Tour the best of open space and solitude in Gippsland’s unspoilt beaches, lakes and mountains, then enjoy the bustling gourmet waterfront villages …

The Gippsland Lakes form Australia’s largest and most beautiful inland waterway. The tranquil Gippsland Lakes are a system of coastal lagoons separated from the Tasman Sea by the coastal dunes of the Ninety Mile Beach.

click here to download brochure – Gippsland Brochure

The Gunaikurnai Aboriginals were the traditional owners of the Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park . Bancroft Bay on one side bustles with boats while its southern shore forms part of the Lakes National Park.

 

Tour Highlights:
Healesville Sanctuary; Coal Creek Heritage Village; Wilson’s Promontory; Tidal River;
National Vietnam Veterans Museum; Wild Coast Scenic Lunch Cruise; Pelican Feeding;
Phillip Island Highlights Tour; Nobbies Blowhole & Seal Rocks; Phillip Island Penguin
Parade; Phillip Island RSL; Gippsland Escargot and Cafe; Immigration Wall of Recognition;
Power Works Centre; Loy Yang Lookout; Winnindoo Robotic Dairy & Interpretive Centre;
Bairnsdale RSL; Canberra National Arboretum plus more…

Day 1. Sun 14 May: Home – Wangaratta Dinner
This morning we pick you up from your home and begin our journey down to Wangaratta
along the Hume Highway. We enjoy several comfort stops along the way, including a visit
to the Dog on the Tuckerbox to purchase lunch. We arrive into the City of Wangaratta in
the afternoon to check-in to our accommodation for a brief rest before dinner in the hotel
restaurant.
Overnight: Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway
Day 2. Mon 15 May: Healesville Sanctuary – Coal Creek Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Today we continue further south, enjoying a comfort stop before visiting the Healesville
Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is one of Australia’s most loved tourist attractions and the
best place in Victoria to see and interact with Native Australian wildlife. The Sanctuary
is committed to fighting wildlife extinction and offers visitors the opportunity to come up
close with unique Australian animals in a stunning bushland setting. Our visit gives us the
opportunity to meet and hear from the ones that know the animals the best, the Keepers.
After our tour we enjoy lunch at the Sanctuary before departing and making our way to our
accommodation in Coal Creek. Upon arrival we check-in and have a chance to relax before
dinner in the motel restaurant.
Overnight: Coal Creek Motel, Korumburra
Day 3. Tues 16 May: Coal Creek – Wilson’s Promontory Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After enjoying a leisurely breakfast we tour the Coal Creek Heritage Village. This delightful
outdoor Museum illustrates the regions heritage between 1870 – 1920 telling the story
through coal mining, timber, dairy farming industries and the settlement involved. It is a
working village with volunteers and traders activating the story. The village is set on forty
acres of bushland valley, with just over fifty farm and town buildings. After a light lunch
we travel down through Yanakie, the gateway to Wilson’s Promontory. We enjoy several
delightful lookouts providing a magnificent coastal view before arriving at Tidal River.
We then enjoy one of the easy walks along the banks of the Tidal River along the raised
boardwalk or along the Squeaky Beach Track or through the Lilly Pilly Gully. Walking maps
with degrees of ease as to which the walks can be made are available from the Tidal River
Centre. Later in the afternoon we arrive back at our accommodation before dinner.
Overnight: Coal Creek Motel, Korumburra
Day 4. Wed 17 May: Phillip Island Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast we make our way to Phillip Island where our first stop is the National Vietnam
Veterans Museum which is nationally recognized and is dedicated to the preserving and
displaying of photographs, memorabilia, vehicles and aircraft that accurately detail the
history of Australian involvement in the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1972. We then join
Wildlife Coast Cruises for a scenic lunch cruise. We travel past the islands of Westernport
and under the Phillip Island Bridge witnessing the majestic granite cliffs and caves of Cape
Woolamai. We stop off at the San Remo Fishermans Co-op for the pelican feeding on the
foreshore next to the San Remo Pier. After our cruise we are joined by our local guide before
enjoying a piece of Phillip Island at the Nobbies and Blowhole with views to Seal Rocks the
largest fur seal colony in the Southern Hemisphere, this is followed by an informative town
tour of Phillip Island. Later in the day we witness the iconic Phillip Island Penguin Parade
as these cute little birds return from the icy waters of Bass Strait to their burrows at the end
of a hectic days fishing. Dinner is at the Phillip Island RSL Club before travelling back to
Coal Creek to our motel for a good night’s rest.
Overnight: Coal Creek Motel, Korumburra

 

Please note that the itinerary is subject to change without notice
For information and bookings phone: 02 4774 9700
Email: book@holidaycoachtours.com.au
PO Box 109 BRINGELLY 2556
Day 5. Thurs 18 May: Coal Creek – Morwell Breakfast & Dinner
Today we bid Coal Creek farewell as we depart for Morwell. We make our way up towards
Morwell enjoying a very interesting visit at Gippsland Escargot and Café for a tour followed
by morning-tea. Our next stop for the day will be the Immigration Wall of Recognition
which stands in the centre of the park. The focal point of the monument is a statue of a
migrant, standing with his case which holds all he owns, his hand to his forehead. The
hand shades the eyes from the strong Australian sun. The stance of the figure suggests an
optimistic forward looking figure, eager to take up new opportunities in this new land. In a
semi-circle around the statue are seven walls of granite. Four of these walls have bronze
plaques on the north side of which there is a graphic display of the history of immigration
into Gippsland using four themes – ‘Departing / Arriving, Settling, Working, Achieving’. The
remaining three walls facing north have the names of immigrant families who have lived
and worked in Gippsland. After leaving the park we make our way into Morwell where
we visit Power Works Centre for an informative talk on the Power centre and Look outs
throughout the area. We then board our coach with our experienced guide and take in
the magnificent views and learn of the significance and history of the surrounding power
stations. We stop at the Loy Yang Lookout for an insight into the Power Station and Brown
Coal Industry. After our tour we make our way to our motel to check-in and rest before
dinner.
Overnight: Century Inn Traralgon, Traralgon
Day 6. Fri 19 May: Traralgon – Cooma Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
After breakfast this morning we head for Cooma. We enjoy a very interesting stop at
the Winnindoo Robotic Dairy and Interpretive Centre, getting up close to the amazing
robots that are run by computer and telephone to milk herds of dairy cows whenever they
please. We enjoy a tour of the Dairy and adjacent interpretive centre, which explains the
development of the dairy industry up to the present and offers insight into the future too.
Inside you’ll even find a fully operational 1930s cow shed! After our tour we make our
way to Bairnsdale for lunch at the RSL before continuing up to Cooma, enjoying several
comfort stops along the way. This afternoon we arrive at our motel for check in and dinner
in the motel restaurant.
Overnight: Sovereign Inn Cooma Motel, Cooma
Day 7. Sat 20 May: Cooma – Home Breakfast
This morning we bid our hosts farewell as we commence our journey home. We travel
via the amazing National Arboretum in Canberra, where we experience one of the
world’s largest living collections of rare, endangered and significant trees. Winner of the
World Architecture Festival for landscape, the National Arboretum surrounds visitors with
panoramic views, stunning architecture and the natural beauty of trees and gardens
from Australia and around the world. We enjoy morning tea before our tour of the bonsai
collection and guided bus tour of the National Arboretum. Later this afternoon we arrive
back home to say farewell at your doorstep after a memorable time in the South West
Gippsland and surrounds with Mary & Brian.