Australia And The Land of Inspiration

AN EXCLUSIVE 19 DAY FULLY ESCORTED SMALL GROUP TOUR - PRICES START FROM £4,775

See the Australia others often miss. There’s South Australia – home of many of the greatest wines, the food that accompanies them, and wonderful wildlife. You will certainly never forget your trip to Kangaroo Island. Largely cut off from the mainland, much of the original bush – and some unique species - survive. Then there’s Victoria and the Yarra Valley a wine-lover’s dream come true.

And finally Tasmania, rugged, beautiful, with haunting convict memories and yet more of life’s good things. Australia’s biggest island, Tasmania, is a heart-shaped island of lush green valleys, uncrowded towns and villages and undeveloped coastlines.

Tour highlights

• Sightseeing tours included in Singapore and Launceston

• Full day touring the Barossa Valley wine regions

• Amazing wildlife of Kangaroo Island

• Stay in the delightful Yarra Valley

• Lunch at Domain Chandon, Yarra Valley

• Stay at Cradle Mountain National Park

• Stay at Freycinet National Park

• Cruise around Wineglass Bay

• Tour of beautiful Richmond

• Visit historic Port Arthur

Pre-bookable holiday excursions from £156 per person

Yarra Valley Hot Air Ballooning

This is pure exhilaration – and you’ll recall it with pleasure for a long, long time to come. Taking off into the dawn skies, you rise serenely above the distant blue ranges and rolling hills strung with vines of this glorious wine region.

Sunrise tones highlight the deep hues of the vineyards amongst the meandering bends of the Yarra river – and it’s all capped off by a 5-star gourmet champagne breakfast at Balgownie Estate Winery.

Prices from £156 per person

Food Safari Tour

This is a glorious day for gourmets” Kangaroo Island’s food is extraordinary – and this is an exceptionally pleasant way of discovering why. Discover the diversity of the produce, the passion of the producers, and experience the “paddock to plate” phenomenon. Seafood, artisan cheeses, honey, free-range eggs, marron - an Australian freshwater crayfish, native spices, yoghurt, olive oil and excellent wine. Enjoy it all!

Prices from £185 per person

Extend your holiday 3 nights from £479 per person

Sydney

3 nights - Observatory Hotel, Sydney

• Return transfers

• Deluxe room accommodation with daily breakfast

Part of Orient Express the Observatory Hotel Sydney has an enviable location in the heart of the city and makes a fitting end to your Australia adventure. By day discover Sydney’s historic Rocks and vibrant harbour and in the evening relax and unwind in.

Prices from £479 per person

Blue Mountains Escape

3 nights - Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

• Return transfers from Sydney

• Deluxe room accommodation with daily breakfast

Nestled on the edge of the magnificent Jamison Valley, overlooking the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains National Park, Lilianfels is a breathtaking escape just a 90 minute drive from Sydney. It’s the perfect relaxing finish to your holiday in Australia.

Prices from £485 per person

Great Barrier Reef

4 nights - Hayman Island

1 night - Four Seasons Sydney

• Return scheduled flights to Hamilton Island

• Return launch to Hayman Island

• Retreat Wing accommodation with daily breakfast, Hayman Island

• 1 night Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney

The Hayman experience is like no other. Australia’s most awarded five-star resort takes guests into an exclusive realm of luxury, relaxation, indulgent dining, leisurely activity, reef adventure and breathtaking scenery. The Hayman experience begins before you arrive and will linger long after you leave.

Prices from £955 per person

Day 1 Departure from London Heathrow

Your adventure starts at Heathrow. Here you meet your Tour Manager and companions whilst enjoying complimentary drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge before your scheduled Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore.

Meals: Inflight

Day 2 Arrival into Singapore

You have a day at leisure - a good time to find bargains. In the early evening we gather for our welcome drinks party, and the opportunity to meet your fellow travellers.

Meals: Inflight

Hotel: The Fullerton

Day 3 Singapore

After breakfast you tour Singapore. Spectacular modern buildings contrast with traditional sights like Thian Hock Keng Temple, Little India and the Malay area of Geylang Serai. You also see the Orchid Gardens in Singapore’s botanical gardens which amazingly contain a rain forest. Relax in the afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: The Fullerton

Day 4 Singapore to Adelaide

A full day at leisure in Singapore. Maybe learn how to cook some amazing Asian dishes on our Exclusive Raffles of Singapore Culinary Academy, at the famous Raffles Hotel. A late check-out has been arranged so you can freshen up before your evening flight with Qantas to Adelaide

Meals: Breakfast, Inflight

Day 5 Arrival into Adelaide

The day is at leisure to discover Adelaide, Australia’s most “English” city – full of parks, gardens and historic buildings In the evening, you enjoy a superb dinner at The Grange Restaurant, the hotel’s award-winning restaurant

Meals: Inflight, Dinner

Hotel: Adelaide Hilton

Day 6 Barossa Valley

Today you re-trace the paths of the early pioneers as you discover Barossa’s unique blend of German, British and Australian culture. You visit big name and boutique wineries like Chateau Tununda, Jacobs Creek and Wolf Blass and experience some of the finest food and wine. Enjoy a cheese platter while wine tasting then a 3 course gourmet lunch.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: Adelaide Hilton

