MELBOURNE TO WAGGA WAGGA

Welcome to our Springtime Tour which will incorporate some spectacular gardens in the Southern Highlands, the Blue Mountains and the Bathurst Garden Spectacular. With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew and head for the Hume Highway. We stop enroute for morning tea from the coach then make our way to Benalla for lunch. This afternoon we continue to Albury where we have our afternoon break at the Albury Botanic Gardens. The last leg of today’s journey takes us to Wagga Wagga with time to freshen up before dinner.

OVERNIGHT:  Mercure Wagga Wagga, WAGGA WAGGA

WAGGA WAGGA TO THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

We are in for a fantastic day ahead. We visit picturesque Jugiong where we meet our guide, showing us the sights and dazzle us with information on Jugiong and all it has to offer: from the Murrumbidgee River, historic buildings including the bush school that Richie Benaud attended, bushranger past to spectacular scenery. Our tour includes morning tea, old fashioned country hospitality, and lots of laughs!  This afternoon we drive north past Goulburn and into the Southern Highlands for our next three night’s accommodation.

OVERNIGHT:  Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

We begin our Southern Highland Garden day with a visit to Retford Park Garden in Bowral. This lovely Victorian Italianate homestead has recently been gifted to the National Trust of Australia by James Fairfax AC and has magnificent gardens that showcase a collection of rare and unique evergreen and deciduous trees. We’ll take a wander through the garden. We then take in the sights of Bowral with some free time in Bendooley Street to purchase lunch. This afternoon, we travel via Moss Vale to Sutton Forest where we visit Red Cow Farm, a lovely garden set on 6-acres. Divided into different garden areas or 'rooms', with new vistas and surprises around every corner, Red Cow Farm is a dream come true for anyone with a green thumb! Garden lovers have such an amazing choice of gardens including a cottage garden, a walled garden, a vegetable garden, an orchard and woodland. Rhododendrons and birches line the drive leading to the bog garden and lake, where 'Albertine' roses ramble over the railings of a beautiful old wooden bridge leading across the dam to an island. The monastery garden is formal in structure yet informal in its look, using a simple design that can be reproduced in an ordinary-sized garden. Our final visit for the day is to the Welcome Centre in Mittagong, a great place to pick up some local treats like famous Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Jam, or perhaps a bottle of cool climate wine. We return to our hotel to freshen up for dinner.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT: Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

We wake to a fresh Southern Highlands morning and head off on our days sightseeing. We head to the historic mining village and now “ghost town” of Joadja. We are taken through streets and ruins where 120 years ago some 1,400 people lived and worked. We hear of the cultural, social and industrial history of the valley. We enjoy morning tea and lunch here, then farewell our guide and drive to Bowral. Here, prepare to be enchanted, all while enjoying afternoon tea, by the sights and sounds of Fairground Follies, akin to visiting an old-fashioned amusement park with its collection of self-playing instruments and mechanical music, fair organs, street organs and a 100-year-old steam carousel. It will be a fun afternoon, cherishing memories of the local fair.  We return to our accommodation in Mittagong.

OVERNIGHT:  Springs Resort Mittagong RSL Motel, MITTAGONG

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

This morning we travel around the outskirts of Sydney, take the Great Western Highway into the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are World Heritage Listed and a spectacular part of Australia's history, covering some 218,000 hectares of rugged beauty, a variety of terrain and a diversity of microclimates and ecological wealth. Following the Great Western Highway we make our way to Leura, where we stop at Everglades Garden, one of the most important historic gardens in Australia. Everglades is considered by many to be unparalleled in Australia for its unique design and historical significance. We have plenty of time to explore the garden before our lunch. From here we follow the Cliff Drive to Eco Point where we have a group photo opportunity at the mystical Three Sisters - a rock formation surrounded by Aboriginal Dreamtime Legend. At Blackheath, we veer from the highway to visit Govetts Leap Lookout with its breathtaking views of the Grose Valley and Bridal Veil Falls. On arrival at Bathurst, we check into our accommodation, our base for the next three nights.

