This Australian adventure highlights the best of the states of Victoria and South Australia. You will get the opportunity to see native Australian wildlife including rare and endangered species. You’ll also explore some of the country’s most beautiful and dramatic coastlines. This is a trip for those looking to get in touch with the animals and stunning natural beauty of mainland Australia!
Inclusions
- 7 nights of accommodation in your selected category
- 3 meals (1 breakfast, 2 lunches)
- Entrance to the Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium
- Melbourne Lanes and Arcades Walking Tour
- Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island full day tour
- 3 Day/2 Night Tour of the Great Ocean Road
- Half Day tour of Cleland Wildlife Park
- All tours and activities listed in itinerary
| Oct 1-Dec 10, 2025 | |
| Moderate Hotels | from $3499 tax included |
| Superior Hotels | from $3599 tax included |
| Deluxe Hotels | from $4639 tax included |
| single, triple, family pricing available on request | |
Not Included:
– Flights/Airfare (but can be added)
– Travel insurance (Strongly recommended!)
– Pre/post accommodation
– Items (attractions and sightseeing & entrance fees) not listed as included in the itinerary
– Items listed as ‘not included’ or ‘own expense’ in itinerary
– Additional attractions, sightseeing & entrance fees not listed as included in the itinerary
Features:
– Wildlife viewing: kangaroos, koalas, tasmanian devils, penguins, seals and more
– Animal encounters and feedings
– Melbourne: Lanes Tour and Aquarium
– Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
– Phillip Island & Penguin Parade
– Great Ocean Road & the 12 Apostles
– Great Otway National Park
– Tower Hill Game Reserve
– Coonawarra & Padthaway wine regions
– Naracoorte Caves National Park
– Adelaide & Cleland Wildlife Park
Day 1: Arrive Melbourne
Upon arrival in Melbourne, you will be transferred to your accommodation for the next 3 nights. Start your stay in Melbourne with a short walk around town and a visit to the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. Experience live shark feeds, Glass Bottom Boat tours and special touch-and-feel presentations. Your exciting journey will take you over four thrilling and interactive levels, where you will meet a whole host of weird and wonderful marine life.
Day 2: Melbourne Sightseeing
Today you’ll get to know the real Melbourne. Have you ever been to a city and wondered what all the fuss was about? Or wasted time trying to find that cool local cafe you were told of and ended up missing everything? Melbourne’s arcades and laneways hide many of these answers. Join this indulgent afternoon walk through Melbourne’s beautiful back streets and get oriented to the life of the city that locals love. Some of the quirkiest cafes, independent designers, street art, architecture and historical tales are found in these walkways. There is some
Day 3: Phillip Island and Moonlit Sanctuary
Head south-east from Melbourne today to reach Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park where you will meet endangered species, kangaroos, wallabies and koalas, plus an array of colourful birds and reptiles. Your journey then leads onto Phillip Island, the home of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and the famous Little Penguins. Upon arrival on the Island, depending on the time of year and your interests, you can visit Woolamai beach to see surfers riding the waves. Next, you’ll be amazed by the dramatic west coast of the Island. At the Nobbies, stroll along the boardwalk to experience the waves crashing along this rugged coastline, see the blowhole and be mesmerized by the stunning views. You might even encounter your first penguin nests. You’ll stop for dinner at either Cowes or the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre depending on the time of year. Finally, a trip to Phillip Island is not complete without its black-tie gala event: the Penguin Parade. Head to the Visitor Centre to shop, have a coffee and meander along the boardwalk to the viewing platform where you will see the little penguins come ashore, decked out in their tuxedos as they hurry off to find their burrows.
Day 4: Melbourne – Apollo Bay (L)
Today, you’ll depart Melbourne via the West Gate Bridge. Travel through the vast volcanic plains en route to Geelong where you’ll have time to stroll along the transformed waterfront. Your first stop along the coast is at Bells Beach. The focus then turns to Australian native wildlife as we observe Eastern Grey Kangaroos in the wild. Your journey then begins travelling a very scenic, cliff-hugging section of the Great Ocean Road. Lorne is the largest of the seaside resorts and is a perfect place for a lunch break. After lunch we cruise along this spectacular road, stopping at many scenic spots including Kennett River. Travelling through Apollo Bay, you’ll go into the Great Otway National Park. Here you’ll enjoy a 1km guided walk through a cool temperate rainforest gully.
Day 5: Apollo Bay – Mount Gambier (B/L)
This morning starts with breakfast at the “locals’ favourite” Bay Leaf Cafe. Our journey then begins by travelling through the Otway ranges and onto the Shipwreck Coast. Your guide will introduce you to the strong Aboriginal heritage of the region with many tribes living prosperously around the coastline for thousands of years. The 12 Apostles are icons of Australia’s natural beauty. You’ll get the advantage of seeing them earlier in the day when it’s less crowded and beautifully sunlit. We then visit ‘Loch Ard Gorge’, the site of the most famous 19th century Australian shipwreck. Port Campbell is our lunch stop for today. After lunch we travel to a lesser known
but highly impressive area of the Great Ocean Road west of Port Campbell. This section takes in London Bridge, Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, and Boat Bay. Our journey then continues through Warrnambool and onto Tower Hill Game Reserve where you’ll have a chance of seeing Koalas, Kangaroos, and Emus. From there, we venture on through picturesque Port Fairy towards Mount Gambier, home of the ‘Blue’ crater lake and numerous sinkholes.
Day 6: Mount Gambier – Adelaide
Today starts with a drive through the Coonawarra wine region and a visit to the Naracoorte Caves National Park for a cave tour with a local guide. We then continue through another prominent South Australian wine region of Padthaway as we head north through to Keith. We stop here for lunch before joining the highway, travelling through grain and stock land towards Adelaide. On our approach to the city, we visit the very popular tourist village of Hahndorf and Mount Lofty summit for impressive, birds-eye views of Adelaide and surrounds. We arrive in Adelaide at around 6pm.
Day 7: Cleland Wildlife Park
Take a walk on the wild side and engage with some of Australia’s most unique and curious wildlife! Cleland Wildlife Park is nestled within the beautiful Cleland Conservation Park, just 30 minutes away from Adelaide. Whilst immersing yourself in the wonders of this natural bush environment, you can engage with and discover more than 130 species of native wildlife. The Koala close-up experience and the hand feeding of kangaroos are definite must dos!
Day 8: Depart Adelaide
Your package ends today upon check out from your hotel.
Australia Visa
Canadians must be in possession of an Australian visa (Electronic Travel Authority) prior to departure from Canada. Ensure that you travel with the same passport used to apply for your visa. You can apply online https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas for $20 Australian dollars per person (subject to change).
If you prefer Travel Best Bets will issue your Australia visas for $25 CAD per person (plus the Visa costs) after providing your agent with the required information.