Tour Highlights

• Economy airfare from major Canadian gateway cities

• Deluxe and rural accommodations

• Meals as per itinerary

• Attractions and visits as listed in itinerary

• Air conditioned transportation

• City & area tours

• Hosted by Select Holidays

Day 01 - Sat. Jan 25, 2025: DEPART FOR FLIGHT TO BRISBANE, AU
The tour begins with a flight from Canada/USA into Brisbane, Australia. [IFM]

Day 02 -Sun. Jan 26, 2025: LOSE THIS DAY
This is a lost day because of the International Date Line.  You will cross over the International Date Line once more and gain a day back on your return home.

Day 03 - Mon. Jan 27, 2025: ARRIVE BRISBANE, AU
Upon arrival at the Brisbane International Airport, clear Australian Customs. Visit to the “Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary” where you can see koalas, kangaroos and other amazing animals. Then transfer to the hotel with the balance of the time at leisure.    [IFM]

Day 04 - Tue. Jan 28, 2025: BRISBANE ~ TOOWOOMBA, AU
Depart Brisbane and travel west to a fertile area known as the Darling Downs. Visit one of the largest cattle feedlots in the region. A visit will also be arranged to visit a local rural supplies store – services include merchandise, livestock, horticulture, real estate, finance and insurance. This region is also the center for agricultural equipment dealerships – showcasing the equipment being used by farmers in the surrounding area. A visit to a local dealership will also be included. Check in to centrally located hotel in the city of Toowoomba for the night. Dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. [B/L]

Day 05- Wed. Jan 29, 2025: TOOWOOMBA ~ STANTHORPE, AU
Depart Toowoomba and travel to an area located to the southwest. Visit a family with a mixed cropping enterprise. Intensive cropping and irrigation practices have made this area of Queensland famous with both summer and winter crops such as cotton, soybeans, maize and sorghum, many grown utilising innovative water harvesting and production techniques. Further southeast, visit a leading breeder of stud Charolais and commercial composite beef cattle. Make a stop at Kent Saddlery for a workshop tour. This successful family business has a connection to the Outback and country people, built on servicing and their annual visits to Outback cattle stations for over 30 years. Arrive in the town of Stanthorpe and check in to our hotel. [B/L/D]

Day 06 - Thu. Jan 30, 2025: STANTHORPE ~ ARMIDALE, AU
Following the New England Highway (the inland highway connecting Brisbane to Sydney) to Guyra to visit a successful mixed livestock farmer, with cattle and sheep for both wool and meat. Arrive in the city of Armidale - at an elevation of almost 1,000 m above sea level, it is Australia’s highest city. Visit the University of New England’s Smart Farm & Innovation Centre – showcasing the latest on-site technologies for improving productivity, sustainability and support for Australian farms. Check into your centrally located accommodation for the night. [B/L]

Day 07 - Fri. Jan 31, 2025: ARMIDALE ~ SCONE, AU
Depart Armidale and travel to visit a leading family Poll Hereford and Merino breeding operation, which actively uses BREEDPLAN (a modern genetic evaluation system for beef cattle which is used by breed societies across the world). The family will share with you their strategies for managing their property under previous unseen drought conditions. Visit a large dairy with a Friesian herd. Then continue travelling to an area known as the Liverpool Plains, where there will be a visit to a successful cropping enterprise. Travel on to Scone – located in a very well-known area called the Hunter Valley. Check into hotel. [B/D]

Day 08 - Sat. Feb 01, 2025: SCONE - SYDNEY, AU
Depart Scone and continue the journey south towards Sydney. A visit to a thoroughbred stud farm in the Murrurundi area. The Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s famous wine regions. Enjoy wine tastings and lunch at a winery. Continue into Sydney and checking into the hotel, situated on the Darling Harbour, for a 2-night stay. [B/L]

Day 09 - Sun. Feb 02, 2025: SYDNEY, AU
Enjoy a morning cruise on the world's most beautiful Harbour, Sydney Harbour. The beauty and splendor of the Sydney Harbour, is something that has to be experienced first-hand - no picture or video can do justice to it. After lunch, take a tour of the world-famous “Sydney Opera House”. The balance of the afternoon and evening is free to explore on your own. [B]

Day 10: Mon. Feb 03, 2025: SYDNEY - LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA
Flight from Sydney (included in pricing) to Launceston, located in Tasmania’s north. Meet your local tour guide, who has knowledge and experience and will be with you for the duration of the tour. Private coach transfer to your accommodation, where you will stay for 2-nights. Enjoy some time to relax before re-grouping this evening for a welcome dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. [D]

Day 11: Tue. Feb 04, 2025: LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA
Today we will visit a family-run seedstock business - an Angus stud located near Longford. The family have also diversified the business with irrigated poppies, peas, potatoes and grass seed and the addition of prime lambs. We will visit the historical Woolmers Estate, which will provide a special journey through time, from the establishment of the estate in 1817 to the last descendant of the Archer family in 1994. There will be a guided tour of the house, followed by some free time to visit the outbuildings, historical machinery and rose garden. Lunch in the Estate’s Restaurant. Visit a hazelnut grove for a guided tour and tasting. Planting of the hazelnut grove began in 2005, and since then it has become one of the largest groves in Australia with around 5,000 trees. The grove currently produces in excess of 10 tonnes of in-shell product each year. Return to Launceston and enjoy some leisure time to explore the city or perhaps take a walk to Cataract Gorge and Cliff Grounds. [B/L]