OVERNIGHT: Rydges Mt Panorama Bathurst, BATHURST

BATHURST SPRING SPECTACULAR

The Bathurst Gardeners Club Bathurst Spring Spectacular has been running for many years, originally as a garden competition until 2008 when it was changed to invite open gardens. Over the years proceeds amounting to thousands of dollars have been donated to local charities. Gardens each year are of a wide variety with a balance of large and small, town and country. Lots of inspiration for all lovers of gardens and gardening! Over the next two days, we can explore some of the local open gardens as well as enjoying other sights on offer.

Accompanied by a local guide, we embark on an exploration of the city’s heritage.  One of Australia’s oldest inland cities, Bathurst retains a remarkably preserved Victorian era streetscape adorned with impressive architectural buildings. Saying farewell to our guide, we make our way to the first open garden. We then head to Abercrombie House, a castle like mansion constructed in the 1870s. Boasting over 40 rooms, it is surrounded by beautiful gardens spanning 20 hectares of land. With its captivating blend of Gothic and Scottish Baronial styles, Abercrombie House stands as a testament to architectural opulence and is recognised as one of Australia’s finest historical mansions. Following a delicious lunch, we return to town to visit Miss Traill’s House, a charming Victorian era bungalow weaving the tales of Miss Ida Traill and her family’s life in early Bathurst. As we tour this special house museum, we’ll discover how little has changed over the years, preserving the essence of a bygone era. The contents of the house are largely the possessions of the Lee family, collected over more than 150 years and they chronicle the history of typical Australian country life. She bequeathed the house to the National Trust and that is why we are lucky enough to be able to see it today.  Our final stop today is another open garden.

***Open Garden Programme still to be finalised***

OVERNIGHT:  Rydges Mt Panorama Bathurst, BATHURST

MAYFIELD GARDENS AND MORE OF BATHURST

We start the day with a spin around the Mount Panorama Race Track – at 60 kms/hour of course!  We then head towards Oberon, an isolated township located on a plateau 1113m above sea level and takes its name from the King of the Fairies in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The area is well known for its gardens and today we visit Mayfield Garden, one of the largest privately owned cool climate gardens in the world. Nestled within a 5000 acre working farm, initial works on the garden were quite modest in scale but as tends to happen with gardens, it grew….and grew…and grew. We have the chance to wander through the gardens. Not all areas are open to the public but we will see the beautiful Water Garden and enjoy some time at the Nursery for a bit of retail therapy.  This afternoon, we return to Bathurst where we can experience more springtime splendour as we visit more of the private gardens on show.

OVERNIGHT: Rydges Mt Panorama Bathurst, BATHURST

BATHURST TO ALBURY

We farewell Bathurst this morning and travel through Blayney to Cowra, the town made famous by the POW Camp located here during WWII and the now famous “Cowra Breakout”.  Here we enjoy a visit to the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre. Opened in 1979 this is a “must see” attraction in Cowra. The garden represents the landscapes of Japan where the hill is the mountain, streams are rivers while ponds are inland lakes and the sea. The beauty and tranquillity of the Japanese Garden provides a spiritual and cultural experience. After lunch, we drive through Young, then straight on to Albury for our last night on tour.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Resort Siesta Albury, ALBURY

ALBURY TO MELBOURNE

Our first stop today is Yackandandah - a classic colonial town, having changed little in appearance since last century with many buildings classified by the National Trust. We have time to explore the main street before driving down to Beechworth, Gold Country!  This imposing historical town will remind us of those exciting gold rush years, with many landmarks still surviving. The discovery of gold in the 1850’s brought with it a flurry of activity and growth. The magnificent buildings, 32 of which are listed by the National Trust, and the beautiful gardens are a legacy of the gold rush days. We have time to enjoy morning tea and explore here. Our lunch stop today is in Euroa where we have a chance to reminisce on the last few days with our newly made O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours friends before heading for home. Our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us to our very door!