14 Day - Ballarat Begonia Festival,
Grampians & Great Ocean Rd
Departure Date: Monday, 1st March 2010
Tour Cost: from $3876 per person twin share
Gold! Gold! Gold! This phrase describes the many splendid sights and activities as you travel with friends to one of Australia’s most popular flower festivals. Ballarat’s Begonias provide a brilliant floral display and interwoven with other flowers, the sight will leave you in awe. Step back in time at Sovereign Hill and witness the spectacular night time show “Blood on the Southern Cross”.
Also included is a dinner cruise on the Murray River at Echuca and the stunningly wild Grampians region, have a camera ready to capture all this natural beauty. And of course there’s more…one of the world’s most breathtaking coastlines the Great Ocean Road. There’s even free time in Melbourne for shopping, visiting or sightseeing. Come with Down Under Coach Tours and you’ll discover many natural and cultural wonders…read the full itinerary and book soon on this wonderful holiday package.
DAY 1 HERVEY BAY–MOREE (LD)
Monday 1st March 2010: An early start for passengers joining between Hervey Bay and Caloundra. Brisbane and Gold Coast passengers join at Brisbane Roma Street Transit Centre at 9.00am. With all aboard we head south towards the Garden State of Victoria along the Cunningham Highway, with a lunch stop at the Abbey of the Roses Convent at Warwick, At Goondiwindi time for a photo stop at the statue of the champion racehorse Gunsynd. Cross over the border into NSW and travel to Moree for our first night’s together (watches forward one hour). Stay Burke & Wills Motor Inn.
DAY 2 MOREE–DUBBO (BLD)
Tuesday 2nd March 2010: Head south to Narrabri to visit to the Australian Cotton Centre. Learn the story of cotton in Australia and how farmers battle growing this natural fibre in a drought stricken country. See the rugged Warrumbungle Ranges on the way to the Coonabarabran Visitor Centre where you can see the excavated remains of the Diprotodon found at nearby Tambar Springs. Enjoy a country lunch at the nearby Bowls Club. Continue through sheep and wheat districts passing through Gilgandra on to Dubbo. Freshen up before dinner at our motel. Stay Golden West Motor Inn.
DAY 3 DUBBO–GRIFFITH (BLD)
Wednesday 3rd March 2010: Enjoy an early morning visit to the Western Plain Zoo, where a Zoo Friend Volunteer will escort us to off limits areas. Come face to face with some of the world’s exotic and endangered species! Conclude our visit with “breakfast with the animals” overlooking the Savannah Lake. Set off through bushranger country to Parkes and then Forbes for a town tour and lunch at the Forbes Sport Club. Next on to West Wyalong, a former gold mining town where the winding main street is said to follow the old bullock tracks which meandered between the mining leases. Overnight stay at Griffith, a thriving agricultural rural city. Stay Bagtown Inn Motel.
DAY 4 GRIFFITH–ECHUCA (BLD)
Thursday 4th March 2010: An interesting day as we journey through the lower Riverina area. Travel the Kidman Way to Jerilderie, famous for having been raided by Ned Kelly in 1879. A refreshing cuppa awaits at the Willows Museum, then a guided town tour. From the Newell Highway we head west past the old Conargo Pub and historic merino studs to Deniliquin on the banks of the Edward River.
Lunch at the Willows Café before a visit to the adjoining Peppin Heritage Centre, the Riverina’s showcase of the sheep industry. At Moama, cross the Murray River into Echuca with free time to explore this historic river port. This evening enjoy the hospitality of the Taverna family with a dinner cruise aboard their charming vessel the M.V Mary Ann. Stay Philadelphia Motor Inn.
DAY 5 ECHUCA–BALLARAT (BLD)
Friday 5th March 2010: Today travel to the golden heart of Victoria and the prosperous city of Bendigo. Visit the Old Bendigo Pottery, Australia’s oldest working pottery. Then board Bendigo’s famous talking tram for lively commentary that brings to life the town’s classic buildings from the gold mining boom days. Lunch is at the popular Beechworth Bakery, then suitably satisfied visit the Golden Dragon Museum.
The Museum houses the World’s best collection of Chinese Processional Regalia and features the longest and oldest Imperial dragons-Sun Loong and Loong. From Bendigo we venture through the lush Victorian “spa country”, passing through Castlemaine and Daylesford to Ballarat which is celebrating its annual Begonia Festival. Enjoy an introductory tour of the town before settling into our motel for a relaxing three night stay. 3 Night Stay Gold Sovereign Motor Inn.
DAY 6 BEGONIA FESTIVAL (BD)
Saturday 6th March 2010: The Labour Day Weekend in Ballarat is jam packed with events and activities in and around the Botanical Gardens. The chief component is the famous Begonia display held in the award winning Robert Clark Conservatory and our first visit for the day will be to the Gardens. Stroll past the spectacular displays, enjoy the music, entertainment, performers and learn more about gardening and horticulture – all in a fabulous atmosphere.
Next, step back in time to the mid 19th century at Sovereign Hill. Free time to buy your lunch and explore this re-creation of early history, pan for gold, take a stage coach ride or an optional underground mine tour. At the nearby Gold Museum view a unique collection of coins before a rest and dinner at our motel. Tonight we return to Sovereign Hill to witness “Blood on the Southern Cross”, the sound and light spectacular based on the dramatic and historic story of the Eureka rebellion.
