Melbourne to the Murray

Description

This trip could also be known as ‘Southern Australia, as seen through its wine and wilderness’. And a few other culinary (and scenic) treats. From a Melbourne to the Great Ocean Road tour, to tasty Kangaroo Island and Barossa tours, expect a top-notch roll-call of attractions across Victoria and South Australia.

Discover the delights from Mannum to Morgan in our newest cruising option for travel. Highlights include cellar door tastings at Caudo Vineyard, a visit to well-known Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre, guided walks around historic towns, an Aussie barbecue beside the river; a visit to a wildlife shelter, sheep shearing demonstration and a guided walk through one of Australia’s most significant aboriginal archaeological sites at Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park.

Your Fly, Tour & Cruise Package Includes:

• $500 flight credit per person

• 6 night Great Ocean Road & Kangaroo Island Escape guided tour with AAT Kings, Melbourne to Adelaide

• Includes premium accommodation, 13 meals, National Park entrance fees, transfers plus more

• 7 night Upper Murraylands cruise onboard PS Murray Princess, Mannum return

• Includes all meals, excursions, onboard presentations, entertainment, wine tasting plus more

Pricing is per person twin share and based on travel 13-26 January 2024

Solo traveller pricing available. Please speak to one of our travel consultants for more details

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1 Melbourne - Warrnambool

Want an adventure that starts with a bang? This is it. We advise arriving early for a Melbourne laneway tour, taking in the city’s eye-popping alleys filled with colourful art. Then you’re on your way from Melbourne on a Great Ocean Road tour, enjoying a snaking coastal route that is one of the world’s most epic journeys. Across a dramatic 240 kilometers you’ll take in limestone stacks like the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. Then traverse through World Heritage listed rainforest, skirting untouched coastal coves, and pausing in sleepy towns like Lorne and Apollo Bay, where bare feet and boardshorts are the dress code. We wouldn’t blame you for following suit… 

Hotel: Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Day 2 Warrnambool - Naracoorte

Emus, kangaroos, koalas, echidnas… oh my! These are just some of the animals you’ll likely spot as you drive through Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve – housed in a dormant volcanic crater. Remarkably, this pocket of paradise was once wasteland, transformed by volunteers. More volcanic history awaits across the South Australian border in Mt. Gambier, home to the crater-filling Blue Lake. Because it’s very blue. And it’s a lake. By now you’ll be pretty thirsty, so it’s a good thing the Coonawarra wine region is around the corner. After a few sips, you may find yourself getting deep – literally. Naracoorte’s Alexandra Cave is a maze of delicate needle-like stalactites and massive twisting columns.

Hotel: William MacIntosh Motor Lodge, Naracoote

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Day 3 Naracoorte - Kangaroo Island

Nature rules large again today as you weave along South Australia’s wild and wonderful Fleurieu Peninsula to Victor Harbor. After rolling hills, sandy beaches and rugged cliffs, you’re greeted with the charms of this seaside town – the gateway to Kangaroo Island. Fun fact: it still has a steam train. But you’re boarding the ferry for your journey toward Australia’s ‘mini Galapagos’ to tour Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Island deserves its moniker, as you’ll discover tomorrow. But today, a well-deserved tasting of craft beer awaits at a boutique brewery, the only one on the island. How does Indian Pale Ale sound or a Mexican inspired brew made using a combination of malted barley and flaked rice?

Hotel: Aurora Ozone Hotel, Executive Rooms, 2 Nights

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Day 4 Kangaroo Island

First stop on your tour of Kangaroo Island truly deserves its name: the orange-lichen-clad Remarkable Rocks command your attention over the blazing blue of the Southern Ocean. Then there’s Admirals Arch, home to an immense colony of raucous fur seals and a very photogenic lighthouse. Like much of the island, AAT Kings-sponsored Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary was badly damaged by the 2019 bushfires. On your visit, you’ll discover the role that fire plays within this delicate ecosystem, and how koalas, kangaroos, echidnas and other wildlife have adapted to their environment. More wildlife greets you at Seal Bay Conservation Park. Move aside: enormous sea lions regularly barrel down the sand toward the water, and you’ll learn about their habitat on a Kangaroo Island tour of the beach.

Included Meals: Lunch, Breakfast

Day 5 Kangaroo Island - Adelaide

You’ve arrived in the South Australian capital, known for its well-preserved churches and well-admired cuisine. Did you know that Adelaide boasts more restaurants per capita than any other city in Australia? After a cultural walking tour through the city’s Botanic Gardens with an Aboriginal Guide, and an Adelaide city tour, the afternoon is yours to see just how many you can sample – we have a few recommendations, including a visit to the epic Central Market, where you can try green ant gin with cheese, among so many other delicacies.

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Adelaide, 2 Nights

Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 Adelaide Hills and the Barossa

Pull on your elastic-waisted pants – today is one of indulgences through the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa, dotted with atmospheric towns like Hahndorf, Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. A Barossa and Hahndorf tour reveals the bountiful food and wine this pocket of the state is known for. And you’ll enjoy a tasting from small batch wine makers from across the valley as well as discovering local flavours over lunch at Lambert Estate enveloped by vines.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Farewell Dinner

Day 7 Farewell from Adelaide

A week in this part of the world really isn’t enough. We hope we’ve inspired you to come back for another taste.

Included Meals: Breakfast

About The Cruise:

While on the 7 Night Upper Murraylands Cruise, you'll have the opportunity to...

• Depart historic Mannum

• Get up close to the river birdlife on board the ‘Dragon-Fly’ flat-bottomed boat

• Cruise through Lock #1 at Blanchetown

• Delight in a scenic tender boat ride

• Riverland food & wine tasting (A tasting of 2 Reds & 2 White wines & local produce)

• Visit the picturesque town of Waikerie

• Experience Banrock Station Wine & Wetland Centre including a delicious lunch followed by a DVD presentation & wine tastings

• Tour the gardens and orchards and visit the cellar door at Caudo Vineyard

• Guided walk of the Morgan township and the Morgan Living History Museum

• Take a walking tour of the Swan Reach township and visit the Swan Reach Museum (Gold coin donation at entry)

• Big Bend towering sandstone cliffs

• Watch the Sunnydale Woolshed Show and Native Wildlife Shelter

• Riverside Aussie Barbecue

• Optional Nocturnal Tour in a comfortable purpose built cart where you may see kangaroos, wombats, foxes, bats and owls (additional cost)

• Optional Bush Tucker Breakfast (additional cost)

• Explore the Ngaut Ngaut Aboriginal Reserve archaeological sites with an expert local guide

INCLUSIONS:

• All meals (table d’hote and a la carte menus)

• An exciting selection of onshore tours

• Guided nature walks & eco excursions

• On-board presentations

• Live Entertainment

• Complimentary return coach transfers from Adelaide or return to the Adelaide Airport or car parking in Mannum (bookings essential)

FACILITIES:

• Lift access from Randell Deck to Sturt Deck

• Paddlewheel Lounge

• Sturt Bar

• Sturt Dining Room

• Sun Deck

• Onboard Souvenir Shop

• Public Amenities

• Mini Gym

Cruise Itinerary:

FRIDAY

Mid-afternoon the Murray Princess departs historic Mannum, birthplace of the Murray River trade and communication, and heads upriver while you enjoy a Welcome Dinner. As we cruise under floodlight to our overnight mooring at Caurnamont, you may see nocturnal wildlife on the riverbank. Watch for kangaroos, hairy-nosed wombats, tortoises, egrets and many other species. Our on-board entertainer provides music for the night owls.

SATURDAY

Daybreak and it’s time for the keen photographers to be out to capture the special light and the morning movement of wildlife. Prolific birdlife includes pelicans, wrens and swans. This morning, your discovery vessel awaits for a wildlife tour. Travelling in small, personalised groups, we explore the maze of the river and the birdlife is amazing. Watch for darters, herons and egrets feeding along the river’s muddy edges. For those who choose to stay on-board, you may wish to partake in a game of bocce or compete in the fishing challenge before we cruise upriver past Walker Flat to Sugar Shack Conservation Park. In the afternoon, join us in the Sturt Dining Room for a special presentation on the bounty of food and wine produced in the Riverland. After dinner, enjoy being entertained by our on-board entertainer.

SUNDAY

Continue cruising upriver this morning as we enjoy breakfast and pass through one of 13 locks which maintain the flow and levels of water. This morning, enjoy some free time and in the afternoon join in the fun playing a few games of bingo. Late afternoon we will secure the vessel at Morgan and after dinner, enjoy being entertained by our talented crew.

MONDAY

Today we are transferred by coach to the Riverland town of Waikerie and Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre near Kingston On Murray. Enjoy some free time in Waikerie and at Banrock Station delight in cellar door wine tastings followed by a delicious lunch and DVD presentation. There will be time to take a stroll around the gardens and orchards enjoying the relaxing scenery. Return by coach to Morgan where we will re-board the Murray Princess and continue our journey upriver and secure at the 329km mark of the Murray River.

TUESDAY

After breakfast, we arrive at the picturesque Caudo Vineyard located at Hogwash Bend. Here we will enjoy cellar door tastings and explore the gardens and orchards. Enjoy a leisurely lunch as we cruise downriver back towards Morgan. Mid-afternoon we join a guided walk of the Morgan township and the Morgan Living History Museum. We depart Morgan late afternoon and secure at Donald Flat Lagoon for our overnight moorage. After dinner, join us for all the fun and excitement, and participate in our “Murray River Cup”.

WEDNESDAY

After breakfast cruise to picturesque Swan Reach. The town was first settled in the 1850s and was originally the largest of five sheep and cattle stations in the area and is now home to native flower and fruit growers. The original Swan Reach homestead is now the Swan Reach Hotel where you can enjoy an ale or cappuccino overlooking the Murray River (additional cost). Join a walking tour and visit the Swan Reach Museum (gold coin donation at entry). Cruise downriver after lunch and take in the tranquillity as the landscape slides by. Catch up with friends over a coffee or drink whilst enjoying the magnificent scenery. When we arrive at Sunnydale, it’s all ashore for the Woolshed Show as we recreate typical Australian woolshed history. Later we visit the Native Wildlife Shelter where some of South Australia’s most interesting native animals are cared for. And then of course, there is the great Aussie Barbecue – cooked and served in a bush setting on the banks of the mighty Murray River. An optional Nocturnal Tour (additional cost) in a comfortable purpose-built cart is available after dinner where you may see kangaroos, wombats, foxes, bats, and owls by powerful spotlights. Special stops along the way are included to view the spectacular night sky which is part of the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve.

THURSDAY

After an optional Bush Tucker Breakfast (additional cost), we slowly cruise downriver past magnificent cliffs scoured by the river over millions of years. We reach Ngaut Ngaut Aboriginal Reserve, one of Australia’s most significant archaeological sites, for a step back in time – tens of thousands of years – for a guided boardwalk tour to view ancient rock carvings and to learn about aboriginal history in the area. We return to the vessel to cruise downriver to Younghusband. Along the way, adventure seekers can also take a scenic tender boat ride. Tonight, join your fellow passengers for a delicious final night dinner and enjoy the evening entertainment.

FRIDAY

We leave Younghusband and head back to Mannum. After breakfast we reluctantly say farewell as we arrive at the Mannum Wharf.

Terms & Conditions

Prices listed are per person in Australian/New Zealand Dollars, based on twin occupancy, including all discounts unless otherwise stated. The offer is subject to availability at time of booking and shown on the lowest inside category available at the time.  Fares are capacity controlled and are subject to change at any time without notice. Prices/Offers are correct as at 21 July 2023 and can be withdrawn without notice. Cabin categories include prepaid government fees and port taxes unless otherwise stated.  Hotels may charge resort fees not included in this package, payable direct upon check in. Visas are not included.  Payments made by credit card will incur a surcharge. Air credit is applicable on airline of choice, subject to availability and subject to the carriers’ flight schedules and conditions.