Southern Highlands Autumn Tour

Transcription

1 Southern Highlands Autumn Tour Featuring the Annual Highland Gathering of BRIGADOON ~ 6 Day Tour ~ 5th - 10th April, 2018 Friends to travel with... O Shannessy s Sorrento Travel Pty Ltd T/A: 2121 Point Nepean Road, Rye Vic enquiries@oshannessys.com.au Toll Free:

2 Price per person twin share $ 2,195 Repeat clientele twin share $ 2,145 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT $ 380 Tour Departs: Thursday 5th April, 2018 Tour Returns: Tuesday 10th April, 2018 Deposit: $200 per person upon booking Balance due on invoice approximately 30 days prior to departure Single travellers who are prepared to twin share will be matched with another passenger (of the same gender) or, if this is not possible, provided with single accommodation at the twin share fare. Tour Price Includes: Pick up from and return to your home - Greater Melbourne, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong and the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas, Phillip Island and some areas of Gippsland, including Phillip Island. Travel by our own state of the art luxury coach, equipped with restroom, satellite phone, fold-down arm rests, seat belts and extra leg room. Our coach has a kneeling device and second door for ease of entry and disembarkation. Our coach is also fitted with Road Cam TV monitors which display in real time the road ahead. The coach offers a smooth quiet ride and views through large panoramic windows. Reserved quality ensuite motels / resorts. All tours and interest venues as per itinerary. Meals: Full cooked breakfasts, dinners, most lunches and morning teas. (1 lunch at own expense as per itinerary) The following cancellation fees apply for this tour: Deposit refundable until 30 days prior to departure 30 to 15 days BEFORE DEPARTURE 75% Refund of Tour Cost 14 to 8 days BEFORE DEPARTURE 50% Refund of Tour Cost 7 to 1 days BEFORE DEPARTURE 25% Refund of Tour Cost On or after Departure date of Tour NO REFUND GIVEN All passengers are required to co-operate with the seat rotation program determined by O Shannessy s Tour Directors. TRAVEL INSURANCE IS NOT COMPULSORY HOWEVER IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND IS AVAILABLE FROM OUR OFFICE. The Proprietors reserve the right to vary any accommodation, price or other features of the tour at any time at their own discretion.

3 Gippsland Eden ABC Cheese Factory - Tilba Hampden Bridge Fitzroy Falls Brigadoon in Bundanoon - Scottish Festival.Highland Gathering, Scottish Country and Highland Dancing, Highland Games, Pipe bands, Bagpipes and the Lone Piper. Chinoiserie Garden - Mittagong International Cricket Hall of Fame - Bradman Museum - Bowral Trainworks - Thirlmere Cooma Cottage Albury - Monument Hill Bandiana Base Military Museum

4 DAY 1: Thursday 5th April, 2018 HOME TO EDEN This morning we depart on our Autumn Tour to the NSW Southern Highlands. After personal pickup from home, we travel east through Gippsland, Victoria s power house. From here we continue through Lakes Entrance and Orbost then cross the border into New South Wales. Our first night s accommodation is on the South Coast in the delightful town of Eden. Overnight: Best Western Coachman s Rest Motor Inn, EDEN DAY 2: Friday 6th April, 2018 EDEN TO THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS Following a hearty breakfast we continue our journey north through Bega and the quaint village of Cobargo. The National Trust Protected village of Tilba is our morning tea stop. Many of the original buildings have been retained and restored, while any new buildings have been built in the character and style of the era. Mount Dromedary, which was named by Captain Cook because of its unusual shape, overshadows the town. The area is marked by the many granite rock outcrops and the houses sit amongst the these. We can visit the ABC Cheese Factory, home of Tilba Real Dairy, and famous for the Tilba Club Cheese. Late morning, we rejoin the coach to follow the coast to Batemans Bay where we stop for lunch at the Catalina Country Golf Club. We leave the highway this afternoon near Nowra and drive into the Kangaroo Valley. The road winds up through the cool rain forests of the Moreton National Park. Encircled by ancient escarpments, the valley is full of colour with its brilliant patchwork of farms and the changing hues of the winding river. We take some time to enjoy the scenery of the valley and the historic Hampden Bridge. We also stop briefly at the Fitzroy Falls Visitors Centre. As we come out of the valley, it s not far to Mittagong where we check into our next three nights accommodation. We have time to settle in and freshen up before dinner. Overnight: Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