DAY 7 BALLARAT SIGHTSEEING (BLD)
Sunday 7th March 2010: This morning we visit the site of one of Australia’s most significant historical events, the Eureka Stockade. The Eureka Centre celebrates the events of December 1854, when diggers took up arms against a corrupt and unjust goldfields administration. Next, a change of pace as we step back further in history with a visit to Kryal Castle, a superb recreation of medieval life complete with Gothic Towers, Battlements, Drawbridge and Portcullis. Enjoy the show then lunch is served before we emerge back into the 21st century. Free afternoon to relax or take in more of the Begonia Festival activities.
DAY 8 BALLARAT–HALLS GAP (BLD)
Monday 8th March 2010: Farewell to our Ballarat hosts, the Western Highway takes us to Ararat. Our first visit is to the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre which brings to life the history of the Chinese immigrant miners who worked Victoria’s goldfields in the mid to late 1800’s. There is much to intrigue us here before we visit the historic J Ward which opened in 1861 as a gaol, became a lunatic asylum to house Victoria’s criminally insane in 1887 and is now open to the public as a museum. We have our lunch here before travelling via Stawell into Halls Gap in the heart of the Grampians.
The National Park Visitors Centre provides us an overview on the natural and cultural history of the Grampians. The adjoining Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre explains the history and the culture of the local Koori communities. Back aboard our coach we take the winding road to the Boroka Lookout to see McKenzie Falls and circle the Wonderland Range before finally arriving back in town with time to wander the shops before settling into our motel. Stay Grampians Motel.
DAY 9 GREAT OCEAN ROAD (BLD)
Tuesday 9th March 2010: Today we enjoy some of Victoria’s most spectacular scenery as we tour through the Grampians National Park to Dunkeld and then via Penshurst to Warrnambool for morning tea. We now explore the “Shipwreck Coast” on our tour east along the Great Ocean Road. See the Grotto, London Bridge (now collapsed) and the Arch. Continue past Port Campbell to Loch Ard Gorge and marvel at the wind and surf swept grandeur of the Twelve Apostles. Then leave the coast and wind through forested areas up to Lavers Hill and our lunch stop at the delightful Blackwood Gully Tearooms. The afternoon tour takes us into the tall timber country of the Otway National Park before we head back to the rugged coastline to visit Cape Otway Lighthouse. Stay Skenes Creek Lodge Motel.
DAY 10 GEELONG SIGHTSEEING–MELBOURNE (BLD)
Wednesday 10th March 2010: Travel through the holiday resorts of Lorne and Anglesea to Geelong, Victoria’s second largest city noted for its many historic buildings, wineries, parks and gardens. A tour guide joins us and we enjoy his commentary. Along the Bellarine Peninsula we see the Old Flour Mill at Portarlington and the lovely old buildings at Queenscliff. On our return to Geelong, we visit the National Wool Museum for a guided tour and lunch at the Black Sheep Café . Next, visit the Ford Discovery Centre for a unique behind the scenes opportunity to experience how cars are designed, engineered and built. Car enthusiasts will be reluctant to leave!
2 Night Stay Alexander Motor Inn.
DAY 11 MELBOURNE FREE TIME (BD)
Thursday 11th March 2010: Enjoy a free day in Melbourne. The Queen Victoria markets will be open until 2pm and well worth a visit. There is much to entertain and amuse, apart from the shopping of course. Whatever your selection be sure to be back in time for dinner.
DAY 12 MELBOURNE–WEST WYALONG (BLD)
Friday 12th March 2010: The start of our homeward journey along the Hume Freeway, turning on to the Goulburn Valley Highway to Shepparton, the centre for the rich dairying, fruit growing and agricultural production of the Goulburn Valley. The morning tour continues via Strathmerton and across the Murray up to Finley. We call into the RG & JK Tarrant one stop shop for a light lunch plus there is a fantastic range of homewares on display. The ladies will be entranced! This afternoon retrace our northbound trip up the Newell Highway through Jerilderie for a break in Narrandera and then on to our overnight accommodation in West Wyalong. Stay Club Inn Resort.
DAY 13 WEST WYALONG–TAMWORTH (BLD)
Saturday 13th March 2010: An early start through Forbes and Parkes to the CSIRO Australian Telescope, commonly known as “The Dish”. We do not have time for a tour but can view the immensity of the installations. Further north, pass through Peak Hill and Dubbo to reach Gilgandra Services Club for lunch. Our afternoon tour then follows the Oxley Highway through Coonabarabran for a break in Gunnedah before we reach Tamworth. Freshen up for our last night together on tour. Stay Colonial Motor Inn.
DAY 14 TAMWORTH–HOME (B)
Sunday 14th March 2010: Another early start on our homeward express tour. Travelling up the New England Highway we pass through Armidale and reach the Celtic town of Glenn Innes for a short break. Across the border for lunch (own cost) in Warwick (watches back one hour) and then to Brisbane with passenger drop offs as required. Passengers north enroute to the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Coast stay on the coach with drops off as requested.