Day 12: Wed. Feb 05, 2025: LAUNCESTON - DEVONPORT, TASMANIA
Depart hotel after breakfast and travel to Elizabeth Town to visit Ashgrove Cheese – a producer of award-winning Cheddar style cheeses, crafting authentic cheeses by hand on the farm. The innovative nature of this business has resulted in the creation of an additional range of unique flavoured cheeses using locally grown flavouring ingredients. Enjoy a cheese tasting. Heading north, stop at the House of Anvers – where Belgian chocolate skills and Tasmania’s fresh, clean climate combine to create a supreme chocolate experience. Near Ulverstone, visit a pickled onion factory – a family-owned business which has been producing pickled onions grown in Tasmania since 1999. Enjoy lunch in their onsite café. The family also have a vineyard, so there will be a wine tasting too. Finish the day with a cider tasting at an apple orchard near Spreyton, which produces ciders from 100% Tasmanian apples and pears. Later arrive in Devonport for overnight and check in to accommodation for a 1-night stay. [B/L/D]

Day 13: Thu. Feb 06, 2025: DEVONPORT - STRAHAN, TASMANIA
After breakfast travel south through interesting and fertile farmlands to Sheffield, the Town of Murals. Short stop to see the pioneer theme murals painted on many of the old buildings throughout the town. Continue through rugged mountain country to Cradle Mountain, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and one of the scenic highlights of any visit to Tasmania. Board a shuttle bus for the drive to view the spectacular Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background. After lunch there will be a visit and guided tour of Devils @ Cradle, a unique Tasmanian conservation facility focusing on Tasmania's three carnivorous marsupials, the eastern and spotted - tail quoll and the Tasmanian devil. Later continue the journey onto Strahan, located on the rugged West Coast of Tasmania. Dinner tonight in the hotel’s restaurant, offering stunning views of Strahan and Macquarie Harbour. [B/L/D]

Day 14: Fri. Feb 07, 2025: STRAHAN, TASMANIA
After breakfast depart on a cruise (with lunch) across the unspoilt Macquarie Harbour, with a view of notorious Hell’s Gates and then on to enter the Gordon River. This is pristine wilderness rainforest, highlighting leatherwood, sassafras, myrtle, blackwood and, of course, the fabled long-lived Huon Pine. At Heritage Landing take a walk on an elevated boardwalk that threads its way through the rainforest. On the return journey stop at Sarah Island, once a dreaded penal settlement and at one time the largest boat building enterprise in the British Colonies. Walk amongst the ruins as your guide recounts stories about convicts, soldiers, settlers and the shipwrights who lived and worked here. Return to Strahan with some free time to enjoy this picturesque village with its rich pioneering heritage. Early evening regather at the Richard Davey Amphitheatre for the enactment of “The Ship That Never Was”; a live professional theatre production that tells the dramatic and hilarious story of the great escape from Sarah Island. Dinner at a local restaurant. [B/L]

Day 15: Sat. Feb 08, 2025: STRAHAN - HOBART, TASMANIA
Enjoy a scenic drive through Queenstown and on to Derwent Bridge. Visit the “Wall in the Wilderness”, where carved three-metre-high wooden panels, created by artist Greg Duncan, commemorate the people who helped shape the past and present of Tasmania’s Central Highlands. Visit a 6th generation Tasmanian farmer near Hamilton, who will share some information about farming practices in Tasmania and changes he has seen over the years. Other topics such as sheep production (both meat and wool production), intensive cropping enterprises - opium poppies, vegetable seed crops of onions/carrots/cabbage and pasture crops, and sustainable farming practices will also be discussed. Enjoy a BBQ lunch with your hosts. Afterwards, journey down the Derwent Valley to Hobart and check into your well-located hotel for a 2-night stay. [B/L]

Day 16: Sun. Feb 09, 2025: HOBART, TASMANIA
The day will be spent to the east of Hobart – in an area known as the Tasman Peninsula. Visit a successful company farm where the cool, temperate climate allows them to grow their baby salad leaves all year round. They are the only critical care salad producer in Australia growing the majority of their salad on their own farms. Visit the World Heritage listed Port Arthur historic site – where the buildings are a living reminder of Australia’s convict past, dating from 1840. There will be time for an introductory guided walk, lunch and a short harbour cruise with commentary. Depart, with enroute views of three scenic iconic sites: Tasman Arch, the Devil’s Kitchen and the historic Eaglehawk Neck, before visiting the Bangor Vineyard Shed, to enjoy a wine tasting accompanied by a tasting platter of local produce. Return to Hobart and then onto Mt. Wellington (weather & time permitting) for spectacular views of Hobart and the surrounding area. There will be a farewell dinner this evening. There will be a farewell dinner this evening. [B/L/D]

Day 17: Mon. Feb 10, 2025: HOBART, TASMANIA - BRISBANE
Breakfast in the hotel. Private coach transfer to Hobart Airport for Brisbane. Overnight at an airport hotel.

Day 18: Tue. Feb 11, 2025: END OF TOUR / FLIGHTS BACK TO CANADA/USA
Depart Austrailia for homeward flight. Due to crossing back over the International Date Line, you will arrive North American this same day. [B/IFM]

PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY/including airfare - CANADIAN DOLLARS:
$18,860.00 CAD
PLUS AIR/GOV'T TAXES OF $1,142.00 PER PERSON

Single Occupancy - ADD $3,680.00 CAD to the double occupancy pricing
Initial Deposit - $3,500.00 per person at time of booking
Second Deposit of $3,500.00 per person is due before June 30, 2024
Final Payment per person is due before October 04, 2024

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