Hunter Valley Christmas Lights 26

DAY 1

WODONGA/ALBURY - PARRAMATTA TUESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER, 2022
Welcome aboard Martins touring Coach for departure from Wodonga Plaza, Smythe Street at 7.30am, Albury Rail at 7.45am and Lavington Shopping Centre, Griffith Road 8.00am for our 5 Day Hunter Valley Christmas Lights Tour. We have a brief morning tea stop at Coolac before heading to Goulburn for our lunch (passengers’ own expense). This afternoon we head to Parkroyal Parramatta, a stylish hotel which stands on the banks of the Parramatta River for the first night’s accommodation. Unpack and relax or take a stroll along the “strip” before our dinner in the hotel.
Accommodation: Parramatta Parkroyal Parramatta Ph 02 9689 3333

DAY 2

PARRAMATTA - HUNTER VALLEY WEDNESDAY 16TH NOVEMBER
This morning we set off to see the sights of Maitland, a town lined with historical buildings that date from the early 1800s. We are joined on the coach by a local guide who will show us some the area’s highlights, including many of the heritage listed buildings. Continuing to Mortels Sheepskin Factory we have lunch in the café followed by a guided tour (often with a Mortels family member) through the purpose-built Australiana shearing shed style premises where we see a fully operational manufacturing plant.  Our guide is proud to show Mortels UGG boots from the raw materials to the finished product. At the end of the tour we can look through the store.Next make our way to the Hunter Valley Gardens. The gardens are nestled at the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges, in the heart of the Hunter vineyards. We’ll enjoy a tractor train ride through the gardens to orientate ourselves, take in the superb views from the lookout and step back in time with all our favourite fairytale characters in the Storybook Garden. We will find over 25 hectares of international display gardens that will amaze us with sensational sights, colours, fragrances and adventures of the twelve stunning feature gardens. Now it’s time to check in to our accommodation for the next 2 nights and the hotel is located next to the gardens, near the village.
Accommodation: Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens Polkobin Ph: 02 4998 2000

DAY 3

THE UPPER HUNTER THURSDAY 17TH NOVEMBER
Our sightseeing today takes us to the Upper Hunter region where we meet our wonderful local guide. Our first stop, Darley Stud, is a magnificent operation with animals and scenery that will be remembered. Darley (Woodlands) is owned by Sheik Mohammed from Dubai, the largest breeder of thoroughbreds in the world. We stop in Denman for lunch, before visiting some local enterprises and enjoying a delightful wine tasting. We now head back to our motel to enjoy some free time along with dinner before returning back to the gardens for the magical Christmas Lights Spectacular. With over 1.5 million Christmas lights on show there are enough lights to cover a football oval and 19kms of string lighting! The lights spectacular is bound to capture the spirit of Christmas and create lasting memories for all.  

DAY 4

Hunter Valley and make our way to the Central Coast, arriving at The Chocolate & Nougat Factory Gosford, home of renowned Australian confectionery producers Nougat Limar, Bon Bon Fine Chocolate and The Sydney Marshmallow Co. Taken on a guided factory tour, we’ll be amazed how these delicious treats are made. Lunch follows before making our way to Broken Bay Pearls at Mooney Mooney, the only pearl farm on Australia’s East Coast. Here we’ll learn all about the production cycle of superior Akoya pearls. The Akoya oyster is native to the east coast and pearls produced here are 100% natural in colour. At conclusion of our tour we head into Sydney’s outer suburbs for our final nights accommodation of the tour.
Overnight: The Hills Lodge & Hotel Spa Castle Hill Ph: 02 9680 3800

DAY 5

CASTLE HILL – ALBURY/WODONGA SATURDAY 19TH NOVEMBER
Today we start heading home and travel via Windsor to Richmond. Join the Bells Line of Road making its way through beautifully fertile farmland which offers a blend of pretty bushland scenery and sandstone cliffs enroute to Lithgow. Time here for a comfort stop and morning tea break (own expense) before arriving in Bathurst for our lunch stop. This afternoon, continue through Cowra and Young on our way home arriving approximately 6.30pm.

TOUR COST

$1856.00 Twin / Double Share
$2260.00 Single Supplement

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner