Personalised Luxury Tours - Cultural and Scenic Southern Australia ULAU02

Personal Highlights:

• A privately guided tour of Melbourne including lunch in an elegant private home
• A gourmet food and wine tour through the Mornington Peninsula
• A day visiting the vineyards of the Barossa Valley
• Walking through the Eucalyptus trees on Kangaroo Island with Koalas lounging overhead
• Walk with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach

Day 1 Depart USA

You board your overnight flight headed for Australia to begin your discovery of the scenic and cultural wonders of Southern Australia.

Day 2 En Route

You will cross the International Date Line technically "losing" a day but you will regain that day upon your return.

Day 3 Welcome to Melbourne

Welcome to Melbourne, Australia's second largest city whose birth and development paralleled with Queen Victoria's reign. The city boasts elaborate Victorian-era buildings, gracious parks and gardens and tree-lined boulevards. Today's Melbourne is a vibrant multicultural city passionate about the arts, sports, food, wine and the good life. Having cleared customs formalities you are met by your driver and taken to your hotel. You may want to take some time to get to know the neighborhood or relax. A private lounge is available for your use prior to dinner at the hotel

Day 4 An Introduction to Melbourne

After a good night's sleep and breakfast you meet your personal guide for a tour of the city tailored to your requirements. In the morning you might wish to see the fabulous homes of the fashionable Toorak and South Yarra, the ornate Victorian terraced homes and wonderful gardens. You might go cultural and visit Melbourne University, Princess Theatre or the Victorian Arts Centre and Concert Hall. If sport is your thing a visit to the Melbourne Cricket Club and the National Tennis Centre might be in order. Regardless of your choice you will take time for a delightful lunch at van elegant private home. After lunch you can continue visiting or your guide will be happy to arrange shopping in some of the city's exclusive boutiques. This evening we have arranged for you to have a unique dining experience. You will have an elegant meal with wine as you cruise through Melbourne on a 1927 Tramcar refurbished as a quality restaurant and stabilized to ensure not a drop of wine is spilled. With one way windows you can dine in privacy while watching Melbourne nightlife unfold.

Day 5 The Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles

After breakfast your guide will meet you and take you out of Melbourne along the coastal route known as the Great Ocean Road. During the drive you will see scenic coves, little penguins and unusual rock formations the most spectacular being the Twelve Apostles. You will have ample opportunity to stop and take a walk along a quiet stretch of beach and have a nice lunch in one of the quaint towns that dot the route. In the afternoon you return to the city where the evening has been left open for you to select from many of Melbourne's restaurants reflecting the cultural diversity of the city.

Day 6 Adelaide and the Barossa Valley

This morning your driver will meet you and take you to the airport for the brief flight to the south coast. Upon arrival your guide will meet you and take you to the Barossa Valley. The Barossa offers everything you'd expect from Australia's most famous wine region. Winemakers waiting to share their secrets at the cellar door; landscapes etched with manicured vineyards; passionate food producers proffering their wares at country markets; and grand chateaux surrounded by ornate gardens. After you've had the opportunity to have some lunch, your guide will take you out for a visit to a few of the vineyards around your hotel, itself set among terraces of vines. Dinner is at the hotel's renowned restaurant this evening.

Day 7 An Appreciation for the Winemaker’s Art

Today you will spend the day visiting a selection of the over 50 wineries in the area. Along with the wines, you will discover the Barossa heritage which has a unique blend of British, German and Australian Culture. You'll see evidence of this as you admire the many Lutheran churches and stone buildings tracing the paths of the early pioneers. A picnic lunch taken along the way enhances the country experience.

Day 8 Kingscote and the Inhabitants of Kangaroo Island

Following breakfast you will be met by your guide and taken to the airport for the brief flight to Kingscote on Kangaroo Island. Upon arrival you are met by your private car and driver/guide for your initial introduction to island life. You will enjoy some morning tea with some home-made cakes before taking a walk through tall Eucalyptus trees where koalas sleep in the trees overhead, sometimes waking briefly to eat. You will then head to the North Coast keeping an eye out for wallabies, almost extinct on the mainland and a species of kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island. You'll stop at a private bush location and enjoy a seafood lunch accompanied by fine South Australian Wines before visiting Seal Bay Conservation Park. Here you can walk with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach. You can watch pups nursing or playing in the surf, see old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology. You then go to your unique accommodations where dinner awaits. The owner and chef has cooked for such diverse guests as the Dalai Lama and Mick Jagger so a treat is in store.

Day 9 Flinders Chase National Park

The island is sometimes referred to as "Australia's Galapagos" because of the diversity of wildlife both indigenous and introduced to the island to assure survival not possible on the mainland. Your exploration today begins at Flinders Chase National Park. This vast wilderness covers the entire west end of the island and is home to kangaroos, wallabies, possums, goannas, echidnas, koalas, platypus and many birds including rare Cape Barren Geese. Moving on to Cape du Couedic you will visit a fur seal colony which now numbers over 20,000 after being decimated by hunting in the early 1800's these animals can be observed at rest on the rocks or frolicking in the surf under Admirals Arch, a spectacular coastal grotto. Good wines and local produce features highly in your picnic lunch which you can enjoy out in the bush before exploring more of the island. There are numerous options which your guide will explain to you.

Day 10 Return to USA

Today your driver will take you to the airport where you begin your journey back to the US, gaining back your "lost" day, you arrive back in the afternoon of the same day.

Services Included

• Superior Rooms at the properties indicated in the accommodations area (We reserve the right to substitute a property of equal quality in advance of departure should the designated hotel be unavailable)
• Private Transfers to and from the airport at destination
• All meals as indicated on the itinerary by B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
• Private guides for city explorations and private driver/guide while traveling.
• Entrance fees to all museums, attractions and other venues as indicated on the daily itinerary
• Baggage handling at all hotels
• All applicable taxes and service fees

Services Not Included

• Airfare
  
• Beverages with included meals (unless otherwise indicated on itinerary page)
• Any meals not indicated on the Itinerary page
• Items of a personal nature e.g. minibar, film, postcards etc.
• Gratuities to Guides and Driver/Guides (we provide suggested guidelines for your selected destination in your pre-departure material)
• Any passport or visa fees or government departure taxes (It is the traveler’s responsibility to secure the latest informationregarding passports and visa requirements)

Available Year Round