MELBOURNE TO HORSHAM

Welcome to our tour to stunning Kangaroo Island. With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew. We travel past Ballarat to Ararat, where we break for lunch.  This afternoon, we take a scenic drive in the  Grampians National Park. We overnight in Horsham settling into our motel and freshening up for dinner.

OVERNIGHT:  Horsham International Hotel, HORSHAM 

HORSHAM TO NORMANVILLE

Before departing Horsham, we take a look at the town’s silos.  Artist Sam Bates, aka Smug, completed the Horsham Silo Art in May 2022  The mural is titled The Yangga Dyata which means 'Walking on Country'  and it stands proud celebrating the significant story of Yanggendyinanyuk, a Wotjobaluk warrior's story of leadership, resilience and significant legacy.  From Horsham we head to the town of Coonalpyn to admire the breathtaking images of 5 local children at play, painted on the town’s 30m-high Viterra grain silo by artist Guido Van Helten.  We now travel on to the “Heritage Town” of Strathalbyn. The railway reached Strathalbyn in 1884 and copper was smeltered in the district until 1914. Today the quaint town is popular for its architecture and pleasant atmosphere. We continue on to our lovely accommodation at the Lady Bay Hotel. 

OVERNIGHT:  Lady Bay Hotel, NORMANVILLE 

KANGAROO ISLAND ENTERPRISES

This morning, we take the scenic drive to Cape Jervis where we board the Sea Link ferry  across Backstairs Passage to Penneshaw on the eastern end of the Island. It takes just 50 minutes to complete the crossing.  As we disembark the ferry we board our coach and begin exploring the Dudley Peninsula. Our first stop is at Dudley Wines where we are spoilt with a wonderful outlook as we are lead in a tasting of their fabulous wines and enjoy a light lunch. Venturing on, we will be introduced to some unique Kangaroo Island ventures - the first one is Clifford’s Honey Farm for a honey ice cream and to learn about the unique Ligurian Bee. Very close by is Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Oil Distillery where we take a very interesting tour of the plant and equipment involved in producing eucalyptus oil and product. We now head to Kingscote, the island’s main town, where we check into our next three nights’ accommodation. 

OVERNIGHT: Aurora Ozone Hotel, Kingscote, KANGAROO ISLAND 

KANGAROO ISLAND WILDLIFE

We start the day travelling to Seal Bay for a chance to walk along the beach amongst the colony of Australian Sea Lions who live here all year round. It is an unforgettable experience to be guided by a National Parks Ranger, along the beach, within metres of the bulls, cows and seal pups as they rest on the beach. Next stop is Raptor Domain for their free-flight birds of prey demonstration. The show is interactive and a very rewarding experience. Raptor Domain will also be our lunch venue today before returning to Kingscote with some free time to take a look at the shops.

OVERNIGHT:  Aurora Ozone Hotel, Kingscote, KANGAROO ISLAND 

MORE OF KANGAROO ISLAND

After breakfast we can look forward to another interesting day on tour. Our morning visit is to Emu Bay Lavender Farm. We will enjoy morning tea here as well as a tour. Making our way towards the centre of the island now, we arrive at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park. There are approximately 600 animals in the park covering 150 species. Owners Sam and Dana have a long wildlife background and take pride in the opportunity to support conservation through the park. It is not often that the park is without young animals that have been injured, rejected or orphaned so there may be babies to cuddle or feed also. We have time to wander around the area and eat our picnic lunches. There is also a café on site for anything else we may feel like.  We end the day by seeing the iconic Remarkable Rocks, Cape du Couedic and Admirals Arch in Flinders Chase National Park. Today we find out how wide the island is and our afternoon is spent enjoying the scenery on the way back to our hotel.

OVERNIGHT:  Aurora Ozone Hotel, Kingscote, KANGAROO ISLAND 

VICTOR HARBOR

This morning we say farewell to Kangaroo Island and board the ferry at Penneshaw for our return journey to the mainland.  Back on board our coach, we head through to Victor Harbor. After lunch, we take the horse drawn tram across the causeway to Granite Island. We now have some time to explore “Victor” as the locals know it. 

OVERNIGHT:  McCracken Country Club, VICTOR HARBOR 

SPIRIT OF THE COORONG CRUISE

Following breakfast we travel through to the old river port town of Goolwa where we board the “Spirit of the Coorong” for an informative and relaxing luncheon cruise. Our cruise takes us along the riverbank as our Captain tells us of some of the history of the area. At the Goolwa Barrage we pass through the lock – keep an eye out for the resident fur seal colony! We’ll enjoy morning tea as we cruise down the final stretch of the Murray River to the Murray Mouth and across into the Coorong National Park. Passing a series of barrages our Captain explains the man-made weir and lock system before we stop for a guided walk to hear about the cockle industry and the Ngarrindjeri aboriginal people who lived in this area. Back on board, we’ll enjoy lunch as we cruise further into the Coorong, past the spectacular sand dunes and birdlife of the Younghusband Peninsula, with commentary by our captain on the passing features, bird-life and history as we go. Arriving at Long Point Wharf we farewell our Captain and re-join our coach for the onward journey to Mount Gambier.

OVERNIGHT:  Presidential Motel, MOUNT GAMBIER 

MOUNT GAMBIER TO MELBOURNE

We’ll take in the sights of this South Australian town; of particular interest are the craters of extinct volcanoes, including the famous “Blue Lakes”, the source of Mount Gambier’s water supply.  The volume of this fresh water lake neither diminishes nor gains and its water source is still unknown. We also visit the beautifully landscaped Umpherston Cave. Continuing our drive to the beautiful seaside city of Warrnambool, we stop for lunch on the shores of Lady Bay. More than 100 ships and boats were wrecked within 80 kilometres from Warrnambool, hence the current name for the area - The Shipwreck Coast. Our afternoon journey sees us travelling via Geelong, across the Westgate Bridge towards home. As always, our limousines will be there to greet us and return us safely to our doorstep – all part of the O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours superior service!