MELBOURNE TO MILDURA

Welcome to our tour to South Australia’s Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas! With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew. This morning, we join the Sunraysia Highway through the Pyrenees Ranges to Donald, where we’ll stop for our lunch break. This afternoon we continue through the Wimmera-Mallee region arriving in Mildura late afternoon.

OVERNIGHT:  Best Western Chaffey International Motor Inn, MILDURA

MILDURA TO CLARE

We make our way into South Australia this morning, stopping briefly in Waikerie to see the first example of the popular silo art of our trip. We head through the historic river port of Morgan to Burra, classified by the National Trust. In the early 1800’s, Cornish and Welsh miners flocked to Burra to work for the South Australian Mining Association and some set up homes in the dugouts hewn out of the banks of the Burra Creek. After a tour of this historical town we travel on to Clare, in the heart of one of South Australia’s premier wine regions.

OVERNIGHT:  Clare Country Club, CLARE

CLARE TO PORT PIRIE

This morning we drive to Ardrossan on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula. The beautiful, blue waters of the Gulf St Vincent contrast with the patchwork of grain fields produce the world's best barley and abundant crops of other cereals, such as wheat and oats. At Ardrossan we stop to enjoy gulf views from the top of the cliffs on which the town is built before a visit to the fascinating Ardrossan Heritage Museum, housed in what was originally a factory established in 1880 to manufacture the “stump jump” plough and other agricultural equipment. Next stop is Minlaton. It was here the Australian Barley Board (which has handled the sale of barley grown in South Australia and Victoria since 1947) evolved. We stop for a visit to the Captain Harry Butler Memorial, a glass hangar containing a static display of the Captain`s famous monoplane "Red Devil" and celebrates his life and achievements. From here we head through Maitland and onto Moonta – “Australia’s little Cornwall” – for a brief stop. The ceiling at the Moonta Railway Station is an interesting example of a pressed metal ceiling, which was commonplace at the time of construction. Also located within the grounds is a fully restored 105mm Light Field Howitzer used in WWI. We’ll then travel through Port Broughton to Port Pirie, our overnight destination.

OVERNIGHT: John Pirie Motor Inn, PORT PIRIE

PORT PIRIE TO PORT LINCOLN

Departing Port Pirie we begin our touring on the Eyre Peninsula. We’ll shortly pass through Whyalla - the Cuttlefish Capital of the World!!  The pristine waters of the Gulf have also enabled the Eyre Peninsula to produce some of the best Oysters in Australia. Further south at Cowell, we’ll stop for lunch, before continuing south along the Lincoln Highway to Tumby Bay stopping to observe, painted on the town silos, the two best things about the region: beaches and art! Arriving into Port Lincoln we check into our hotel, our base for the next three nights.

OVERNIGHT:  Port Lincoln Hotel, PORT LINCOLN

EXPLORING PORT LINCOLN

Port Lincoln is located on one of the world’s largest protected natural harbours. Boston Bay stretches from the tip of the Port Lincoln National Park to Point Boston and covers an area more than 3½ times the size of Sydney Harbour and this morning a local expert  joins us for a tour of the area. We see the massive grain silos and hear all about the multi-million-dollar fishing industry Port Lincoln is home to. After our tour, we have time for our morning break before visiting the Fresh Fish Place where we take the behind the scenes tour of the multi fish species processing factory.  Lunchtime now so we have some free time in the main precinct to explore the shops. The afternoon is free to relax at the hotel or some of us may choose to stay in town: it is just a short walk to our hotel.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT: Port Lincoln Hotel, PORT LINCOLN

WHALERS WAY AND BOSTON BAY

Just 30 minutes south of the city and located on private property, Whalers Way offers sensational coastal views from the very tip of the Eyre Peninsula. Returning to Port Lincoln, we enjoy lunch at the Marina Hotel. This afternoon, we join Calypso Star Charters to learn more about the history of the fishing industry in Port Lincoln. This tour covers no more than 900m on a round trip and can be done from the comfort of the coach or a walk. Following this tour we have the chance of seafood tastings as we cruise the canals of the Lincoln Cove Marina, Porter Bay, Boston Bay, Port Lincoln National Park and Boston Island.  Within Boston Bay there are aquaculture sites for king fish, tuna and mussels.

OVERNIGHT: Port Lincoln Hotel, PORT LINCOLN

PORT LINCOLN TO PORT AUGUSTA

Some of the most rugged and dramatic coastline on the Eyre Peninsula is along the west coast where we are headed today.  We look at the pretty town of Coffin Bay, located on the shores of one of the most beautiful estuaries in Australia and surrounded by National and Conservation Parks. We enjoy a brief stop for morning tea before continuing north along the Flinders Highway to Elliston.  This really is a stunning area, particularly the appropriately named Great Ocean Drive – a section of cliff top roadway with some remarkable views of the Great Australian Bight and Waterloo Bay. Once in Elliston, a local will join us to show us the beautiful coastline and tell us some of the history about the area, then we’ll enjoy an early BBQ lunch. This afternoon we travel to Kyancutta, join the Eyre Highway and head east. The Viterra silos at Kimba used to be just another silo on the map, but they’ve been transformed with a stunning mural by Melbourne large-scale artist Cam Scale. This project took a little under a year from concept to completion and it’s easy to see the love and hard work that went into bringing it to life. We’ll stop for a look before continuing on to our overnight stop in Port Augusta, located at the very top of Spencer Gulf.  Known as the "Crossroads of Australia” Port Augusta is the junction for major trans-continental transport services. Passenger rail services The Indian Pacific, which travels between Sydney and Perth and The Ghan which serves Alice Springs and Darwin, both stop at Port Augusta, as do the main east west and north south highways.

OVERNIGHT: Standpipe Golf Motor Inn, PORT AUGUSTA

PORT AUGUSTA TO ADELAIDE

We depart Port Augusta this morning heading towards Adelaide. We stop along the way to visit Bungaree Station, a living record of rural Australia. Established in 1841, it became the headquarters to an extensive sheep station with 100 thousand merino sheep by the 1880s. We enjoy a guided tour with a member of the family who will give us a wonderful insight into 19th century station life. We will visit sites which include St Michael’s Church and Cemetery, the Homestead gardens and the Station Store.  We also have lunch here.  This afternoon we arrive in Adelaide with plenty of time to relax and settle into our overnight accommodation.

OVERNIGHT: Hilton International, ADELAIDE

ADELAIDE TO MOUNT GAMBIER

We travel along the Coorong National Park stopping at Kingston South East for lunch. This afternoon we drive via the seaside towns of Beachport and Robe. On arrival into Mt Gambier we take a tour of the local sights including a visit to the Blue Lake and Umpherston Cave before settling into our accommodation for the night.

OVERNIGHT:  Quality Inn Presidential, MT GAMBIER

MOUNT GAMBIER TO MELBOURNE

Following an early breakfast, we begin our journey back to Melbourne. We cross over the border into Victoria and the very picturesque area of the great volcanic plain of Victoria’s Western District, surrounded by crater lakes and volcanic cones. As we cross the “great volcanic plain” we travel alongside miles of fascinating dry-stone walls which are a feature of the countryside and known as the stony rises. The walls were built in the 1860s by highly skilled “wallers” from Ireland and Scotland.  We continue on to Melbourne. As always, our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us home to our very doors  - a great end to a great holiday.