MELBOURNE TO ALBURY

Welcome to our Easter tour to Albury. With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew. We’ll travel via  Healesville to Lake Eildon, stopping for our morning break along the way. We’ll drive over the dam wall and continue past Lake Nillahcootie, where we’ll pause briefly to take in the stunning lake views. We’ll have a late lunch today before continuing our journey to Albury, home for the next four nights. We have plenty of time to settle in before dinner.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Resort Siesta, ALBURY

EXPLORING ALBURY

Following breakfast, we take a look around Albury.  Prominent hills lie at each end of Dean Street and offer excellent vistas of Albury and the surrounds. Once aptly named Eastern Hill and Western Hill, a memorial Pillar to the Soldiers of WWI resulted in the name change from Western Hill to Monument Hill. The monument was actually constructed in 1923 and stands 493 feet above sea level.  Next we make our way down to the Albury Botanical Gardens. The gardens feature an impressive plant collection of both native and exotic origins. We then see Albury Railway Station which, in 1883, became a “change over station” for passengers between Melbourne and Sydney due to the different rail gauge used in NSW and Victoria. The station has the longest platform in NSW. Next we visit the Bonegilla Migrant Experience. Built as the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre in 1947 and until 1971 served as Australia's largest and longest operating migrant centre. After lunch we’ll visit the Murray Arts Museum Albury (MAMA). Re-opened in October 2015, every corner of MAMA is bold, vibrant and alive. Along with an emphasis on innovative, self-curated exhibitions, MAMA features a stunning 24-hour 'art skin', interactive workshops and immersive cultural experiences. MAMA reimagines what a gallery can be.

OVERNIGHT:  Quality Resort Siesta, ALBURY

THE SILO ART TRAIL

Today we’re hunting striking artworks painted on silos in Victorian townships. Tungamah was the first of the silos painted and features several Brolgas and a Kookaburra. In St James you will notice a large mural of Sir George Coles, the founder of Coles Supermarkets. The Devenish silo features both a First World War nurse and a modern-day combat medic. The Goorambat silos were painted by famed iconic Melbourne Street artist Dvate, known for his striking renditions of endangered animals from across Australia. Whilst in Goorambat we will also see the impressive “Sophia” mural in the Uniting Church. After lunch we spend some time viewing the many wall murals in Benalla before returning to Albury.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Resort Siesta, ALBURY

YARRAWONGA AND COROWA

This morning, we make our way to Jindera where we visit the Jindera Pioneer Museum and Wagners Store. The first German settlers arrived in the area in 1867, having trekked from Adelaide in horse drawn wagons. Late morning we head over to Yarrawonga – 100ks downstream from Albury on the Murray River for a short lunch cruise on Lake Mulwala aboard the Paradise Queen. The lake was developed in 1939 by the completion of the Yarrawonga Weir, which was part of the massive Lake Hume project to harness the waters of the Murray for irrigation purposes.  It is one of the Murray River’s most beautiful stretches with features of the area including ghostly river red gums and dozens of sandy beaches. Back on dry land, we head to Corowa, where we stop in at the Federation Museum to see the collection of material relating to the Federation of Australia and the part Corowa played in its development. After a lovely day, we head back to Albury and our motel to relax before dinner.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Resort Siesta, ALBURY

HEADING HOME

After bidding farewell to Albury, we head to Beechworth. Here we have some free time to wander around this quaint town. If only the walls could talk! The heady days of the Victorian Gold Rush have left Beechworth with an impressive legacy of over 30 National Trust-listed buildings, all with their own colourful past and secret stories. Take yourself on a self-guided wander through the streets of Beechworth with an Echoes of History map that can be collected at the Visitor Information Centre. Also look out for the Echoes of History pavement plaques outside key historic buildings. Lunch today is in the quiet rural town of Whorouly at Remel 185. The former ‘tobacco shed,’ once filled with dried tobacco piled high for sale day, has been transformed into a charming dining area. The ‘grading shed,’ where golden leaves were once meticulously sorted, now serves as the kitchen, where the team prepares a delightful array of dishes. The original ‘kilns’ have been preserved and are now used for storage. This afternoon, we’ll make our way back to Melbourne where our chauffeurs will be on hand to take us straight to our door – all part of the O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours superior service.