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Ballarat Discovery Tour
Tour
The Ararat and Western Ranges Discovery Tour lets you discovery a wild nature and heritage experience of the Western and Pyrenees ranges of central Victoria, visiting Mount Buangor State Park to view the black wallaby, red necked wallaby and numerous native birds flying overhead as you walk along the fern track walk to see the waterfalls. Next you drive along a four-wheel-drive track for vistas of the surrounding countryside and valleys of the Mount Buangor State Park before going into Mount Langi Ghiran State Park, to see unique wildflowers, an Aboriginal art site and wild nature. Before you enter Ararat, the tour will stop off for some wine tasting at Langi Ghiran winery. The cellar door has fabulous vistas of the surrounding mountains. In Ararat, the tour will visit the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre which tells the story about the Chinese gold miners who found the rich Canton Lead on the Ararat goldfields. After lunch the drive will venture into the Pyrenees Ranges to see wild nature and views of the countryside before entering Avoca to discover the gold and wine heritage of the Pyrenees region. This tour is Ecotourism Certified.
The Bendigo Discovery Tour takes you on a journey of the gold rush city of Bendigo. Bendigo in the 1880's, was deemed the richest city in the world, the goldmines descended over a kilometre beneath the surface to get the gold from the quartz reefs. The Bendigo Discovery Tour takes you to the iconic places of Bendigo, showing you the heritage buildings and 1850's gold rush sites, as well as modern Bendigo that has made this such a grand city. Descend underground at the Central Deborah Goldmine with your guide to see how the gold was mined, then travel on the vintage trams that travel along Pall Mall and other city streets to view the 19th Century streetscape grandeur. Discover the life of the Chinese miners at the Golden Dragon Museum and Bendigo Joss House. Visit Bendigo Pottery, the oldest pottery in Australia, see how the pottery was made and view the original kilns. Bendigo is surrounded by the Bendigo National Park and Bendigo Regional Park, walk through Box-Ironbark forests with your Eco-guide, to see native fauna and flora. Finish the day off by tasting the fabulous wine at Balgownie Estate. This tour is Ecotourism Certified.
The Pyrenees Wine Tour takes you to the Pyrenees Ranges wine region in central Victoria. The ranges provide a stunning backdrop to a region that amply rewards those seeking wines of character and interest. The Pyrenees is famous for its high quality boutique wines of the French Bordeaux variety. Fragrant Shiraz and complex Cabernet Sauvignon excel through the region. Although traditionally a red wine region, the wineries are now producing high quality Sparkling Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling on tasting. Varietals such as Sangiovese, and Tempranillo are also emerging from a number of the wineries. The intimacy of the area is evident when visiting any of the wineries within the region. The winemakers are often on hand to discuss their personal wine styles with visitors. The tour takes you to signature James Halliday five star wineries for tastings, Lunch at a winery restaurant or similar with a glass of red or white wine. Contact the Golden Nugget Discovery Tours for more information.
This six day signature small group personalised tour lets you experience many regions of Victoria. The theme of this tour is nature orientated, so you will visit many National Parks and have numerous wildlife encounters. Discover Victoria's gold rush in the Goldfields region, from the streetscapes of Ballarat and Bendigo and in buildings of Maryborough Railway Station and the Market Building in Castlemaine. Daylesford/Hepburn Springs are in the middle of Australia's largest concentration of mineral springs, taste the different mineral formulations at old-fashioned pumps. Explore the Murray River, on an Ecotourism cruise to learn of the natural wonders of the river. In Swan Hill explore the Pioneer Settlement to have a glimpse of life as an early settler. Travel through the Wimmera/Mallee to experience Lake Tyrrell and the Silo Art Trail. At Lake Tyrrell see the lake from a viewing platform, and The Silo Art Trail consists of many wheat silos painted by various artists. Venture into the Grampians to see wildlife and the most iconic natural attractions from Mackenzie waterfalls, to the Balconies lookout. You'll cross the Victorian Volcanic Plains, the 3rd largest volcanic plains in the world, see the plains and lakes from the top of extinct volcanos.
