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Countryside Day Tours from Melbourne

a taste of wilderness from your hotel
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A selection of high quality day trips from your Melbourne hotel, chosen to give you a taste of the Victorian countryside and its wildlife including world renowned attractions like the Great Ocean Road and the Yarra Valley . 
Included is a walk since exploring on foot undoubtedly gives you a different perspective.  
  
Great Ocean Road Day
Departs:  Melbourne hotels 8.00 am daily with a minimum of 2 passengers
Returns:  6.00 pm

As you leave the city centre and restored docklands of Melbourne, you can see the stretching suburbs and Port Phillip Bay from the top of Westgate Bridge.  Enter the volcanic western plains of Victoria where European settlers forged their way as far as the Otway Ranges, establishing large sheep properties and homesteads.
Head into Geelong and the picturesque waterfront overlooking Corio Bay and see the port that was the centre of trade during the famous goldrush era in the 19th century. Cross rich sheep and dairy farmland to the cool temperate rainforests of the Otway Ranges National Park. 
You will see that the lush valleys in the rainforest have protected old trees from several wildfires, including the infamous Ash Wednesday Black Friday fires.  Enjoy a cafe lunch at Port Campbell and then a short drive will take you to the Shipwreck Coast where many ships have foundered along this wild coastline. 
View the 12 Apostles ocean rock formations from a coastal boardwalk. Visit the shipwreck site of  the Loch Ard where two survivors struggled ashore amidst the wreckage and enter the cave on the beach where they sheltered and recuperated before alerting nearby settlers.
Return to Melbourne through rolling hills and dairy farming country and then across the western plains. 

Included 
Hotel pick up and drop off 
Highly qualified and knowledgeable guide 
Travel in luxury air-conditioned vehicles 
Cafe lunch and refreshments 
  
Yarra Valley Wineries, Dandenongs and Wildlife
Departs: Melbourne hotels 8.00 am daily with a minimum of 2 passengers
Returns:  5.00 pm 
 

From Melbourne city centre, travel through a cross section of suburbs to the eucalypt forests of Warrandyte.  Enjoy a short stroll with your guide, with a chance to see the diverse birdlife and koalas that inhabit the forest. Your guide will bring the natural history of this region to life. A short drive to a nearby forest area will enable you the chance to see wild kangaroos relaxing in their natural habitat.
Drive downward into the rich greenness of Yarra Valley.  Over 50 wineries are established in the valley, varying in size from small family vineyards to large international establishments.  Visit wineries for tastings and browse at a display of fine artwork.
Lunch will be at the award winning Eyton Restaurant at Rochford Winery where you can enjoy superb food whilst looking onto the vineyards.
After lunch, visit a boutique winery for further wine tastings.  Drive through the valley to the cool and inviting forests of the Dandenong Ranges.  These tall wet eucalypt forests feature large mountain ash trees and a verdant canopy of tree ferns. 
A short walk with your guide takes you along a ferngully stream deep in the forest where the mimicking calls of the lyrebird can sometimes be heard.
Return to city centre through the established suburbs of South Eastern Melbourne with their classic, traditional quarter acre blocks typical of Australian city life. 

Includes:
Hotel pick up and drop off
Highly qualified and knowledgeable guide
Travel in luxury air-conditioned vehicles
Wine tastings at a selection of boutique wineries and lunch at Eyton Restaurant, Rochford Winery
 

Wildlife, Bush and Billabongs Walkabout

Small group day tour. See huge mobs of wild kangaroos, and stroll amongst koalas in the wild - Wildlife, Bush and Billabongs Day Tour
 
 Koalas, Wildlife and Ultimate Penguin Experience - Small Group
Departs  Melbourne city hotels 2.00 pm summer and 1.00 pm winter
Returns  10.30 pm approximately
This is a small group experience with a maximum of 10 guests and it includes a full briefing with a park ranger with interpretation throughout the tour
This fascinating trip takes you southeast of the city through the rich Gippsland coastal region to Philip Island, known as the wildlife island and home of the fairy penguins.
Visit a boutique winery overlooking Westernport Bay hearing colourful stories about explorers, sealers and whalers who settled this region.  
Walk amongst the treetops at the Koala Conservation Centre to see a protected koala company. 
Walk with your guide in nature reserve bushland and wetlands.  The walk provides the opportunity to see wallabies and a range of bird life in the wild.
After dark, you'll view the penguins from a secluded beach where the penguins will waddle past you!  Penguins come ashore each evening at dusk from their ocean feeding grounds. They enter the beach in groups and “walk and talk” loudly as they work their way into the dunes where their burrow nests are.
Afterwards, enjoy a fish and chip dinner at the Jetty Restaurant in the township of Cowes on Phillip Island and then return to Melbourne inland, arriving late evening.
Included 
~  Hotel pick up and drop off
~  Highly qualified and knowledgeable guide 
~  Travel in luxury air-conditioned vehicles
~  Fish and chip dinner at Jetty Restaurant 
~  Penguin viewing from secluded beach at sunset preceded by full briefing by a Park Ranger and with full interpretation throughout.  Full night vision goggles and headphones, for personal commentary, are supplied.  Guests must wear dark clothing to blend into the surroundings.
 
PRICES: Countryside Day tours from Melbourne Until 31 March 2009 1 Apr 2009 - 31 Mar 2010 Truly
Ref
Per person per day trip Adult  Child   Adult Child
Great Ocean Road Day  A$241 Request Request Request 1503
Yarra Wineries, Dandenongs and Wildlife  A$241 Request Request Request 1504
Wildlife, Bush and Billabongs Walkabout ~ ~ ~ ~ 936
Koalas, Wildlife & Ultimate Penguin Experience A$330 NA* Request NA* 1403
To check approximate prices in other key currencies, see our Currency Converter
*  Minimum age 16 years for Ultimate Penguin Experience tour
For details of accommodation options in Melbourne and nearby, click City Hotels/Melbourne
Click here for details of How to Book /How to Make a Secure Payment
Please use the Truly Reference Number when making booking enquiries
NOTE:  Day tours are normally booked in conjunction with other travel arrangements - bookings for less than A$300 in total will incur a A$10 admin fee.
Bookings made with Truly Australia are covered by our ABTA Bond - this financial protection does NOT apply to bookings made direct with the local operator or hotel.   You are completely free to arrange your own flights to Australia - or, if you are departing from the UK, we can quote separately by Email for competitive flight prices, including in business class.
  
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