Melbourne
Coach Melbourne to Adelaide
Alice Springs
Coach to Ayers Rock
Cairns, Palm Cove
Sydney

Day 01 ARRIVE MELBOURNE
Having crossed the equator into the Southern Hemisphere, we arrive early morning into Melbourne and transfer to the XXXX, your hotel for the next three nights. Remainder of the day is at leisure.

Day 02
Breakfast
MELBOURNE • DANDENONG MOUNTAINS
Our hotel is conveniently located in the centre of Melbourne and this morning we depart on our brief tour to familiarise you with Victoria’s stately capital. The boulevards of European amplitude still boast, among the more recent high rises, a fine legacy of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and there is a characterful presence, particularly in the more intimate side streets, of old-style individualistic facias and shop signs, cafés and
milk-bars, reminiscent of English towns of thirty years ago. The ubiquitous green and yellow Melbourne trams add to the atmosphere. Our tour concludes at the world famous Botanical Gardens, which comprises a substantial part of the parkland that makes up nearly one third of this ‘garden city’. This afternoon we rejoin our coach for a journey into the Dandenong Mountain Range, whose wooded slopes are home to vividly plumaged birdlife, including the rare lyrebird. At our coffee stop the birds come in profusion to dine on seed left on the windowsills - a dazzling sight. Equally delightful is our ride on ‘Puffing Billy’, Australia’s oldest narrowgauge steam train from Belgrave to Menzies Creek.
Early evening return to your hotel.

Day 03
Breakfast, Dinner
MELBOURNE • PHILLIP ISLAND
Morning free to explore for yourself.
Early afternoon our coach transports us to Phillip Island, natural habitat of the koala, one at least of which is likely to be spotted in his treetop sanctuary by our eagle-eyed driver. Don’t expect too much movement because the koala is a sleepy creature, but you’ll have ample opportunity to get closer to one before the holiday is over. We stop at Cowes for an early dinner before travelling on to Summerland Beach, where at sunset the Little Penguins perform their ‘parade’, emerging from the sea and waddling resolutely up the beach to their burrows in the sand dunes. This age-old ritual is always a privilege to witness. We return later in the evening to our hotel.

Day 04
Breakfast, Dinner
GREAT OCEAN ROAD • MOUNT GAMBIER
Australia glories in some 25,000 miles of coastline, equivalent to the circumference of the world, which explains why so many fine sandy beaches are entirely empty. Today we experience one of the most dramatic stretches, the Great Ocean Road. From Torquay, we follow the coastline, opening up at Lorne in a series of grand sweeping bays and exciting vistas. The road climbs the cliffside as we skirt the national park of Cape Otway and pass into that of Port Campbell, where we pause to view the unique rock formations in the sea known as the Twelve Apostles. Built in 1932 as a works project during the depression, the Great Ocean Road still traverses country relatively untouched and unpopulated. Its wild grandeur includes rainforests and dramatic gorges and gullies,
arches and blowholes, the limestone rocks having been eaten away over centuries by waves and wind - the stretch to Warrnambool, passing the Bay of Isles and the Bay of Martyrs, is one of the most fantastic. We arrive this evening at Mount Gambier’s premier hotel, which also boasts the town’s leading restaurant, where dinner is included this
evening.

Day 05
Breakfast, Lunch
COONAWARRA • MURRAY RIVER • ADELAIDE
Breakfast included this morning at your hotel. The wine-producing area of Coonawarra is only eight miles long and three quarters of a mile wide, but its unique terra-rossa soils produce some of the finest grape crops and award winning wines. We pass the pleasant little town of Penola and visit The Poplars for a wine tasting session. The panorama of vines now gives way to enchanting pastureland, running brooks and grazing cattle and sheep. Nearer the Murray River, we enter an important fruit-growing region, crossing the mighty Murray (known as the Mississippi of Australia) before approaching Adelaide and the descent into Australia’s most gracious city. Our base for the next three nights is one of Adelaide’s leading hotels.

