MELBOURNE TO TOOWOOMBA

Welcome to our holiday to the fantastic Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. With chauffeured pickup from home, we travel to Melbourne Airport. Here we’ll be greeted by an O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours representative who will assist us with check in and see us onto the plane for our direct flight to Brisbane. Arriving at Brisbane Airport, we will be welcomed by our coach crew who will assist us with our luggage, before we board the coach for the drive to Toowoomba.  We’ll be staying here for the next six nights, so there’s only need to unpack once!

Lunch at own expense and arrangement / Refreshments on flight

OVERNIGHT:  Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

TOOWOOMBA PARKS

This morning we get into the spirit of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers with a visit to   the Botanic Gardens in Queens Park where we can explore the beautiful displays. From here we make our way to the Toowoomba Visitor Information Centre, a beautiful "Queenslander" building based on a late 1800s style Toowoomba house. It features stained-glass motifs of the "Toowoomba" violet; which you can best enjoy by going inside. Next, we head to the spectacular Laurel Bank Park which provides a majestic oasis with manicured gardens, topiary and many other points of interest. Early afternoon, we take in one of the most beautiful and peaceful parks in Toowoomba, the University of Southern Queensland’s Japanese Garden, Ju Raku En. Roughly translated, means ‘to enjoy peace and longevity in a public place’. Embarking on a self-guided tour we can take a look at the many species of Japanese and Australian native trees and plants combined in a seamless and restful harmony. Our final visit for the day is the Toowoomba Empire Theatre. The theatre is a magnificent building that has been carefully restored to its 1933 origin. We enjoy a historical tour of the Theatre including some amusing and interesting stories of the early years. After a full and interesting day, we return to our hotel to freshen up for dinner.

OVERNIGHT: Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

SPRINGTIME IN TOOWOOMBA

This morning we take a diesel-hauled train ride out to Spring Bluff Railway Station and have some time to look through the magnificent gardens of poppies, ranunculus, stock, snapdragons, petunias and many other annuals bursting into colour under the warm sunshine. Next, Peacehaven Botanic Park, set in the leafy suburb of Highfields and home to more than 400 different species of native plants and scores of birds and wildlife. We now head back into town where we can have some free time to wander and purchase lunch. This afternoon we explore some of Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers local gardens that are open during the festival. We’ll be accompanied by a local expert who will give us an insider’s rundown of these spectacular garden displays!

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT: Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

ALLORA AND GLENGALLAN

Heading out from Toowoomba we drive to Allora where we see the Heritage listed Mary Poppins House. Built in 1879, the house incorporated the local bank, and in 1905 was home to bank manager Travers Goff, whose daughter Helen would go on to create one of the most beloved children's characters - Mary Poppins. Our next stop is Glengallan Homestead, where we stop for lunch. Uninhabited for more than half its lifetime, it remains frozen in time and is one of the few remaining examples of a substantial 19th century country house in Queensland. Glengallan Homestead today is a tribute not only to its visionary builder and to 19th Century craftsmen but also to the 21st Century team who brought it back to life through this delicately balanced restoration enables the visitor to experience the best and the worst of its times. This afternoon we’ll stop to visit the Abbey Boutique Hotel (formerly the Abbey of the Roses), a beautifully restored former Our Lady of Assumption Convent completed in 1891.  It is now regarded as number 1 of the top ten places to get married in Queensland!  We enjoy a guided tour then afternoon tea and time to explore the beautiful gardens. We then make our way back to our motel for dinner.

OVERNIGHT:  Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

THE GRAND CENTRAL FLORAL PARADE

Today is Grand Parade Day! We’ll arrive early and make our way to our seats for Australia’s most unique Street Parade - the Grand Central Floral Parade. Spectacular floats decorated with live flowers, fitting the chosen theme for the year, plus Bands, Marching Groups and Carnival Characters. The Parade winds through the city and we’ll enjoy it from a prime viewing location on reserved tiered seating.  We then make our way to the famous Picnic Point Lookout. Perched on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, it provides an amazing view of the Lockyer Valley and Tabletop Mountain. Later this afternoon, we head back to our motel to relax a little before an early dinner. This evening, we take a Twilight Tour of Laurel Bank Park. 

OVERNIGHT: Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

MORE OF TOOWOOMBA

This morning we visit the Downs Steam Heritage Rail for a tour of the facility including a look at the spectacular Dreamtime Journey coach, representing the traverse of a day, painted by an indigenous inmate of the Westbrook Correctional Centre as part of his prison rehabilitation program. We also enjoy a delicious morning tea in the dining car.  From here we make our way to Toowoomba's most notable tourist attraction, the Cobb & Co Museum, which is part of the Queensland Museum. It is more comprehensive than its name suggests and traces the history of horse drawn transportation in Australia from old timber wagons, spring wagons and bullock drays through to the Cobb & Co coaches and a landau used by the Duke of Edinburgh when he visited the colony in 1876. We enjoy a guided tour while we are here as well as our light lunch. This afternoon, we visit the Clivia Show along with the Australian Native Plant Show which are both situated behind the museum. There will be some free time to wander through the city centre – there are plenty of displays on offer, so take your time and explore!  At a nominated time, we’ll return to our motel to freshen up for dinner.

OVERNIGHT:  Potters Boutique Hotel, TOOWOOMBA

TOOWOOMBA TO MELBOURNE

Sadly, our holiday is coming to an end. After breakfast we make our way back to Brisbane Airport for our flight to Melbourne. Upon arrival, our chauffeurs will be waiting to transport us home with many interesting stories to tell of our Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers adventure.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement / Refreshments on flight