Carnival of Cherries

2024

5 DAY FULLY INCLUSIVE TOUR

THURSDAY 28TH NOVEMBER TO MONDAY 2ND DECEMBER


This celebration of cherries is a fabulous festival set in the “Hilltops Region” of New South Wales.


This iconic celebration event showcases the famous Cherry with a Festival Street Parade, Christmas Street Market, Cherry Pie eating championships, live music, drum and pipe bands and a Young and Region Fresh Farmers Market as well as fringe events and much, much more. Plus the opportunity to bring home some delicious cherries, perfect for your Christmas time celebrations.

 

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS


Benalla Street Art, Wagga Wagga, Junee, Monte Cristo Homestead, Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory, Young, National Cherry Festival, Allambie Cherry and Plum Orchard, Altina Wildlife Park, Rocking Horse Restorations, Leeton, Wollundry Grove Olives and Wangaratta.

MULTIPLE NIGHT STAYS
4 nights in Wagga Wagga



TOUR COSTS

Twin Share Room First Tour: $2,695 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 2 - 10 Tours: $2,670 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 11 - 20 Tours: $2,645 per person
Twin Share Room Repeat Traveller 21+ Tours: $2,620 per person
Single Room Supplement: $320 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.
 
In most cases, 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'Shanessy's Quality Tours are now providing travel insurance through Nib Insurance.


Travel insurance is not compulsory, however the Australian Government (see www.smarttraveller.gov.au) recommends all travellers no matter where you are going, obtain comprehensive travel insurance from a reputable provider at the time the balance of the tour is to be paid. It may enable you to claim back the cost of your tour if you are unable to travel or must cancel at late notice.

​Always read the PDS provided, to ensure the cover meets your needs.

MAP

ITINERARY

  • DAY 1: THURSDAY 28TH NOVEMBER, 2024

    MELBOURNE TO WAGGA WAGGA


    Welcome to our special tour to the National Cherry Festival. With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew. Following morning tea, we make our way to Benalla, known for its vibrant street art scene. We'll take a drive around the town, marvelling at the murals painted by artists from around the world on bare walls, some of them over three stories high. After lunch, we continue on to Wagga Wagga, home for the next four nights.


    OVERNIGHT: Mercure Wagga Wagga, WAGGA WAGGA


  • DAY 2: FRIDAY 29TH NOVEMBER, 2024

    EXPLORING WAGGA AND THE AREA


    Located on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, Wagga Wagga was named by the original inhabitants, the Wiradjuri people and means crow. Repeating it means crows, hence a place of many crows. We meet up with a local guide who will take us on a tour of this scenic township. We then head to Junee and step back in time at Monte Cristo Homestead to taste life from a bygone era. This historic homestead showcases a fascinating collection of fine antiques and a renowned horse drawn carriage collection. It’s also home to 10 resident ghosts! Next, we are off to the Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory. Here they manufacture organic liquorice, one of only three certified organic liquorice manufacturers in the world! After lunch here we take a drive past the splendid Railway Station which is a reminder of the important regional role that Junee played in the hey-day of the Steam Train Era, before returning to Wagga Wagga.


    OVERNIGHT: Mercure Wagga Wagga, WAGGA WAGGA 


  • DAY 3: SATURDAY 30TH NOVEMBER, 2024

    YOUNG CHERRY TIME


    Today is all about “cherries” so after breakfast, we drive to Young - "the Cherry Capital of Australia". Young will be at the height of the cherry picking season - it’s the largest cherry growing area in the Southern Hemisphere with an annual production in excess of 500,000 cases!  On our arrival, we’ll enjoy a brief locally guided tour so we can familiarise ourselves with today’s programme. Key events include a Cherry Pie eating contest, Cherry Pip Spit, Cherry Festival Street Parade, Markets, Busking Competitions and Dog Trials.  We have some free time to enjoy some of these festivities before heading to the Allambie Cherry and Plum Orchard. We enjoy lunch – and here’s a hint… make sure you leave room for the cherry pie! We have the opportunity to look through the packing shed as well as picking our own cherries (paid for by the kilo at Market Rates - own expense). Returning to town, we watch the Street Parade before heading back to Wagga Wagga for a slightly later dinner. What a great day!!


    OVERNIGHT: Mercure Wagga Wagga, WAGGA WAGGA


  • DAY 4: SUNDAY 1ST DECEMBER, 2024

    A DAY IN THE SHIRES


    Following breakfast, we head directly to the Altina Wildlife Park. This safari-style park is home to a range of exotic animals. We will be given a guided tour around the park whilst travelling in horse-drawn or motorised carts.  Later this morning, we travel north to visit local identity, Libby Bailey of Rocking Horse Restorations. During a drought Libby took up rocking horse restoration to ward off depression when all on the farm had dried up - a true example of country ingenuity! The Bailey’s have also amassed quite a collection of other things such as hand tools and antique items amongst the lovingly restored rocking horses themselves. Libby will provide us with lunch and a tour of her work. From here we travel to Leeton. The town is a showcase of contemporary rural Australia with many examples of Art Deco architecture, diverse agriculture and renowned country hospitality. At the Visitors Information Centre, we are welcomed with a Taste of Leeton. We round out our day when a local guide joins us for a tour of town.


    OVERNIGHT:  Mercure Wagga Wagga, WAGGA WAGGA


  • DAY 5: MONDAY 2ND DECEMBER, 2024

    WAGGA WAGGA TO MELBOURNE


    We visit Wollundry Grove Olives this morning where we will meet the growers, walk through the trees, learn about the history of Wollundry Grove and the production process of producing award winning olive oil and olives, and sample all of their products! Then it’s back on board to start the drive home, stopping at Wangaratta for our last lunch together. We arrive home late afternoon where as always, our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us safely home to our door - all part of O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours superior service.


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, all lunches and two course restaurant dinners daily.


No Hidden Extras

O'Shannessy's Quality Tours are fully inclusive.

 

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 31 days before tour departure date  20% Refund of Tour Cost

Cancellation within 30 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. The Australian Government (see www.smarttraveller.gov.au) recommends all travellers no matter where you are going, obtain comprehensive travel insurance from a reputable provider. It may enable you to claim back the cost of your tour if you are unable to travel or have to cancel at late notice. Always read the PDS provided, to ensure the cover meets all of your needs. We are able to provide travel insurance through Nib Insurance. If you would like a quote please call our office toll free on 1800 354 352.

 

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