~ 8 Day Tour ~ 13th - 20th October, 2017

“Friends to travel with....”

2121 Point Nepean Road, Rye Vic 3941 www.oshannessys.com.au

Email: enquiries@oshannessys.com.au

Toll Free: 1800 354 352

O’Shannessy’s Sorrento Travel Pty Ltd T/A:

Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens Woolmers Estate - World Heritage Listed

Just two of the amazing gardens we will visit on this tour.

Price per person twin share $ 3,595 Repeat clientele twin share $ 3,495 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT $ 615 Tour Departs: Friday 13th October, 2017 Tour Returns: Friday 20th October, 2017 Deposit: $200 per person upon booking  

Balance due on invoice approximately 60 days prior to departure

Single travellers who are prepared to twin share will be matched with another passenger (of the same gender) or, if this is not possible,

provided with single accommodation at the twin share fare.

Tour Price Includes: Pick up from and return to your home - Greater Melbourne,

Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, the Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas, some areas of Gippsland and Phillip Island.

2 nights private ensuite accommodation aboard the Spirit of Tasmania. Each cabin has twin beds and porthole.

Travel by our own state of the art luxury coach, equipped with restroom, satellite phone, fold-down arm rests, seat belts and extra leg room. Our coach has a ’kneeling’ device and second door for ease of entry and disembarkation. Our coach is also fitted with ‘Road Cam’ TV monitors which display in real time the road ahead. The coach offers a smooth quiet ride and views through large panoramic windows.

Quality ensuite motel accommodation. All tours and interest venues as per itinerary. All meals: Full cooked breakfasts, restaurant dinners, lunches and

morning teas.

The following cancellation fees apply for this tour: Deposit refundable until 60 days prior to departure.

60 to 15 days BEFORE DEPARTURE 50% Refund of Tour Cost 14 to 1 day BEFORE DEPARTURE 25% Refund of Tour Cost On or after Departure date of Tour NO REFUND

All passengers are required to co-operate with the seat rotation program determined by O’Shannessy’s Tour Directors.

TRAVEL INSURANCE IS NOT COMPULSORY HOWEVER IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND IS AVAILABLE FROM OUR OFFICE.

The Proprietors reserve the right to vary any accommodation, price or other features of the tour at any time at their own discretion.

Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens

Westbury - Fitzpatrick Inn

Launceston

Cataract Gorge

Woolmers Estate

Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Co.

City Park - John Hart Conservatory

Oatlands - Callington Flour Mill

Richmond

Hobart

Avi Flora Garden

Crawleighwood Garden

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

Russell Falls - Mt Field National Park

Plenty Salmon Ponds

Bothwell

Great Lake

Deloraine - Yarns Artwork in Silk

Railton - Topiary town

Spirit of Tasmania - Bass Strait

Day 1: Friday 13th October, 2017

Port Melbourne ~ Spirit of Tasmania

Our island adventure begins on board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry which departs Port Melbourne’s Station Pier at 7.30pm. Explore the many onboard facilities including bars, cinemas and lounges. We enjoy the cruise down Port Phillip Bay and settle into our comfortable twin cabins with private facilities. OVERNIGHT: Spirit of Tasmania

Day 2: Saturday 14th October, 2017

Rhododendron Garden ~ Westbury ~ Cataract Gorge ~ Launceston

After berthing in Devonport, we disembark and travel to a nearby venue for breakfast before travelling west to visit the Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens. The gardens are home to a magnificent display of over 20,000 rhododendrons and other plants set on 13 hectares, will be in peak flowering season in October. We travel along northern Tasmania to the classic Georgian village of Westbury where we will have lunch at historic Fitzpatrick's Inn. We then journey along the Old Bass Highway through Carrick and Hadspen to Launceston and enjoy a site-seeing tour around Tasmania's second largest city tour. The tour

will include the city centre and magnificent Cataract Gorge with its cliff-side gardens, peacocks, pools, suspension foot bridge and one of the longest single span chairlifts in the world (ride is optional and own expense). Later today

we check in to our accommodation at Hotel Grand Chancellor which will be home for the next two nights.

OVERNIGHT: Hotel Grand Chancellor, LAUNCESTON

Day 3: Sunday 15th October, 2017

Woolmers ~ Longford ~ Evandale ~ Gourmet Sauce Co

After breakfast this morning we explore the nearby Longford / Evandale area with our first stop being the World Heritage Woolmers Estate. We have time to wander around and soak up the essence of 19th century Tasmanian life on a once working farm estate and admire their outstanding Rose Garden which represents one of the finest collections

of historic roses in the Southern Hemisphere. The nearby village of Evandale holds its weekly market each Sunday and we will pause here before visiting the Tasmanian Gourmet Sauce Company. After being welcomed by Maddie the Labrador (their 'Meet and Greet Lady') we will sample some of their products which appeal to a wide range of tastes from the chilli lover to the sweet tooth. We enjoy a gourmet BBQ lunch before returning to Launceston. We have

time to stroll in City Park and the John Hart Conservatory noted for displays of Begonias, Cyclamens and other hot house blooms before heading back to our accommodation. OVERNIGHT: Hotel Grand Chancellor, LAUNCESTON

Day 4: Monday 16th October, 2017

Midlands ~ Oatlands ~ Richmond ~ Hobart

Today we say goodbye to Launceston and make our way down the Heritage Highway to Hobart. We stop at Oatlands, one of Tasmania’s oldest settlements containing the largest collection of colonial sandstone building in Australia. We admire the newly refurbished Callington Flour

Mill, originality built in 1837 and enjoy a guided town tour which includes a look into the world of dry stone walls. We visit Richmond and enjoy a guided tour behind the hedges of selected private gardens. Richmond is the home to Australia’s oldest bridge, built by convict labour (1823 -

1825) and Australia’s oldest remaining Catholic Church, St Johns. Later in the afternoon we travel into Hobart nestled at the foot of majestic Mount Wellington and settle into our accommodation for the next three nights at Fountainside Hotel.

