7 Day Autumn Colours Aircruise

SYDNEY - TEMORA -WAGGA WAGGA

Your journey begins today from our private terminal at Sydney Airport. We fly across south western New South Wales to the town of Temora. Here we spend some time at the Temora Aviation Museum. Temora has a rich and noteworthy aviation history having been home to the No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School (10 EFTS) set up by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAA F) in May 1941. The aircraft are maintained in airworthy condition and are flown on a regular basis.

Mid afternoon we fly to Wagga Wagga and transfer to the National Art Glass Gallery.

Overnight: Premier Hotel Wagga Wagga

WAGGA WAGGA - ALBURY - MILAWA

This morning we enjoy a heritage tour of Wagga Wagga, the state’s largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. The city straddles the Murrumbidgee River, one of the great rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin and the city centre itself is located on the southern bank.

After lunch we reboard the aircraft for our flight to Albury where we transfer to Milawa and our accommodation for the next two evenings – Lindenwarrah. The hotel is nestled in the Milawa gourmet wine region in northeast Victoria’s alpine country and is framed by mountains, valleys and rivers. The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend at leisure at the hotel.

Overnight: Lindenwarrah

MT BUFFALO - BRIGHT - MYRTLEFORD

Today we drive to Bright and along the way pass through the township of Myrtleford and the Mt Buffalo region. Myrtleford is beautifully positioned in the northern foothills of the Mt Buffalo Range adjacent to the Ovens River, Happy Valley Creek and Barwidgee Creek. Beautiful scenery, tranquillity, rivers and mountain views provide a dramatic backdrop. Myrtleford is a town with a rich history of gold mining and hops and tobacco growing. Timber harvesting, grape growing, winemaking and the dairy industry now sustain the economy.

Bright is renowned for its beauty in every season and particularly in autumn with the natural beauty of the European trees changing colour before winter. In autumn the huge deciduous trees – oaks, elms, poplars and Japanese maples – many of which are now more than 70 years old, paint the town red, orange, gold and yellow.

We return to Lindenwarrah via Myrtleford where we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Lindenwarrah

WANGARATTA - COOMA - THREDBO

This morning we visit Milawa Cheese Company, a small but highly regarded speciality cheese factory. All cheeses are hand made at the historic Milawa Butter Factory using traditional methods, without preservatives and using non-animal rennet. We then visit The Muse Gallery which showcases a range of quality paintings, prints, ceramics, sculpture and jewellery from emerging and established local and interstate artists.

Later we transfer by road to Beechworth. This historic town is respectfully known as the ‘Elegant Dame’, with all the sensibilities of a grand 19th century town, as you look down from the foothills of the Australian Alps onto the wide, tree-lined streets, with their deep granite gutters and shady, century-old verandahs. Today we take a walking tour through the town before having lunch at a local restaurant.

This afternoon we reboard the aicraft for our flight to Cooma. Upon arrival transfer to Thredbo and our accommodation for the next two evenings – the Thredbo Alpine Hotel.

Overnight: Thredbo Alpine Hotel

THREDBO

After a leisurely breakfast this morning we take a chairlift and guided tour of Australia’s highest mountain – Mt Kosciuszko. The views from the summit are amazing and you will see the changing autumn colours of this region. Lunch today is at Australia’s highest restaurant – Eagles Nest.

The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend at leisure at the hotel or you may like to take a walk around the Thredbo Village.

Overnight: Thredbo Alpine Hotel

THREDBO - COOMA - CANBERRA

This morning we visit the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre, a state of the art visitor facility showcasing the amazing story of the Snowy Mountains scheme right through from the early construction days to the role the Scheme plays today in supplying vital electricity for south-eastern Australia and managing water releases for inland irrigation areas.

After lunch in Cooma we transfer to the airport for our brief flight to Canberra. There will be a farewell dinner tonight.

Overnight: Hyatt Hotel Canberra

ANZAC DAY - CANBERRA - SYDNEY

This morning we have a late start before transferring to the Australian War Memorial for the ANZAC Day service which takes place at 10.15 am in the presence of people such as the Prime Minister and the Governor General. After a late lunch we transfer to the airport for our return flight to Sydney.