island Pure Sheep Dairy to watch sheep being milked with an opportunity to sample the cheeses and yoghurts made on site. Finally at Kingscote Wharf see the evening ritual pelican feeding before we check into our waterfront lodge, the Kangaroo Island Lodge.
DAY 8 KANGAROO ISLAND HIGHLIGHTS (BLD)
Saturday 18th October: After breakfast more touring of the island’s unspoilt secrets. Visit Seal Bay, where you can stroll through a wild seal colony. At Kelly Hill Caves admire the caves with their large ornate calcite formations. Time for a relaxed country lunch then a wander through a koala colony as they take their afternoon siesta! This afternoon at Flinders Chase National Park enjoy breathtaking views from Remarkable Rocks and at Cape du Couedic Lighthouse, see Admirals Arch, a natural land bridge. Watch for New Zealand Fur Seals as they frolic near the rocks. Tonight after dinner you have the opportunity to join an optional Penguin tour to see giant cuttlefish, seahorses, little penguins and more!
DAY 9 KANGAROO ISLAND — MOUNT GAMBIER (BD)
Sunday 19th October: A leisurely start before boarding the Sealink 2000 at 10.00am for return to the mainland. Disembark at 11.00am and travel across the Fleurieu Peninsula, through Victor Harbour and Gawler at the mouth of the Murray and then up to the pretty Scottish town of Strathalbyn for lunch. Revel in the attractive heritage listed buildings hosting many antique, craft and specialty shops. This afternoon cross the Murray River at Wellington, then follow the Princes Highway south via Meningie to the Coorong National Park along a hauntingly beautiful coastline. A short break in the Cray fishing town of Kingston then on to Mt Gambier. A late arrival so dinner will be served a little later than usual tonight at the Limestone Motor Inn.
DAY 10 GREAT OCEAN ROAD (BD)
Monday 20th October: A great day with an early start following the Princes Highway across the border into Victoria. Travel through Portland, Victoria’s first permanent European settlement, on to the fishing village of Port Fairy, one of those delightful towns where you feel as though time has slowed down. There are museums, historic walks, pleasant stretches of coastline, a fascinating harbour and charming old world cottages which gleam in the sun. Enjoy a conducted tour around the whaler’s cottages, the old port and many of the old historic buildings. Free time in Warrnambool to have lunch.
This afternoon we enjoy some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the world as we explore the “Shipwreck Coast”, heading east along the Great Ocean Road. See the Grotto, London Bridge (now collapsed), and the Arch before a visit to the Port Campbell Visitor Information Centre. Continue past Sentinel Rock to Loch Ard Gorge and marvel at the wind and surf swept grandeur of the Twelve Apostles. We head inland through forested areas to Lavers Hill then into the tall timber country of the Otway National Park. See Apollo Bay, then into the Skenes Creek Lodge Motel, overlooking the ocean.
DAY 11 APOLLO BAY — BALLARAT (BLD)
Tuesday 21st October: More scenic touring up the eastern section of the Great Ocean Road, hugging the coast with unsurpassed views of Bass Strait. Travel through Lorne, Anglesea and Torquay to Geelong. Visit the Ford Discovery Centre to see how cars are designed, engineered and built, then enjoy a guided tour of Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. See Barwon Heads, home of the popular TV series “Sea Change”, the treacherous rip in Port Phillip Bay and the historic fishing port of Queenscliff. Back to Geelong for lunch and a guided tour at the National Wool Museum. Reboard the coach for the short journey to Ballarat. Two night stay at the Bell Tower Inn.
DAY 12 BALLARAT HIGHLIGHTS (BD)
Wednesday 22nd October: Today, a local guide explains Ballarat’s history, including the city’s extraordinary Victorian architecture and majestic monuments. Walk through the beautiful Ballarat Botanical Gardens and if you are feeling energetic, climb Mt Buninyong Tower to experience magnificent 360 degree views across the goldfields region. On returning to Ballarat free time in the city before an exciting visit to Sovereign Hill. Step back in time and experience the hustle and bustle of Main Street, watch traditional craftsmen, pan for gold, tour underground mines or ride a stagecoach. After an early dinner back at our motel we experience the acclaimed sound and light show, Blood on the Southern Cross, the story of the Eureka Rebellion.
DAY 13 BALLARAT — SHEPPARTON (BD)
Thursday 23rd October: The Midland Highway takes us through Creswick and the mineral springs area around Daylesford to Castlemaine. See Maldon, declared by the National Trust as Australia’s first “notable town”, before we reach Bendigo. Board the famous “Talking Tram” and enjoy the beauty and sights of Bendigo with a commentary describing 100 years of the city’s golden history. Visit the Golden Dragon Museum, lunch at the famous Beechworth Bakery (own expense), and visit Bendigo Pottery for afternoon tea. On to Shepparton, a rich dairy, fruit and agricultural centre in the Goulburn Valley. Stay at the Big Valley Motor Inn.
DAY 14 SHEPPARTON — WEST WYALONG (BD)
Friday 24th October: From Shepparton cross the border into NSW at the river town of Tocumwal and pass through Finley to Jerilderie. Jerilderie is famous for having been raided by Ned Kelly’s gang in 1879, but on a quieter note we call in at The Willows Museum to see their remarkable range of memorabilia. We now follow the Newell Highway to the Riverina town of Narrandera for lunch. After lunch we visit the John Lake Centre which is operated by the Narrandera Inland Fisheries for a guided tour of this fisheries research station. Travel to West Wyalong for overnight at the Club Inn.
DAY 15 WEST WYALONG — ARMIDALE (BD)
Saturday 25th October: Up early for travel through the Central West of NSW and up into the cooler New England Tablelands country. Pass through the prosperous towns of Forbes, Parkes, Dubbo and Gilgandra to Coonabarabran for lunch. Heading east along the Oxley Highway through Gunnedah and Tamworth, then to the New England Tablelands to the beautiful university city of Armidale for one last dinner and night together on tour. Overnight at the Country Comfort Inn.
DAY 16 ARMIDALE — HERVEY BAY (B)
Sunday 26th October: A final leisurely breakfast before we head for home. Our tour will take us to Glen Innes for a morning break and then via Tenterfield to Warwick for lunch. Farewell to all who have shared this wonderful holiday. Arrive in Brisbane mid afternoon. Northbound passengers stay on the coach with arrival in Maryborough and Hervey Bay early evening.