Australia: Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians

Arrive in Melbourne

Melbourne Airport (MEL) to your hotel in the city centre

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Melbourne
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

The afternoon is yours: rest after the flight, or ride a tram along Swanston Street to get your bearings. At 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the lobby for a short briefing on the days ahead: the one long coast day, the early start for the Twelve Apostles at sunrise, what to pack for weather that can turn in an hour, and how the walks come with an easier and a harder choice.

Soir

Then we walk together through Federation Square, opposite Flinders Street Station, and along the Yarra River to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner. The dietary needs from your booking have already been passed on, so there is nothing to explain at the table. We are back at the hotel by about 9 pm, ready for an unhurried start.

Compris

• Pick-up at Melbourne Airport (MEL)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Walk through Federation Square and along the Yarra River
• Welcome dinner

Laneways, coffee and the Yarra Valley

Melbourne's laneways on foot, then Healesville and a Yarra Valley winery, then back to Melbourne

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Melbourne
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at a Yarra Valley winery, with a tasting of the valley's cool-climate wines, pinot noir and chardonnay among them.

Soir

We are back in the city by about 5 pm, and the evening is free: the laneway bars and restaurants are a short walk from the hotel.

Compris

• Guided laneways and arcades walk in Melbourne, with a coffee
• Healesville Sanctuary entry
• Sit-down lunch and wine tasting at a Yarra Valley winery

The Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles

Melbourne to Torquay, Lorne and Apollo Bay, then Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Port Campbell
• Environ 5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Apollo Bay, facing the harbour. In the afternoon we walk the Maits Rest boardwalk in Great Otway National Park, under myrtle beech and tree ferns, then cross farm country to the limestone coast. At about 310 km and close to five hours of driving, this is the one day over our cap, because the road itself is the sightseeing: no stretch runs much past an hour without a stop.

Soir

We check in at Port Campbell, then go back to the Twelve Apostles for sunset, when the stacks turn gold and the day-trip coaches have gone.

Compris

• The Great Ocean Road from Torquay with your guide: the Memorial Arch, Split Point Lighthouse, Lorne and Kennett River
• Sit-down lunch in Apollo Bay
• Maits Rest rainforest walk in Great Otway National Park
• The Twelve Apostles at sunset

Activités en option

• A short helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles, booked locally, with the price shown at booking

Apostles at sunrise, Loch Ard Gorge and the Grampians

Port Campbell to the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Peterborough and Tower Hill, then Dunkeld and Halls Gap

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Halls Gap
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

Wake-up is around 5:15 am for the one sunrise of the trip: we are at the Twelve Apostles before first light, about 6 am in midsummer, with hardly anyone else there. Back in Port Campbell for breakfast, then the rest of the limestone coast while it is still quiet: down the Gibson Steps to the beach below the cliffs, and Loch Ard Gorge, named after the clipper wrecked here in 1878 with only two survivors. West of town is London Bridge, whose span fell into the sea in 1990. If the sea or the clock is against us, the Bay of Islands near Peterborough is the stop we drop, so Halls Gap still comes before dark.

Après-midi

Late morning we turn inland to Tower Hill, a wildlife reserve inside the crater of a dormant volcano, where emus and koalas are often close to the path, with lunch in Warrnambool. From Dunkeld the sandstone ranges of the Grampians (Gariwerd) rise ahead.

Soir

We reach Halls Gap at about 3:30 pm for a rest, then drive up to Reeds Lookout and walk to the Balconies above the Victoria Valley in evening light, with kangaroos grazing at dusk.

Compris

• The Twelve Apostles at sunrise
• The Gibson Steps, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge in Port Campbell National Park
• Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve
• Sit-down lunch in Warrnambool
• Reeds Lookout and the Balconies walk in Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park

Activités en option

• The Bay of Islands in Bay of Islands Coastal Park near Peterborough, a short stop when time and the sea allow

The Pinnacle, MacKenzie Falls and back to Melbourne

Halls Gap to the Pinnacle and MacKenzie Falls, then Ballarat and Melbourne Airport (MEL)

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

After a late breakfast in Halls Gap we drive the short way to MacKenzie Falls, where the river drops over a sandstone ledge into a pool; walk down the steep stepped track to the base, or take the easy path to the lookout above.

Après-midi

At about 11:30 am we head east on the Western Highway, past Stawell and Ararat, to Ballarat, the gold-rush city, for a sit-down farewell lunch. From there it is about an hour and a quarter to Melbourne Airport (MEL), arriving around 3:45 pm. Your guide checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 6:30 pm, or we can drop you at a city hotel instead.

Compris

• The Pinnacle walk with your guide
• MacKenzie Falls in Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park
• Sit-down farewell lunch in Ballarat
• Drop-off at Melbourne Airport (MEL) or a city hotel