OVERNIGHT: Fountainside Hotel, HOBART

Day 5: Tuesday 17th October, 2017

Huon Valley Gardens ~ Royal Botanical Gardens

Today we take in the panoramic views of the city and estuary from Mt Nelson before travelling to the seaside town of Margate where we can stroll through Avi Flora garden which has colour all year

round with spring bulbs, annuals, flowering shrubs, Roses, Irises and perennials. We then continue along the Derwent River which broadens into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, once a haven for sealers and whalers, now one of Hobart’s aquatic

playgrounds. We stop at Crawleighwood Garden, a wonderful 2 hectare garden nestled in the picturesque hills of Cygnet. The garden features lush woodland and rainforest with an eclectic variety of plants. We return to Hobart through the southern suburbs passing the iconic shot tower, which is one of Tasmania's most historical industrial buildings. We finish the day in the sheltered, landscaped grounds of the Royal

Tasmanian Botanical Gardens which holds historic plant collections and a large number of significant trees, many dating from the nineteenth century. Don't forget to look out for the Vegie Patch which was made famous by former Tasmanian television gardening guru Peter Cundall.

OVERNIGHT: Fountainside Hotel, HOBART

Day 6: Wednesday 18th October, 2017

Russell Falls ~ Salmon Ponds

This morning we travel through the delightful Derwent Valley to New Norfolk and Mt Field National Park which is one of Tasmania's most loved national parks. An easy 10 minute stroll will take us to the iconic Russell Falls. The track is edged with graceful ferns and giant

eucalypts tower overhead. We stop for lunch at Plenty Salmon Ponds. Circa 1861, this is the oldest trout hatchery in the Southern Hemisphere. It was the birthplace of trout in Australia and the origin of Tasmania’s legendary trout fishery. We enjoy the original 19th century English style public open space of superb trees, hedges and lawns before following the Derwent River back to Hobart.

OVERNIGHT: Fountainside Hotel, HOBART

Day 7: Thursday 19th October, 2017

Bothwell ~ Central Plateau ~ Miena ~ Deloraine

We say farewell to Hobart as we return to Devonport through the Central Highlands. We pause at historic Bothwell, situated on the Clyde River, which retains a strong Scottish connection in its richly layered history dating back to 1824. It is the site of the oldest golf course in the Southern Hemisphere - known as ‘Ratho’, the course has changed little from over a hundred years ago - the fairways are still kept short by grazing sheep! Travelling across the Steppes to Miena we stop for a lunch break at the Great Lake Hotel. We view the Great Lake, one of the highest fresh water lakes in Australia, as we tour beside this mecca for trout fishermen, past fishing shacks scattered along the shoreline and Liawenee where they release the fingerling trout each year into the lake. We descend from the Central Plateau beside Quamby Bluff and travel west through picturesque farmlands to the village of Deloraine. We spend time at Yarns Artwork in Silk, a unique community art project depicting the local region. On the way to Devonport we take a small detour to Railton

which is also known as the Town of Topiary with more than 100 imaginative topiary characters found in its main street. We board the Spirit of Tasmania for our journey across Bass Strait back to mainland Australia. OVERNIGHT: Spirit of Tasmania

Day 8: Friday 20th October, 2017

Bass Strait ~ Melbourne ~ Home

Early risers may witness the entry through The Heads into Port Phillip Bay and watch the Melbourne city skyline come into view during the cruise up the bay to Station Pier. We disembark on arrival around 6.00am then enjoy breakfast before travelling home, reflecting on our 'Tassie in Bloom' holiday.

CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL

Any special passenger requirements must be notified to O’Shannessy’s Tours at the time of booking. No passenger will be permitted to embark or continue on the tour while their mental or physical condition is, in the opinion of any representative of O’Shannessy’s Tours, such as to render them incapable of caring for themselves, or whereby they become objectionable to other passengers, or they become a hazard to themselves or other passengers. O’Shannessy’s Tours will not be responsible for expenses resulting in such persons being precluded from completing the tour for any such reason. It is also a requirement of O’Shannessy’s Tours that each passenger is able to negotiate coach steps without the aid of the coach crew or other passengers. Any passenger who requires assistance for any of the above is required to travel with a companion capable of providing all necessary assistance. If you are willing to twin share but are a smoker or have a CPAP machine or snore, you will need to pay a single supplement for a sole use room.

We thank you for travelling with O’Shannessy’s Tours and look forward to your patronage again in the future!

We trust you arrive home safely with memories of a fascinating and rewarding tour.