Day 7 Adelaide to Kangaroo Island

Today you fly to Australia’s third largest island, Kangaroo Island. Travel to the South coast of the island to visit a colony of Australian Sealions. Walk with your guide among sealions on a beautiful sandy beach. Watch pups nursing, or playing in the surf, see old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology. Enjoy a delicious barbeque lunch served with fine South Australian wines before heading to Flinders Chase National Park - a 190,000 hectare wilderness covering the entire west end of the Island. Then view The Remarkable Rocks, huge natural granite sculptures, that have been carved by relentless winds, rain and salt from the Southern Ocean. You then make your way to your hotel via Little Sahara, Kangaroo Island's expanse of sand dunes.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat

Day 8 Kangaroo Island

Nestled in a natural bushland setting, your hotel offers visitors to Kangaroo Island a true Australian wilderness experience. Spend the day enjoying the unique natural surroundings of your environment.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat

Day 9 Kangaroo Island to Yarra Valley

Today you fly to Melbourne before transferring to the magnificent Yarra Valley. Just an hour from the city, but a world away, wrapped within the vineyards and valleys of the region.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley

Day 10 Yarra Valley

An enchanting day of contrasts! First you lunch at Domain Chandon, the Australian winery of Moet & Chandon then visit a homestead and vineyard for private tasting in an original Stockman’s bush hut. Boil billy tea, make your own damper. Plant a tree, search for wedge tailed eagles and the elusive platypus. Bushwalk to spectacular waterfalls.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: Sebel Heritage Yarra Valley

Day 11 Yarra Valley to Launceston

Today you fly to Launceston, Tasmania. Enjoy a tour of the city enroute to your hotel. There are some fine buildings and a unique wilderness in the city - Cataract Gorge.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Peppers Launceston

Day 12 Launceston to Cradle Mountain

This morning drive past the Mural Town of Sheffield, Tasmania’s gateway to the iconic Cradle Mountain. The jagged countours of Cradle Mountain epitomize the feel of a wild landscape. Icy streams cascading out of rugged mountains, strands of ancient pine mirrored in the still waters of glacial lakes and a wealth of wildlife ensure there is always something to captivate you.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Cradle Mountain Lodge

Day 13 Cradle Mountain

To enjoy the alpine beauty of Cradle Mountain you just walk to the falls along the Dove Canyon Track – because it is just glorious wherever you look. No wonder it was one of Jacques Cousteau’s favourite places.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Cradle Mountain Lodge

Day 14 Cradle Mountain to Freycinet National Park

Today we leave Cradle Mountain and drive through the most glorious scenery to Lunch at the Settlers Restaurant with walls clad in corrugated iron and historic newspapers. Then it’s on to Freycinet National Park.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hotel: Freycinet Lodge

Day 15 Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park is surrounded by bays and sandy white beaches, and today you take a cruise to explore the rugged coastline with its towering pink granite cliffs plunging into the Tasman Sea. At Wineglass Bay, relax on board and enjoy the spectacular surroundings of one of the world’s top ten beaches. Taste freshly shucked oysters still dripping from the sea with a sample of Tasmania’s finest champagne and cheese. After this tough life enjoy a relaxed afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Freycinet Lodge

Day 16 Freycinet National Park to Hobart

Today, start your journey to Hobart with a visit to Richmond, a convict station and military outpost in the early 19th century. You walk across Australia’s oldest bridge, do a stir in “solitary” at Richmond Gaol and visit Australia’s oldest Catholic Church while learning about the town’s colourful history. You then continue to discover Hobart itself, a harbour city of quite exceptional charm.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Henry Jones Art Hotel

Day 17 Hobart

Today you will see Tasmania’s most popular tourist site – and justly so, for Port Arthur is a place full of memories of convict days, but with its own very special beauty. You have plenty of time to take it all in – and there are many extraordinarily gripping tales to be heard, with over 30 historic buildings to be seen. You can take a harbour cruise & walking tour to get the most out of the experience and check out the popular museum and theatre. Before returning to Hobart, visit stunning Remarkable Cave and check out the panoramic views from Maingon Bay Lookout – a great place to spot whales. The day ends with a Farewell Dinner at Henry’s Harbourside Restaurant, the Henry Jones’ signature restaurant.

Meals: Breackfast, Dinner

Hotel: Henry Jones Art Hotel

Day 18 Hobart

Time at leisure until its time for you to depart to the airport for your flight via Melbourne to London.

Meals: Breakfast, Inflight

Day 19 Arrival into London Heathrow

You arrive at London Heathrow ... with new friends made and splendid memories to take home with you.

Destination introduction

Australia gives you everything you imagine – and a lot more. Yes, there’s the sun, the beaches, the Great Barrier Reef, the outback, the koalas and kangaroos. But there are also glittering, cosmopolitan cities – and restaurants where you expect the fine wines, but not some of the world’s finest cuisine.

Did you know? The Australian Alps, or Snowy Mountains, receive more snow than Switzerland.