5 DAY FULLY INCLUSIVE TOUR
MONDAY 14TH MARCH TO FRIDAY 18TH MARCH
Are you yearning for the Yarra Valley?
When the Autumn leaves turn it brings a new beauty to this glorious region. Indulge in a tantalizing wine tasting. Take a stroll, take a photo or just take it all in. Enjoy a relaxing journey on Australia’s favourite steam train - ”The Puffing Billy” as you travel through the lush rainforest of the Dandenong Ranges. All of this among the Autumnal Splendour of the Yarra Valley.
TOUR MAP
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead, Alowyn Gardens, Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery, Marysville, Healesville Sanctuary, Rochford Winery, Blue Lotus Water Garden, Bruno’s Art and Sculpture Gardens, Alexandra Timber Tramway, Eildon, Mansfield Zoo and Rayner’s Orchard.
RAIL
Puffing Billy
MULTIPLE NIGHT STAYS
4 nights in Marysville
TOUR COSTS
Twin Share Room First Tour: $2,475 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 2 - 10 Tours: $2,450 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 11 - 20 Tours: $2,425 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 21+ Tours: $2,400 per person
Single Room Supplement: $250 per person
Deposit: $300 per person
As a thank you for travelling with O'Shannessy's Quality Tours, you will automatically receive a saving on the total tour price for your second and subsequent tours.
O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours will match single travellers who wish to twin share, with another single traveller of the same gender.
However, if this is not possible, you shall be provided with single accommodation at the twin share fare (no additional cost).
O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours will match single travellers who wish to twin share, with another single traveller of the same gender.
However, if this is not possible, you shall be provided with single accommodation at the twin share fare (no additional cost).
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ITINERARY
DAY 1: mondAY 14th march, 2022
MELBOURNE TO MARYSVILLE
Welcome to our 5 day tour to the Yarra Valley. This is a stunning area to be in at this time of year. With personal pickup from home, our journey this morning takes us to Wandin North to experience the history, elegance and beauty of Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead. Pioneer Henry Sebire, a stonemason, migrated from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, arriving in Melbourne in 1850. In 1867 Henry together with wife Martha and their children settled in Wandin Yallock, where Henry leased 80 acres of newly-surveyed Crown Land. They cleared the bush to grow food for the growing Melbourne population. We take a tour of the property and beautiful gardens and enjoy a lovely Devonshire morning tea. Our next stop is the beautiful Alowyn Gardens. What started out as a blackberry infested paddock has been designed with shade and comfort in mind and developed in six distinct areas. We have lunch here before heading to the Yarra Valley to visit the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery. We are welcomed with chocolate tastings, displays of thousands of premium chocolates and European chocolatiers at work handcrafting our creations. We then continue on to Marysville where we settle in to our hotel, our base for the duration of our tour.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
Welcome to our 5 day tour to the Yarra Valley. This is a stunning area to be in at this time of year. With personal pickup from home, our journey this morning takes us to Wandin North to experience the history, elegance and beauty of Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead. Pioneer Henry Sebire, a stonemason, migrated from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, arriving in Melbourne in 1850. In 1867 Henry together with wife Martha and their children settled in Wandin Yallock, where Henry leased 80 acres of newly-surveyed Crown Land. They cleared the bush to grow food for the growing Melbourne population. We take a tour of the property and beautiful gardens and enjoy a lovely Devonshire morning tea. Our next stop is the beautiful Alowyn Gardens. What started out as a blackberry infested paddock has been designed with shade and comfort in mind and developed in six distinct areas. We have lunch here before heading to the Yarra Valley to visit the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery. We are welcomed with chocolate tastings, displays of thousands of premium chocolates and European chocolatiers at work handcrafting our creations. We then continue on to Marysville where we settle in to our hotel, our base for the duration of our tour.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
day 2: tuesday 15th march, 2022
EXPLORING THE AREA
We travel first to the Healesville Sanctuary for a guided tour, a fantastic place to view native animals in their natural habitat including, hopefully, the mysterious Platypus in its nocturnal creek habitat. On then to Coldstream, to visit Rochford Winery featuring breathtaking panoramic views of the Great Dividing Range. We’ll indulge in wine tasting, relax over lunch and maybe take a wander around the grounds. Our last stop is Yarra Junction to visit the Blue Lotus Water Garden. There are 14 acres of display garden here with two lakes, an area of river flats that have been landscaped with eighty small ponds filled with over fifty varieties of lotus. The ponds contain hundreds of plants generating thousands of blooms daily and three smaller dams with hundreds of flowering water lilies and lotus edged by many exotic plants.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