Day 06
Breakfast
ADELAIDE
Surrounded by green parkland and rimmed by a fine array of hills and the Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide’s generously conceived design commands Gulf St. Vincent. The earliest colonists built in stone and built to last. Complementing imaginatively conceived modern shopping complexes and fine department stores are such Victorian masterpieces
as the town hall, on whose 16th century style Renaissance façade are carved the faces of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The modern Festival Centre has a riverside setting where the locals like to picnic on the grass. Streets and squares are broad and the compactness of the city means that you can stroll from end to end easily in half an hour.
Today we start with a sightseeing tour during which you will be able to walk through the largest glasshouse in the southern hemisphere – a breathtaking year-round tropical rainforest. This afternoon we have arranged a visit to the Cleland Conservation Park on the slopes of Mount Lofty, a place of sanctuary for many rescued koalas, whom you can meet as they dine on the eucalyptus leaves which are essential to their survival. The park has been designed as a ‘natural’ habitat for kangaroos and other marsupials, wandering
freely through large enclosures in which you can also walk. Overnight at our hotel, with its own choice of restaurants and many others close by.

Day 07
Breakfast
ADELAIDE
Free to explore.
The broad avenue of King William Street, bounded by North Terrace at one end and South Terrace at the other, still runs through the centre of the original mile-square city planned by its founder Colonel Light. It now continues over the Torrens River into the newer section of North Adelaide. From your ideally situated hotel, you are only a short distance from major sights such as the colourful Central Market, with its mouthwatering
display of fresh fruit and vegetables, the beautifully laid-out gardens of Victoria Square and, further north, the pedestrian Rundle Mall with arcades - a cornucopia of stores big and small, bistros and cafés made lively with street entertainers.

Day 08
Breakfast, Dinner
ADELAIDE • ALICE SPRINGS
We depart Adelaide for your flight to a town made immortal by Nevil Shute. 'The Alice', as it is usually known, was founded as a staging point for the overland telegraph line in the 1870's. A short tour takes us to the Telegraph Station and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. We leave you time to wander in the five-streets-wide town with its old stone jail next to the court house and a small shopping mall. The Crowne Plaza Alice Springs hotel, where we overnight, has a pleasant pool-side area to enjoy a drink and reflect on the rich experiences of the tour so far, and what is yet to come.

Day 09
Breakfast
ALICE SPRINGS • AYERS ROCK
This morning we depart Alice for Ayers Rock by coach. We arrive at Uluru and our hotel for the next two nights, the fine five-star Voyages Sails in the Desert, an obeisance to modern ideals of comfort that has nevertheless been tastefully built into the landscape.
After checking in we will be taken to see one of the wonders of the world. Ayers Rock rises a towering 348 metres and it is believed there is another two-thirds of rock beneath the sand, which contains a whole series of caves and eroded gullies. With a glass of wine in hand, we experience the setting sun beginning to change the surface through a range of colours culminating in a series of deeper and darker reds. Even today only a small minority of privileged people have witnessed this spectacular occurrence. Our hotel tonight offers a wide choice of dining over a broad price range.

Day 10
Breakfast
THE OLGAS
A visit to the Rock by day presents the opportunity to see it in a very different light. Of deep cultural significance to the Aborigines, who now officially own the national park in which it stands, it contains many paintings and carvings and several sacred sites. There are trails around the base where you can delve into the plants, wildlife, geology and
mythology of the place. To the west, where our coach now takes us, are the Olgas, a varied collection of more rounded rocks which the Aborigines dubbed Kata Tjuta, meaning 'many heads'. Mount Olga, at 546 metres, is higher than the Rock and there are many walking trails here as well as valleys and quiet shady pools. We return to our hotel for a free afternoon by the spacious swimming pool.

Day 11
Breakfast, Dinner
AYERS ROCK • CAIRNS • PALM COVE
We fly to Cairns on the North Queensland coast and transfer to one of the finest complexes on this beautiful coastline. It has several swimming pools, tennis courts and a fitness centre. Set over several acres of landscaped gardens, it has some small shops and a good restaurant. A stroll down to the sea brings one to the superb golden beaches of Palm Cove Bay, a tranquil and incredibly lovely spot. On arrival at the complex you have time to settle in and explore the amenities.

Day 12
Breakfast, Lunch
GREAT BARRIER REEF
This morning we transfer from Palm Cove to Port Douglas and connect to a Quicksilver Wavepiercer for the journey to the Great Barrier Reef. After an exhilarating journey over the blue coral sea, we arrive at Agincourt Reef where our Wavepiercer moors up against a pontoon. From here we can see the glories of the Reef via the glass windowed underwater walkway, by donning snorkelling gear or from a ride in a semi-submersible boat. We return to Port Douglas in the late afternoon and return to Palm Cove
by coach along the lovely coastal route. Lunch included.

 
Day 13
Breakfast
PALM COVE
A day free to relax and enjoy the facilities of the resort, travel into Cairns or perhaps take a stroll along the palm shaded beach.

Day 14
Breakfast
KURANDA • TJAPUKAI ABORIGINAL CULTURAL PARK
Gold prospecting and tin mining inspired the engineering feat of the scenic railway that winds its way up the mountainside to Kuranda twisting and turning for 34 kilometres and passing through 15 tunnels. We board the train and enjoy the wonderful scenery as we climb through lushly vegetated rainforest and pass by cascades and over chasms. Climbing over 300 metres in the last half of our journey and with a photo-stop at the dramatic landscape of Barron Falls, we arrive at the picturesque Kuranda Railway Station, with its original wooden structures and connecting bridge decked out in tropical flowers and ferns. You may enjoy a coffee at a sidewalk café, wander through the market, or visit the butterfly sanctuary before the drive down to Tjapukai Park. Those wishing to take the skyrail (own expense) over the rainforest canopy to Tjapukai are welcome to do so. On arrival we visit the Aboriginal Dance Theatre to see the award
winning show based on Aboriginal culture, the only one of its kind in the world. Late afternoon return to Palm Cove.

Day 15
Breakfast
CAIRNS • SYDNEY
Transfer to Cairns Airport for your flight to Sydney, where on arrival our coach will transfer you to the very modern and excellently appointed Hotel, our base for the next four nights. From the hotel it is a short taxi ride to the main shopping areas, which
can also be reached on foot, as can the celebrated Rocks at Sydney Harbour itself.
We leave you free to explore. Darling Harbour is a recently restored area of 133 acres, formerly dockland, now a huge waterfront leisure park, including a Chinese garden and the magnificent Sydney Aquarium, which gives visitors the impression that they are under the sea. There is a palm-fringed promenade and a monorail connects the various points.

Day 16
Breakfast
SYDNEY
This morning we have arranged a tour to familiarise you with Sydney. There is plenty to see including the Botanical Gardens, Hyde Park, the world famous Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and of course, the unparalleled setting of the harbour itself. This afternoon we board a cruise vessel for a look at Sydney Harbour from the water. Departing from Circular Quay we pass the sumptuous homes of the rich, built along the beautiful shoreline. The cruise takes us around Sydney Harbour and deep into the upper reaches of splendid Middle Harbour.

Day 17
Breakfast, Lunch
SYDNEY
Today a day of breathtaking cliff-top views, lush rainforest gullies and towering waterfalls in the amazing World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. Pat a koala at the Wildlife Park and end the day with an optional tour of ANZ Olympic Stadium or visit to Sydney Aquarium. Travelling west from Sydney we will visit the award-winning Featherdale Wildlife Park for close encounters with Australian animals including koalas, kangaroos and crocodiles.
We will continue up into the Blue Mountains and take a gentle bushwalk at Govetts Leap with breathtaking views from the lookouts before taking in the spectacular scenery of Jamison and Megalong Valleys, and the iconic Three Sisters rock formation.
There will be an opportunity to ride the world’s steepest railway (own expense).
You will discover the delightful town of Leura and the historic town of Katoomba before returning to Sydney and your hotel.

Day 18
Breakfast
SYDNEY
A whole day to further explore the city. You may take a ride out to the famous Bondi Beach, or the ferry from Circular Quay across to Taronga Zoo, which is well worth a visit and has a duckbilled platypus among its residents. For fine informal dining, a visit to one of Doyles restaurants can be recommended for either lunch or dinner, but it is advisable to ask your tour manager to make a reservation.

Day 19
Breakfast
SYDNEY to HOME
This morning, check out from your hotel at the regular time. The concierge will take care of our bags and you will be free until the time for our transfer to Sydney International Airport to check in for your flight home.

END OF ARRANGEMENTS