OVERVIEW

This remarkable excursion into the Gold Coast hinterland includes a thrilling rainforest canopy walk, a crafts center visit, a pub lunch, wine tasting, and spectacular Tamborine Mountain views. After a brief coach tour of Brisbane’s highlights, you’ll leave the city behind and travel into lush countryside along winding roads to the Rainforest Skywalk and Eco Discovery Centre, where a stable, high-tech elevated walkway leads you through beautiful middle and upper rainforest canopies, descending gradually to rock pools, waterfalls, a butterfly lookout and more. Lunch is at St. Bernard’s, a popular and historic pub where the valley views are as delicious as the food and the ambiance is 100% Aussie relaxed. Gallery Walk at Eagle Heights is a famous crafts center where you’re likely to find the perfect unique gift or memento waiting in one of its many shops and galleries. A tasting at a local winery will pique your palate midafternoon, while amazing Tamborine Mountain scenery will thrill your eyes as you travel through a region brimming with national parks and spectacular overviews of the Gold Coast shoreline and blue Pacific. It’s a day bound to please all your senses.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a very full day of spectacular Gold Coast and Mt. Tamborine sightseeing and experiences.
• At Rainforest Skywalk, take a high-altitude stroll through lush rainforest canopy along steel walkways.
• Cross the Cantilever, a stable 131-foot span soaring almost 100 feet above the creek and valley below.
• Enjoy lunch served at a laid-back, historic pub and visit a local winery for a tasting session.
• Graze the enticing craft shops and gift galleries of Gallery Walk at Eagle Heights.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear casual, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.

OVERVIEW

Be properly introduced to urban Brisbane on a highlights drive, then head outside of town to mingle with the cuddly residents of the world’s largest koala sanctuary. Sit back in your panoramic coach and get a solid glimpse of Queensland’s green, beautiful capital set along the many bends of the Brisbane River – a city renowned for its sunny weather and matching disposition. See the Parliament House, Treasury Building, City Hall and the Old Customs House. Pass the verdant South Bank Parklands with the Wheel of Brisbane slowly spinning above the river, and the vibrant Cultural Precinct – home to museums, galleries and the boldly designed Performing Arts Centre. Outside the city center, you’ll spend self-guided time at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where some 130 koalas roam freely through a compact preserve – marquee attractions of a menagerie that includes kangaroos, wallabies and other trademark Aussie critters from wombats and dingoes to emus, Tasmanian devils and laughing kookaburras. During your time at the Koala Sanctuary, a private encounter will be arranged for your group to have the opportunity to get up close to a Koala and take a selfie, listen carefully to your guide so that you don't miss this opportunity!

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a panoramic coach introduction to the capital of Queensland, Australia’s “Sunshine State.”
• Discover the city’s colorful history, from its earliest days as a penal colony to its wartime years as MacArthur’s South West Pacific HQ, to the go-go years since.
• Travel outside town to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, first and largest such venue in the world
• Interact with over 130 free-ranging koalas and encounter lots of other signature Aussie critters.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Take a comfortable seat for a delightful coach-driven survey of Brisbane and its surrounding area, with a visit to the Mt. Coot-tha lookout high above the city. Queensland’s government and cultural capital, beguiling Brisbane presents its guests with a distinctive mix of relaxed charm and big city vibrancy. A meandering river runs through it, a semitropical climate fosters lush parks citywide, and a passion for urban reinvention as it grows has yielded a “Brissie” skyline that shines in its modernity without sacrificing its historic character. Your rolling tour will bring you past stately Parliament House, a neoclassical Treasury Building with sleek glass and concrete towers as its backdrop, and the domed 19th-century Customs House. Among the many other modern and historic highlights, you’ll see are the Cultural Centre along South Bank and the landmark Botanical Gardens. But perhaps the most dramatic sight of all on this trip will be what you encounter when your coach travels outside the metropolitan area and up to Mt. Coot-tha lookout, some 755 feet above sea level. The breathtaking vistas of Brisbane’s sleek skyscrapers and picturesque suburbs from up here are not to be missed.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a panoramic highlight drive through Brisbane, the friendly, fast-growing capital of Queensland.
• Admire the Brisbane River as it winds its way through town and past inner city gardens lush with jacarandas, flame trees, and brilliant bougainvillea.
• See iconic landmark buildings like Parliament House, the Treasury Building, the old Customs House and the Cultural Precinct along South Bank.
• Stop for thrilling photos of the shimmering Brisbane skyline and suburbs as your coach ascends to the Mt. Coot-tha lookout some 755 feet above sea level.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.

OVERVIEW

With ample free time afterward you can further discover the zoo and its inhabitants at your own pace. Some very popular optional experiences include hand-feeding red and grey kangaroos in an open range encounter area, or spending time at the koala enclosure, getting to know these adorable creatures up-close. As an option, you might want to cuddle with one for a memorable photo; an additional cost applies. No matter how you spend your additional zoo time, it’s sure to be captivating.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Enjoy a scenic hour-long coach drive north from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast region.
• Visit Australia Zoo, home to the late Steve Irwin, and renowned for its habitat conservation efforts.
• After much reptilian amazement, spend some free time exploring this diverse zoo further; there are kangaroos to be hand-fed and koalas to encounter.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear casual, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.

OVERVIEW

Visit the conservation-oriented zoo created by TV’s late Crocodile Hunter and spend time in a mountain town that could be at home in Switzerland. An hour north of Brisbane by coach, Australia Zoo is still run by the Irwin family and you’ll have ample time to explore here at your own pace. If time permits, make sure to see the Croc Show – a rollicking mix of menacing, amazing and informative. But there are other inhabitants and experiences you won’t want to miss, either. Like hand-feeding red and grey kangaroos in an open range area. Or spending time at the koala enclosure, getting to know these adorable creatures up-close.Heading further north through the Glass House Mountains, you’ll arrive at the charming village of Montville. Its mix of Tudor, Irish and English cottages, blended with Swiss and Bavarian chalets, leaves it in delightful geographic limbo – but its spectacular panoramic views over the coastal plain are pure Australia. Use your free time here to seek lunch at a tea room or café, and to browse the many galleries, pottery studios, craft cottages and antique shops.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Take in the landscape on a scenic hour-long coach drive from Brisbane to the Australia Zoo.
• Be greeted and oriented by zoo staff, then enjoy the venue’s shows and exhibits at your own pace.
• Feed free-bouncing kangaroos and mingle with koalas.
• Drive through the Glass House Mountains to Montville, a village that looks more Tyrolian than Australian.
• Explore this town of Tudor cottages and Bavarian chalets – visiting its shops and lunching on your own.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear casual, weather-appropriate clothing.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.