The Ballarat City Walking Tours lets you discover this enchanting city with its magnificent architecture on this fully guided walking tour. Your guide will bring to life the golden history and heritage of Ballarat as you stroll along the streets of this city built on gold. Walk amongst the gardens and statues of Sturt Street, the old law courts and galleries of Camp Street, the heritage buildings of Lydiard Street including the magnificent Railway Station. This is the only Ballarat walking tour that includes the Ballarat Orphanage Museum in Ludbrook House. Your walk will conclude with morning tea in the splendor of Craigs Royal Hotel.
The Ballarat Highlights Tour is a sightseeing tour taking you around the golden city of Ballarat, showing you the heritage and historic places of the 1850's gold rush, plus modern Ballarat as well. On tour you will see and experience great views of Ballarat from several lookouts, walk through the Botanical Gardens and amongst the heritage buildings of Lydiard Street, plus morning tea at the famous Craigs Royal Hotel. Walk through the Botanical Gardens seeing the heritage trees, flower beds in bloom and Prime Ministers Avenue. Drive around Lake Wendouree with its boat sheds, war memorials and numerous water birds. Visit the Eureka Centre and learn of the Eureka Rebellion, where the miners fought with the Government forces. Experience the wild nature of the forests and wildlife on the outskirts of Ballarat with a drive and walk in Woowookarung Regional Park.
The Western Victoria Touring Route takes you to the must-see places of western Victoria. Along your journey of discovery, you will experience the Great Ocean Road, one of the best coastal drives in the world, the Victorian Volcanic Plains, the third largest volcanic plain in the world, the Grampians National Park with its rugged cliffs and wildlife, the Pyrenees with its fabulous wineries and the gold rush history of Ballarat. The tour is Ecotourism Certified.
The Outback Victoria tour is a four day signature small group personalised tour, which travels through the Victorian Outback National Parks. In far west Victoria, wide open landscapes, breathtaking sunsets and starry nights add a spacious dimension to this semi-arid country. The temperatures are hotter, the rainfall is lower, and the sand is white from when this land was an ancient sea bed, yet a wealth of animal and birdlife has adapted to the environment. The tour explore the arid landscape of yellow gum and black box woodland of the Little Desert National Park where the endangered Lowan or Mallee Fowl survive. We travel to the vast Wyperfeld National Park to experience the animals and birdlife of the Mallee and floodplains and shifting sand dunes of the north. You get to see the pink lakes of the largest desert national park, the Murray-Sunset National Park, which has vast areas of undisturbed vegetation. The most northern of the Outback parks is the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, which centres on an impressive lakes system with an abundance of wildlife, majestic river red gums, ancient buloke trees amid rolling sand plains and the distinctive Mallee for which this region is renowned. Ecotourism Certified.
This three-day Signature small group personalised tour lets you discover the geology, extinct volcanoes, waterfalls, lakes, lava tubes, Aboriginal and early European cultural impacts on these plains to present day Australian lifestyle. The undulating plains of western Victoria are the third largest volcanic plain in the world and are formed of lava flows up to 60 metres thick and are studded with 400 volcanoes which have been erupting over the past five million to eight thousand years ago. You travel to Ballarat to see the ex-volcanoes of the volcanic uplands making up part of the Great Dividing Range. At Hamilton, you see impressive waterfalls and climb the last active volcano in Victoria. In the southern part of the plains you get to see many lakes, which formed after the volcanoes have ceased. Near Warrnambool, you will visit Tower Hill reserve, which was a maar volcano, today its a animal reserve where you can see native animals and birds. The Victorian Volcanic Plains are Australia's most extensive volcanic plains, and are one of the most significant and largest volcanic provinces in the world. The plain stretches across South Western Victoria. This tour is Ecotourism Certified / Sustainable travel.
Golden Victoria three day small group personalised signature tour takes you into the Golden heart of Victoria. Victoria's frenetic goldrush of the 1850's is one of the great gold rushes of the world and has left a lasting and vivid legacy. You can see the evidence in every Goldfields town and city, with the splendid streetscapes of Ballarat, Bendigo, and Maldon, and in the grand buildings such as the Maryborough Railway Station and the Market Building in Castlemaine. You can re-live the goldrush by panning for gold at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat and by going down a gold mine at the Central Deborah Goldmine in Bendigo. They take you to the main attractions of Ballarat and Bendigo, but we also take you off the tourist trail to show you the smaller towns and the out of the way places that are rich in goldrush history and heritage. You experience the wildlife/wildflowers of the Goldfields region, which is colder and wetter on the southern side of the Great Dividing Range and is hotter and dryer on the northern side. A chance to spot kangaroo, echidna and wallabies, plus a myriad of birds in the forests and grasslands. Ecotourism Certified.
This 5 Day Signature small group personalised tour takes you along some of the most beautiful natural attractions in Victoria, dramatic coastlines, ancient rainforests, abundant wildlife and wilderness coasts of the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean. The Great Ocean Road from Torquay to Apollo Bay is one of the great scenic coastal drives of the world. The road is carved into cliffs and mountains bordering Victoria’s most rugged and densely forested stretches of coastline. Continuing from Princetown to Warrnambool the landscape changes from dunes covered in low coastal heath to sheer awe-inspiring sandstone cliffs and stacks. It’s here on the Shipwreck Coast where you will see the famous 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and Bay of Islands. Following the coastal road from Port Fairy to Portland the road skirts the edge of Portland Bay, the landscape is green, rich and rural, and there are some enticing stops to see the Southern Ocean. The Discovery Coast stretching west from Portland embraces some of Victoria’s last coastal wilderness areas of wide-open beaches, sand dunes and Southern Ocean swells crashing onto rocky outcrops, spectacular bays, Glenelg River gorges, pristine coastal lakes and Princess Margaret Rose Caves. This tour is Ecotourism Certified.
Daylesford and Spa Country Discovery Tour gets you out and about to experience the wonders of Daylesford and the Spa Country. This sightseeing tour discovers the Spa Country, from wild nature to tranquil lakes, thundering waterfalls, mineral springs to babbling creeks. Walk on the shores of Lake Daylesford and Jubilee Lake, with their many water birds and take in the surrounding scenery. Your guide will interpret the flora and fauna as you travel throughout Hepburn Regional Park and Wombat State Forest. See the regions waterfalls, Trentham Falls, the longest single drop falls in Victoria, Loddon Falls cuts through a basalt valley and the Blowhole on Sailors creek, which was created by the gold miners. Try sampling mineral water from hand pumps and taps dotted in towns and forests around Daylesford and country, from the well known springs at Hepburn Springs to the hidden gems like Deep Spring. Taste the local food and wine during Lunch at an old country store restaurant at Glenlyon. You will visit the town of Trentham At the end of the day, soak your cares away in the mineral water bath of the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa. Do not forget to bring your bathers and towel.
The Daylesford and Hepburn Springs Highlights tour lets you experience the sensual, spirited and effortlessly stylish Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, which are the jewels in the crown of the Spa Country. With its bustling main thoroughfare, Vincent Street is full of eclectic shops, you will find everything here from organic vegetables to antiques and art galleries as well as lots of foodie places to eat. Daylesford's twin spa village is Hepburn Springs, this serene little village is famous for the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, and iconic Mineral Springs reserve. Come and experience the Swiss-Italian culture of the early settlers at Lavendula Swiss-Italian lavender farm, wander amongst the gardens and buildings of the farm, or maybe a coffee at the cafe. If you wish to see Daylesford and Hepburn Springs this full day tour takes in the iconic places of both towns, visiting heritage/historic buildings, gardens, waterfalls, lakes, Convent, Bromley & Co, Stoney Creek Art galleries and locations of the 1850's gold rush and mineral springs reserves.
