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Day 1 – To Paperbark Camp, 2 nights

Collect your hire car and head south on the Princes Hwy, Paperbark Camp is 200kms from Sydney and is situated in beautiful bush land near Jervis Bay. You stay in one of ten unique, safari style tents – each has private en suite facilities, comfortable queen or twin beds, pure wool doonas, insect screens and solar powered lighting. They are furnished with locally handcrafted bush furniture.

Day 2 - A day on the South Coast

Paperbark Camp is very much an activity-based camp centred around nature. Get out by boat on Jervis Bay and the Currumbene Creek, where there is good bird watching and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife - dolphins and fur seals, and a rookery of the Australian Fairy Penguin. Relax in the sun; dive overboard for a swim, snorkel, and watch for dolphins; stop on a sandy beach for a picnic barbeque lunch.

The Booderee National Park on the southern shores of the bay is ideal for bush walking and there are short nature walks around the Camp – keep a look out for possums, Antechinus and Swamp Wallabies. Or take a picnic and head off to explore the Morton and Budawang National Parks and visit the Point Perpendicular Lighthouse. 

Day 3 – To the Outback, Burrawang West Station, 2 nights

A long, scenic day drive takes you across high country and through rural areas with interesting stops along the way. Visit a vineyard near Cowra or take a stroll in Boorowa where the street facade is reminiscent of a bygone era.

Rolling foothills, vineyards, olive groves, orchards and traditional farms surround the historic township of Canowindra and a walk down the heritage listed main street will take you past cafes, galleries, antique & country fashion label stores. Stop at the Age of Fishes Museum, home to an incredible 360 million year old fossil collection and wander up Ferguson Street to another beautifully restored shopping quarter.

Burrawang West Homestead provides your all inclusive luxury outback experience.

Day 4 – An Outback day

The Burrawang West offers luxury accommodation in stylish Australian surrounds, gourmet meals and a taste of life in the outback. Allow time to enjoy the comfort of the Homestead; take a dip in the pool or sit on the verandah and enjoy the endless vistas. Head out on a quad bike and explore the property, spend time with the cattlemen and get to know their way of life.

Watch for kangaroos as you glide along the peaceful Yarrabandai billabong, listen to the hundreds of Australian birds. In the evening star gaze through the telescope, play billiards and enjoy a drink by the fire
                                                             if it is cold.

Day 5 – And on to the Hunter Valley Wine Country

Today’s drive is 180 kms and will take up to 5 hours as you enjoy some scenic stops along the way. The road passes through Dubbo a town internationally acclaimed as home to the greatest open range zoo in the world – Western Plains Zoo - featuring over 1000 animals from around the globe. Three are several small towns along the Golden Highway including the historic village of Broke an you will have noticed that vineyards and wineries are becoming more numerous. Arriving into the Hunter Valley near Pokolbin, stay 2 nights at The Convent.

Day 6 – A day of pleasure in the Hunter Valley

To mark a special occasion, or just for the joy of it, take a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Hunter Valley Wine country and finish with a champagne celebration breakfast.

Enjoy The Convent - visit the vineyards, get to know a llama at the Lavender & Llama Farm, take a horse and carriage ride or visit the popular Hunter Valley Cheese Factory along with the many gift and antique stores in the area. Take a walk along the 8 kms of pathways in the display gardens at Hunter Valley Gardens. Enjoy a picnic and include some of the local produce and of course, the wonderful wine.

Day 7 – Return to Sydney and fly to Tasmania, Calstock Country House, 2 nights

Return to Sydney in time for your flight to Launceston where you collect a hire car for the drive west to Deloraine, where you will be staying at Calstock Country House for 2 nights.

Deloraine is set against the backdrop of the spectacular Great Western Tiers, a protected World Heritage Area featuring a chain of mountains that holds more than 3,000 lakes. The towns charming buildings from the 1830s and 1840s now house galleries, restaurants and studios. Calstock, set in a private park overlooking Deloraine, is a grand, National Trust listed mansion in Georgian style and was built by a prosperous gentleman farmer of the colonial era. While still part of a working farm, the house has been beautifully restored in gracious period style.

Your French born hosts - Ginette and Remi Bancal serve breakfast (on the verandah in summer) and by arrangement imaginative dinners based on organic local produce. A former sommelier Remi prides himself on his wine cellar.

Day 8 – A day of pleasure to suit your tastes

Close to Calstock The Great Western Tiers is an ancient landscape of limestone caves and timeless valleys of farming villages first settled in the early 1800s. The area is popular for its walks, waterfalls, historic homes, gardens, artists and craftspeople.

Spend the day visiting Cradle Mountain or Mole Creek Karst National Park that contains more than 200 caves that began to form 30 million years ago. With a guide you can tour some of the caves and see animals that dwell in the dark, lofty stalagmites, streams that disappear into the ground and glow-worms that twinkle like the stars.