We travel first to the Healesville Sanctuary for a guided tour, a fantastic place to view native animals in their natural habitat including, hopefully, the mysterious Platypus in its nocturnal creek habitat. On then to Coldstream, to visit Rochford Winery featuring breathtaking panoramic views of the Great Dividing Range. We’ll indulge in wine tasting, relax over lunch and maybe take a wander around the grounds. Our last stop is Yarra Junction to visit the Blue Lotus Water Garden. There are 14 acres of display garden here with two lakes, an area of river flats that have been landscaped with eighty small ponds filled with over fifty varieties of lotus. The ponds contain hundreds of plants generating thousands of blooms daily and three smaller dams with hundreds of flowering water lilies and lotus edged by many exotic plants.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
DAY 3: wednesday 16th march, 2022
MARYSVILLE
Established in 1863 as a stopover for diggers on the way to nearby goldfields, by the 1920s Marysville had evolved into a popular honeymoon and resort town. Mostly destroyed in the 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires the close-knit community is rebuilding their town. We visit Bruno’s Art and Sculpture Gardens. The garden began with just fifteen life sizes terracotta sculptures, today there are over one hundred and fifteen pieces on display and Bruno is still making regular additions. We spend some time visiting the Historic Photo Exhibition before lunch. Afterwards, we visit the Alexandra Timber Tramway and Museum. Although the trains won’t be operating today, we will be able to see a recreation of the bush sawmill and tramway era from 1900 to 1950 as well as industrial locomotives and rolling stock.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
Established in 1863 as a stopover for diggers on the way to nearby goldfields, by the 1920s Marysville had evolved into a popular honeymoon and resort town. Mostly destroyed in the 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires the close-knit community is rebuilding their town. We visit Bruno’s Art and Sculpture Gardens. The garden began with just fifteen life sizes terracotta sculptures, today there are over one hundred and fifteen pieces on display and Bruno is still making regular additions. We spend some time visiting the Historic Photo Exhibition before lunch. Afterwards, we visit the Alexandra Timber Tramway and Museum. Although the trains won’t be operating today, we will be able to see a recreation of the bush sawmill and tramway era from 1900 to 1950 as well as industrial locomotives and rolling stock.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
DAY 4: thursday 17th march, 2022
MANSFIELD ZOO
This morning we follow the Goulburn River to Eildon for views of Lake Eildon from the Dam Wall and the Skyline Road. Lake Eildon is one of the biggest lakes in the world today and can hold seven times as much water as Sydney Harbour. From here we skirt the lake and make our way to Mansfield and Mansfield Zoo, one of North East Victoria’s hidden secrets and an ideal stop for our picnic lunch. The zoo has a large collection of exotic and native animals on 30 acres of picturesque parkland featuring lovely views across the Delatite Valley to Mt Buller. As well as the resident white lions Djuma and Matimba, we’ll meet Hobbs, a mischievous capuchin monkey and Basil the chocolate camel, who loves to steal spades! Wander with Emily and Miss Greedy, the friendly fallow deer,
and Joey the Grey Kangaroo - just some of the animals who we’ll be able to interact with as we stroll around. From here we return to Marysville and our hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
This morning we follow the Goulburn River to Eildon for views of Lake Eildon from the Dam Wall and the Skyline Road. Lake Eildon is one of the biggest lakes in the world today and can hold seven times as much water as Sydney Harbour. From here we skirt the lake and make our way to Mansfield and Mansfield Zoo, one of North East Victoria’s hidden secrets and an ideal stop for our picnic lunch. The zoo has a large collection of exotic and native animals on 30 acres of picturesque parkland featuring lovely views across the Delatite Valley to Mt Buller. As well as the resident white lions Djuma and Matimba, we’ll meet Hobbs, a mischievous capuchin monkey and Basil the chocolate camel, who loves to steal spades! Wander with Emily and Miss Greedy, the friendly fallow deer,
and Joey the Grey Kangaroo - just some of the animals who we’ll be able to interact with as we stroll around. From here we return to Marysville and our hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Peppers Marysville, MARYSVILLE
DAY 5: friday 18th march, 2022
MARYSVILLE TO MELBOURNE
Time we headed for home, but first we’re in for a bit of fun today as we visit Rayner’s Orchard. We take a Fruit Tasting Tractor Tour before time to browse in the farm shop and perhaps stock up on some of their delights! This is also our lunch stop today. We then head to Lakeside in the Dandenongs where we take a ride from Lakeside to Belgrave on the historic “Puffing Billy” steam train. After our ride we head back to Melbourne where our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us to our very doors!
