MELBOURNE to SYDNEY or SYDNEY to MELBOURNE

Small group touring by luxury coach: 3 days/2 nights

ITINERARY: Melbourne to Sydney

DAY 1: Sunday (D): Melbourne to Metung – The Gippsland Region of Victoria
Depart Melbourne (08.30) along the Princes Highway. Morning stop at the charming village of Yarragon. Next is Walhalla, the oldest of the Gippsland Gold Towns which retains much of its heritage from over 100 years ago when it was a premier city in Gippsland and which still reflects the way of life on the early gold fields. Lunch (own expense) is at the delightful Star Hotel. There is time to explore this fascinating town before heading off to Sale, and the old Port of Sale. 
Travel on to Bairnsdale for your overnight accommodation at Metung – a delightful village set on a small peninsula on the Gippsland Lakes. Water laps the shores on two sides. Bancroft Bay on one side bustles with boats while its southern shore forms part of the Lakes National Park. There will be time to wander along the foreshore, or visit some of the galleries in the main street before dinner at the locally famous Metung Pub.  
Overnight: The Moorings Hotel, Metung

DAY 2: Monday (BD): Coastal Waterways and Forests
Enjoy breakfast this morning aboard a launch cruise on the beautiful Gippsland Lakes where you have a chance to experience the wonderful birdlife that abounds. You are then met by your coach at Lakes Entrance, a major resort town at the entrance to the Lakes - these lakes form the largest inland waterway in Australia. With the foothills of the high country just to the north and the amazing stretch of the Ninety Mile Beach separating the lakes from the ocean, the region offers a variety of natural beauty and recreational activities. From Lakes Entrance continue via the timber country of eastern Victoria, to the south coast of New South Wales. Small fishing and holiday towns are dotted along the coast – each with their own sweeping beaches overlooking the Pacific Ocean. A 'must see' stop is the Whale Museum at Eden where we learn of the interaction between the killer whales and fishermen. After lunch in Eden (own expense), travel on to the Bega Cheese factory to taste some of the local produce. Continue north to  the Eurobodalla Coast and Batemans Bay.  Your overnight beachfront accommodation, just north of Batemans Bay, is within the Murramarang National Park – more than 1700 hectares of largely undisturbed coastline embracing sand and shingle beaches, rugged headlands, rock stacks and fossil-bearing rocks. It provides a valuable habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals
The Murramarang Eco Resort has a large population of resident eastern grey kangaroos which can often be seen on the beach at the waters edge (pictured at top of this page).  Dinner tonight is in the a la carte restaurant and accommodation in the Polynesian Bungalows.  A night walk into the national park is available after dinner to spot some of the numerous nocturnal animals such as possums and kangaroos. 
Overnight: Murramarang Eco Resort, near Batemans Bay

DAY 3: Tuesday (B): Batemans Bay to Sydney
A guided morning walk into the National Park departs from the hotel at 8.00am. Alternatively get some sand between your toes and take a walk along the beach in front of the Resort.  Leaving the Resort, you travel along the coast via Termeil, Ulladulla and Milton to Huskisson, on the shores of Jervis Bay.  Here you join award winning Dolphin Watch Cruises, for a 2hour cruise to see dolphins in the wild.  Morning tea and coffee are available on board (free).  Continue through National Parks and state forest to Nowra and across the Shoalhaven River, before heading east to Coolangatta Estate Winery for wine tasting and lunch. Coolangatta is an aboriginal word meaning fine view and is the site of the first European settlement on NSW’s south coast. After lunch continue north via picturesque Berry, named after Alexander Berry, Shoalhaven’s first European settler.  Meander through the lush rolling hills and rich dairy farming land between Berry, Gerringong and Kiama, without losing sight of the ocean.  Next stop is the famous Blowhole at Kiama, followed by afternoon tea.  Then travel to Sydney via the Illawarra Escarpment, to arrive at approximately 5.30pm.  (CBD hotel drop-offs available)

ITINERARY: Sydney to Melbourne

DAY 1:  Wednesday (D) Sydney to Batemans Bay
Depart Sydney along the Princes Highway and travel via the Illawarra Escarpment to the seaside town of Kiama, for a morning tea stop and to visit the famous Blowhole.  Meander through the lush rolling hills and rich dairy farming land between Kiama and Gerringong, without losing sight of the ocean.  Continue through picturesque Berry, named after Alexander Berry, Shoalhaven’s first European settler, to Huskisson on the shores of Jervis Bay, where you join award winning operator Dolphin Watch Cruises for a 2½ hour cruise to see dolphins in the wild.  Tea and coffee are available on board (free), and there is time prior to the cruise to purchase lunch (own expense).  After lunch, travel south along the coast via Ulladulla and Termeil towards Batemans Bay.  Your beachfront accommodation, just north of Batemans Bay, is located within the Murramarang National Park, with more than 1700 hectares of coastal land and noted for its largely undisturbed coastline embracing sand and shingle beaches, rugged headlands, rock stacks and fossil bearing rocks.  It provides a valuable habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals.  The Resort has a large population of resident eastern grey kangaroos which can often be seen on the beach at the water's edge.  Dinner tonight is in the a la carte restaurant and accommodation in the Polynesian Bungalows. A night walk into the National Park may be available after dinner to spot some of the numerous nocturnal animals such as possums and kangaroos. 
Overnight:  Murramarang Eco Resort

DAY 2: Thursday (BD) Coastal Waterways and Forests.
An 8 am guided walk into the National Park before you travel on along the coast where small fishing and holiday towns are located – each with their own sweeping beaches overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Visit the Cheese factory at Bega to taste some local produce prior to lunch at Eden (own expense).  A 'must see' stop is the Whale Museum at Eden where you learn of the interaction between the killer whales and fishermen.  In the afternoon continue south into Victoria, through timber country and past Mallacoota, Cann River and Orbost en route to Lakes Entrance and your overnight stop at Metung, an attractive little town set on a small peninsula on the Gippsland Lakes.  Water laps the shores on two sides.  Bancroft Bay on one side bustles with boats while its southern shore forms part of the Lakes National Park.  There will be time to wander along the foreshore or visit some of the galleries in the main street before dinner at the locally famous Metung Pub.
Overnight: The Moorings Hotel, Metung

DAY 3: Friday (B) Metung - Walhalla - Melbourne
Enjoy breakfast this morning aboard a launch cruise across the beautiful Gippsland Lakes, where you have a chance to experience the wonderful birdlife that abounds.  Rejoin your coach at Lakes Entrance. These lakes form the largest inland waterway in Australia.  With the foothills of the high country just to the north and the amazing stretch of the Ninety Mile Beach separating the lakes from the ocean, the region offers a variety of natural beauty and recreational opportunities.  Travel on through Gippsland and the towns of Bairnsdale and Sale, where you visit the old Port of Sale. 
Next is Walhalla, the oldest of the Gippsland Gold Towns,  which retains much of its heritage from the time it was a premier city in Gippsland more than 100 years ago and which still reflects the way of life on the early gold fields.  Lunch is at the delightful Star Hotel (own expense - pictured).  There is time to explore this fascinating town before heading off to Yarragon and the Princes Highway to Melbourne.
Arrival time in Melbourne is approximately 6.00pm.

Tour Cost Includes:

Details of the overnight accommodation: