2016/03 Cowra Coach Tour

• 4 Three Course Dinners with Choices & All Fully Cooked Breakfasts•

4 Nights Minimum Three Star Quality Motel Accommodation

• Lunch 2, 3, 4 & 5. • All Entry Fees and Guides as per Itinerary.

 

Tour Highlights:

Australian Fossil & Mineral Museum; Cowra Breakout Holographic Theatre; Highlights Cowra; Australian World Peace Bell; Australian & Japanese War Cemetery; POW Camp Sites; Japanese Gardens & Cultural Centre; Windowrie Estate Winery and Cellar Door; Forbes Visitors Centre Audio Visual & Displays; Highlights Of Forbes; Graves of Ben Hall, Ned Kelly’s sister Kate Foster & French Author Paul Wenz; McFeeters Motor Museum Tour & Light Lunch; House With No Steps Biscuit Factory; Historic Grenfell; Walk of Fame; Henry Lawson Monument; Tour of Iandra Castle; Sunnyside Rose Gardens & Clydesdale Ride; War, Rail & Rural Museum; Ambermere Rose Inn & more.

Tour Fee including GST:

Members $1,449.00 per person,

twin share Non Members $1,469.00 per person,

twin share Single Supplement $240.00

Minimum loading 20 passengers booked and paid by Thursday 21st January 2016

For information and bookings phone: 02 4774 9700

Email: mary@ezidrivecoaches.com.au

Please note that the itinerary is subject to change without notice

The Itinerary

Day 1, Thursday 24 March: Home / Bathurst / Cowra Lunch & Dinner
This morning we pick you up from your home and begin our trek across to the Cowra Region of New South Wales. We stop in the Bathurst CBD for lunch and to visit the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum for a guided tour. The Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum situated in the heart of Bathurst is housed in the refurbished 1876 Public School building. It is one of the most spectacular fossil and mineral collections in the world. Now permanently on show at the museum is the Somerville Collection- some of the finest and rarest examples of minerals and fossils. A major star of the collection and the exhibition, is a 10 metre long Tyrannosaurus Rex – the only one in the country.

Plus there are several dinosaur eggs, a 40 million-year old lizard caught in amber and rare minerals. All part of this collection has been given to the people of NSW by. Professor Warren Somerville AM, collector and donator of the Somerville Collection. Close to 2,000 fossil and mineral specimens are displayed in two main exhibitions – the Fossil Gallery and the Minerals Gallery. Later we continue our journey through to Cowra where we check in and enjoy a welcome dinner in the motel restaurant.
Overnight Cowra

Day 2, Friday 25 March: Cowra Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast this morning we make our way to the Cowra Tourist Centre to view the Cowra Breakout Holographic Theatre, this nine minute hologram tells the story of the Breakout and its aftermath. The story is inspirational and the display simply amazing. We are then joined by our local guide for a two hour highlights tour of Cowra taking in the Australian World Peace Bell, which is a replica of the one that stands in the
forecourt of the United Nations Headquarters in New York as a reminder of the continual need for all nations to work for peace. The Australian World Peace Bell was awarded to Cowra in 1992 for its long standing contribution to world peace and international understanding, the Australian and Japanese War Cemetery which are a monument to the strong friendship between Cowra and Japan that resulted from the areas involvement
in WWII. The Japanese War Cemetery is the only one of its kind in Australia. We also visit the POW Camp Sites, the Cowra Italy Friendship Monument and Bellview Hill.

After a light lunch at the Rose Garden Coffee House we stop at the Japanese Gardens and Cultural Centre, which is designed to embody the entire landscape of Japan, where every bend takes you on a voyage of discovery. We finalise our day with a visit to the Old Mill home to Windowrie Estate, one of the largest wine producers in the area. The cellar door forms part of an old flourmill that was built in 1861 from local granite and has been painstakingly restored. It’s a fine addition to the heritage of the area and provides us with a relaxing end to our day as we enjoy a tour, wine tasting, cheese and local produce platters, tea & coffee. Later this afternoon we arrive back at our motel to relax before
happy hour and dinner.
Overnight Cowra

Day 3, Saturday 26 March: Forbes Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
This morning we travel to Forbes where Bushrangers Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner and their respective gangs became notorious for their daring robberies in the district, and stories of their exploits have become part of our folklore. We stop at the Forbes Visitor Centre to view a video in the Ben Hall Room. After our video we enjoy morning tea before we are joined by our local guide for a one hour highlights tour of Forbes and the cemetery where we find the graves of Ben Hall, Ned Kelly’s sister Kate Foster, and French author Paul Wenz. We then enjoy a light lunch and witness the spectacular McFeeters Motor Museum. This absolute stunning new facility was purpose built for displaying a vast collection of meticulously restored motor cars. Cars range from veterans to custom cars, rare, common and just downright bizarre. It also houses a café, gift shop and cellar door providing an array of tastes to cater for all needs.

Our last stop for the day is the House With No Steps Biscuit Factory with favourites such as Jam Drops, Anzacs, Ginger, Choc Chip and Peanut available for purchase. After our short visit and tour we travel back up to Cowra to our motel for dinner.
Overnight Cowra

Day 4, Sunday 27 March: Cowra / Grenfell Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast we head to Grenfell where we are able to walk the Walk of Fame which commemorate the 50th Henry Lawson Festival of Arts in 2007, plaques honouring each official guest were laid in the Main Street footpaths. The plaques are randomly placed on both sides of the street. Grenfell is the birthplace of Henry Lawson one of Australia’s most famous poets, who wrote short stories like the slapstick Loaded Dog and the
moving Drovers Wife. A monument to Lawson now shaded by a sugar gum planted by his daughter, Bertha, is located two minutes drive from the town centre and a bust is situated in the aptly named Main Street.

Our next stop is at Landra Castle, which is a magnificent 53 room castle similar to those one would see in the English countryside. The castle was built by Mr G.H. Greene and construction took four years from 1899 – 1903. After our tour we then make our way to Sunnyside Rose Gardens and Clydesdales to enjoy a unique country experience. Overlooking the orchards of Wirrimah, Sunnyside boasts a garden with over 2000 landscaped roses. We can wander through the gardens and experience a Clydesdale drawn carriage ride, followed by lunch. Live entertainment including easy listening music, bush poetry and yarns complete our country experience. Later in the afternoon we head back to Cowra and relax before dinner in the restaurant.
Overnight Cowra

Day 5, Monday 28 March: Cowra / Home Breakfast & Lunch
This morning we visit the War, Rail and Rural Museum, which offers a comprehensive Prisoner of War (POW) and Military Camp displays. One of the largest German Infantry displays in the World. The Rail Museum featuring a mammoth Model Train Layout, 30 km of HO scale track. We can also walk through an original FS Passenger Carriage & Guards Brake Van used from the1940’s onwards. Also housed is a large collection of Model Vehicles, Railway Trikes and Trolleys. The Rural Museum features working oil engines, large range of working portable & mill steam engines, original early 19th Century Hand & Engine Operated Agricultural Machinery & Tractors. We then depart Cowra and begin our journey back home as we travel via Bathurst and the Blue Mountains.

We travel to Little Hartley stopping at the Ambermere Rose Inn for lunch. The inn was first licensed in 1845 operating as a public house and then a Cobb & Co staging post until 1873. When the railway opened up the western corridor, road travel became less preferred and the Inn ceased operations in 1873. Today the Inn offers a contemporary interpretation of what was historically on offer to the traveller in the 19th century recreated through their unique food and wine experience in one of Australians oldest inns. Later this afternoon we arrive back home to say farewell at your doorstep after a memorable time up in the Cowra Region of New South Wales with Mary & Brian.