Or spend the day touring the Tamar Valley’s wine route. As well as the many picturesque vineyards that produce Tasmania’s famous cool-climate wines, you’ll discover enchanting seahorses at Beauty Point, and the historic pilot station at Low Head that offers tall ship cruises around the Tamar River mouth.

Day 9 – Strahan and Franklin Manor, 2 nights

A leisurely 2 ˝ to 3 hours drive will bring you to the lovely village of Strahan situated near the mouth of the Gordon River on Tasmania’s west coast. Strahan is the gateway to another of Australia’s great wilderness areas. With the background of Mt.Sorell and the expanse of Macquarie Harbour, the area was first put on the map with the notorious penal settlement of Sarah Island. The treacherous and narrow waters of Macquarie Heads at the entrance to the harbour are the scene of a number of shipwrecks.

Your accommodation will be Franklin Manor, a boutique hotel originally built for the Harbour Master in 1896 and now lovingly restored. The Manor has fourteen bedrooms in the main house and four cottages (ideal for families) in the “Stables”. All rooms have queen or king beds, en suite facilities and some have open fireplaces. The highly regarded restaurant serves a country-style breakfast in the morning while the dinner menu has an emphasis on Tasmanian produce and fresh local seafood.

Day 10 – The South West Wilderness

The magnificent scenery of the West coast can be enjoyed in many ways: from a cruise boat, by seaplane, by helicopter, quad bike, kayak or jet boat. Just a few ideas for your west coast day include:

Enjoy a crayfish or Macquarie Harbour salmon, fresh from the sea; put on a miner’s helmet and light, and go deep underground in Queenstown’s Mt Lyell mine; ride the newly restored Abt railway, now called the West Coast Wilderness Railway; follow the tannin-dark Gordon River into the rainforest; climb to the Teepookana Plateau; cross the restless waters of Macquarie Harbour and step ashore on Sarah Island.

Day 11 – to Hobart, Somerset on the Pier, 2 nights

The drive to Hobart will take about 5 hours and is a spectacular one taking you up on to the Central Plateau and through the Lake St.Clair National Park. From Cynthia Bay on the southern end of the Lake take a scenic walk. Or go for a ride on Australia’s highest-altitude ferry and watch the waters of the our deepest lake curl away from the bow - the glaciers that dug Lake St Clair ’s bed and shaped the nearby crags melted 10,000 years ago.

The village of Derwent Bridge is on the southern end of the park, just 8 kms from Lake St.Clair and a great lunch stop.

Arriving into Hobart, your 2 night stay will be at Somerset on the Pier - located in Hobart’s restored waterfront area. With views of the Derwent River and historic Sullivan Cove, your one bedroom suite has a private balcony and there is an on-site café, restaurant and bar. At your doorstep you will find the Museum and Art Gallery, a range of restaurants and pubs, antique shops, studios and galleries.

Day 12 – Get to know the Tasman Peninsula & Hobart

Although better known for its convict penal settlements, the Tasman Peninsula is also notable for some of the finest coastal cliffs in Australia, visible from a couple of spectacular viewpoints along your drive. It is approximately 1˝ hours’ drive to Port Arthur, Australia’s most famous penal settlement, and a unique and fascinating insight into the harsh existence that early convicts experienced in the 19th century.

There is also the chance to see Tasmania’s most famous marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil, in John Hamilton’s Devil Park on the Tasman Peninsula – these animals are rarely seen in the wild. The park also runs a Raptor Conservation Centre, with free bird of prey flight displays. A gourmet lunch can be provided at the Devil Park, otherwise take a picnic lunch to enjoy elsewhere along the peninsula. 

Day 13 – Departure

Return your hire car to Hobart Airport in time for your departure flight. 
Australia luxury cruise

• Ask us to arrange your Sydney accommodation – a few nights at the beginning or end will give you a chance to experience one of the world’s most beautiful cities.
   
• Nature lovers may care to extend their stay in Tasmania and spend 2 nights at Bruny Island where you are hosted by one of the regions most well-known conservationists.

The price is inclusive of

• 2 nights luxury tented accommodation at Paperbark
• Dinner and breakfast daily at Paperbark
• Use of the canoes & bikes at Paperbark
• 2 nights at Burrawang West Station
• All meals, drinks and activities at Burrawang West Station
• 2 nights at The Convent
• Breakfast daily at The Convent
• 2 nights Calstock
• One gourmet dinner and Breakfast daily at Calstock
• 2 nights Franklin Manor
• Breakfast daily at Franklin Manor
• 2 nights Somerset on the Pier
• 13 days hire car – Group C / Toyota Camry or similar (unlimited kms)
• 10% G.S.T is included for all arrangements and services

Not included

• Flights to Sydney & from Hobart
• Flight from Sydney to Launceston on Day 7 with taxes
• Bar, laundry and personal items
• Meals and activities other than those specified