5 DAY 3: Saturday 7th April, 2018 BRIGADOON IN BUNDANOON We are just a short drive to Brigadoon - venue for the 41st Annual Highland Gathering. The Parade begins at 9:30am with thousands lining the streets as hundreds of pipes and drums (some 20 bands in all), colorful floats and displays, marchers, vintage cars and service and community vehicles make their way to the grounds for the games. We have pre-arranged our tickets - the profits from their sale contributing to many worthwhile charities and community causes in the Bundanoon area. At 10:45am the Official Opening ceremony takes place and the Chieftain of the Day is introduced. The Chieftain of the Day is usually an eminent clan leader from Australia, Scotland, or elsewhere in the world. Always an imposing figure, he (or she) welcomes visitors to the gathering, inspects the massed bands and clan representatives and presides over the day. After the inspection the bands retire and the games begin. During the day there are Scottish Country & Highland Dancing demonstrations (and you can even join in!). There are also displays for the dog-lovers with Highland Cavaliers and Southern Highland Kennel and Obedience Club. Other traditional and not-so-traditional Highland Games are also on, including the caber toss, shot putt, hay toss, haggis hurling, egg toss, water toss and kilted races. What fun! Throughout the day in the main arena there are Pipe Band displays. Hundreds of pipers and drummers typically attend Brigadoon and although bands do not compete against each other, the pipe band display offers them the opportunity to engage in some virtuoso performances of their favourite marches, lilts and airs. The pipe bands at Brigadoon are of the highest standard and for the lover of the bagpipe, there can be no better way to spend a day than in the company of some of the best pipers and drummers in Australia, at Brigadoon. The day ends at 4.00pm with the Closing Ceremony and the Lone Piper. Lunch own expense/arrangements today Overnight: Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

6 DAY 4: Sunday 8th April, 2018 SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS We have a lovely day in store today as we drive into the Southern Highlands. First stop this morning is a visit to the beautiful Chinoiserie Garden. This garden (1.24 acres) features a display of over 100 varieties of peonies - Chinese, Japanese, European and American Tree Peonies and herbaceous borders which flower from Spring to late Autumn. From here we drive to the pretty village of Bowral, nestled in the shadow of Mount Gibraltar. Bowral (an aboriginal word for height ) has, since its foundation in the 1860 s, been a summer retreat for wealthy Sydney residents who have left a legacy of stately mansions, spacious grounds and lovely gardens. Here we visit the International Cricket Hall of Fame. The new Hall of Fame incorporates the Bradman Museum. It features cutting edge technology, interactive touch-screens and much more. The International Cricket Hall of Fame is dedicated to promoting the game of cricket not just to the keen followers of the game, but to all who wonder, what is cricket and why is it so important to millions of people around the world? This is also our lunch venue for today. This afternoon we travel to Thirlmere and Trainworks - formerly the Thirlmere Heritage Rail Centre. Its quite an amazing place! Thirlmere was once a booming town of tents for the many railway workers who created the Great Southern Railway from 1863 to The Heritage Precinct comprises the railway station, opened in 1885, the Station Master s Cottage, built in 1891 and the Co-Op Shed, built around Sunday s a special day here, it s the one day in the week we can enjoy a train ride! Afternoon tea is served before we travel back to our accommodation. Overnight: Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

7 DAY 5: Monday 9th April, 2018 MITTAGONG TO ALBURY This morning we farewell our hosts and travel to Yass stopping for morning tea off the coach enroute. In Yass, we take a tour of Cooma Cottage, the creation of it s owner-builder, the eccentric explorer Hamilton Hume. We enjoy a picnic lunch before continuing South. We cross the Murrumbidgee River near Gundagai for an afternoon stop at Holbrook. A short drive takes us to Albury for our last night together. Overnight: Best Western Plus Hovell Tree, ALBURY DAY 6: Tuesday 10th April, 2018 ALBURY to MELBOURNE Before leaving Albury we visit the War Memorial Pillar on Monument Hill and take in the magnificent views. We also visit the Bandiana Base Military Museum, which has a comprehensive display of artifacts and veterans vehicles. Our lunch stop today is in Benalla before we cross the Great Dividing Range enroute to Melbourne. As always, our chauffeurs will return us safely home. We trust you arrive home safely with memories of a fascinating and rewarding tour. We thank you for travelling with O Shannessy s Tours and look forward to your patronage again in the future! For details of other tours available Phone toll free on

8 CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL Any special passenger requirements must be notified to O Shannessy s Tours at the time of booking. No passenger will be permitted to embark or continue on the tour while their mental or physical condition is, in the opinion of any representative of O Shannessy s Tours, such as to render them incapable of caring for themselves, or whereby they become objectionable to other passengers, or they become a hazard to themselves or other passengers. O Shannessy s Tours will not be responsible for expenses resulting in such persons being precluded from completing the tour for any such reason. It is also a requirement of O Shannessy s Tours that each passenger is able to negotiate coach steps without the aid of the coach crew or other passengers. Any passenger who requires assistance for any of the above is required to travel with a companion capable of providing all necessary assistance. If you are willing to twin share but are a smoker or have a CPAP machine or snore, you will need to pay a single supplement for a sole use room.