Time we headed for home, but first we’re in for a bit of fun today as we visit Rayner’s Orchard. We take a Fruit Tasting Tractor Tour before time to browse in the farm shop and perhaps stock up on some of their delights! This is also our lunch stop today. We then head to Lakeside in the Dandenongs where we take a ride from Lakeside to Belgrave on the historic “Puffing Billy” steam train. After our ride we head back to Melbourne where our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us to our very doors!
TOUR INCLUSIONS
Complimentary Chauffeur Driven Transfers
Victorian passengers from Greater Melbourne, Bendigo, Torquay, Ballarat, Geelong, the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas, Phillip Island and selected areas of Gippsland will be picked up from home in a private chauffeured vehicle by one of our professional drivers.
For Victorian passengers not within this pick up zone, or our interstate passengers a quote can be provided for home pickup in extended areas. At the end of your tour, you will be safely returned home with memories of a sensational tour.
Luxury Touring Coaches
Our full size, 3 axle luxury coaches have only 32-36 passenger seats allowing you even more personal space and extra leg room. Our coaches are fitted with comfortable reclining seats with aisle arm rests, foot rests, seat belts, panoramic windows with blinds, refrigerator for passenger use, restroom, climate control air conditioning and Road Cam monitors which display the road ahead in real time. Each coach has a second door for easier entry and exit and touchless hand sanitizer dispensers at each entry to help keep everyone safe.
Our coaches have full air suspension delivering a smooth and quiet ride which also allows us to lower the coach closer to the ground, making boarding and disembarking even easier.
Tour Directors
Dedicated O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach crew (tour directors) on board to ensure your travel experience is memorable.
Best Available Quality Accommodation
Ensuite motel accommodation each night.
Attractions
All tours and interest venues as per itinerary.
Meals
All full cooked breakfasts, morning teas most days, lunches and two course restaurant dinners daily.
No Hidden Extras
O'Shannessy's Quality Tours are fully inclusive.
“... Our spectacular Chocolaterie
is an indulgent feast for the senses …”
www.yvci.com.au
PAYMENT AND CANCELLATION POLICY
Receipt of payment of funds will be taken as acceptance of O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours conditions of travel for this tour. Prices include GST and all taxes.
Deposit is fully refundable until 46 days prior to departure date.
Balance due on invoice approximately 45 days prior to departure.
Cancellation 45 to 8 days before tour departure date, 20% Refund of Tour Cost.
Cancellation within 7 days of tour departure date, No Refund.
On or after tour date departure, No Refund.
If a tour is cancelled for any reason by O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours before the departure date, all passengers will be offered the option of transferring to another tour of their choice, hold the funds in trust for a future tour or a full refund. There is no time limit as to when this must be used. If a lockdown is implemented while a tour is in progress, our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and ensuring that we get each and every one of them home safely, and therefore we treat every situation individually. Travel insurance is not compulsory, however we highly recommend our passengers take out comprehensive travel insurance with a reputable provider at the time the balance of the tour is paid. Our office can provide contact information for companies we know are now providing travel insurance. It is a condition of travel that all passengers must be fully vaccinated against COVID19 unless medically exempt, and confirmation must be provided to our office upon payment of your invoice/booking.