DOWN UNDER DISCOVERY

Day 01 & 02: Feb 02 & 03, 2026:  FLYING TO AUSTRALIA/CROSS DATE LINE
The tour begins with a flight from Canada/USA into Australia. You will cross the International Date Line and lose a day.  [IFM]

Day 03 – Feb 04, 2026: ARRIVE BRISBANE, AU
Arrive to Brisbane, Australia and make your own way to a downtown hotel. Overnight in Brisbane.

Day 04- Feb 05, 2026: BRISBANE - LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA
Depart for the Brisbane International Airport for a flight to Launceston. Launceston is located in Tasmania’s northern region. Meet your local tour guide, who has knowledge and experience and will be with you for the duration of the tour. Private coach transfer to your accommodation, where you will stay for 2-nights. Enjoy some time to relax before re-grouping this evening for a welcome dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. [D]

Day 05: Feb 06, 2026: LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA
Today we will visit a family-run seedstock business - an Angus stud located near Longford. The family have also diversified the business with irrigated poppies, peas, potatoes and grass seed and the addition of prime lambs. We will visit the historical Woolmer’s Estate, which will provide a special journey through time, from the establishment of the estate in 1817 to the last descendant of the Archer family in 1994. Visit a hazelnut grove for a guided tour and tasting. The grove currently produces in excess of 10 tonnes of in-shell product each year. Return to Launceston and enjoy some leisure time to explore the city or perhaps take a walk to Cataract Gorge and Cliff Grounds. [B/L]

Day 06: Feb 07, 2026: LAUNCESTON - DEVONPORT, TASMANIA
Depart hotel after breakfast and travel to Elizabeth Town to visit a Cheese Facility – a producer of award-winning Cheddar style cheeses, crafting authentic cheeses by hand on the farm. Enjoy a cheese tasting before heading north for a stop at the House of Anvers – where Belgian chocolate skills and Tasmania’s fresh, clean climate combine to create a supreme chocolate experience. Next, visit a pickled onion factory – a family-owned business which has been producing pickled onions grown in Tasmania since 1999. Enjoy lunch in their onsite café. The family also have a vineyard, so there will be a wine tasting too. Finish the day with a cider tasting at an apple orchard near Spreyton, which produces ciders from 100% Tasmanian apples and pears. Later arrive in Devonport for overnight and check in to accommodation for a 1-night stay. [B/L/D]

Day 07: Feb 08, 2026: DEVONPORT - STRAHAN, TASMANIA
After breakfast travel south through interesting and fertile farmlands to Sheffield, the Town of Murals. Short stop to see the pioneer theme murals painted on many of the old buildings throughout the town. Continue through rugged mountain country to Cradle Mountain, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and one of the scenic highlights of any visit to Tasmania. Board a shuttle bus for the drive to view the spectacular Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain in the background. After lunch there will be a visit and guided tour of Devils @ Cradle, a unique Tasmanian conservation facility focusing on Tasmania's three carnivorous marsupials, the eastern and spotted - tail quoll and the Tasmanian devil. Later continue the journey onto Strahan, located on the rugged West Coast of Tasmania. Dinner tonight in the hotel’s restaurant, offering stunning views of Strahan and Macquarie Harbour. [B/L/D]

Day 08: Feb 09, 2026: STRAHAN, TASMANIA
After breakfast depart on a cruise (with lunch) across the unspoiled Macquarie Harbour, with a view of notorious Hell’s Gates and then on to enter the Gordon River. This is pristine wilderness rainforest. On the return journey stop at Sarah Island, once a dreaded penal settlement and at one time the largest boat building enterprise in the British Colonies. Walk amongst the ruins as your guide recounts stories about convicts, soldiers, settlers and the shipwrights who lived and worked here. Early evening regather at the Richard Davey Amphitheatre for the enactment of “The Ship That Never Was”; a live professional theatre production that tells the dramatic and hilarious story of the great escape from Sarah Island. Dinner at a local restaurant. [B/L]

Day 09: Feb 10, 2026: STRAHAN - HOBART, TASMANIA
Enjoy a scenic drive through Queenstown and on to Derwent Bridge. Visit the “Wall in the Wilderness”, where carved three-metre-high wooden panels, created by artist Greg Duncan, commemorate the people who helped shape the past and present of Tasmania’s Central Highlands. Visit a 6th generation Tasmanian farmer near Hamilton, who will share some information about farming practices in Tasmania and changes he has seen over the years. Other topics such as sheep production (both meat and wool production), intensive cropping enterprises - opium poppies, vegetable seed crops of onions/carrots/cabbage and pasture crops, and sustainable farming practices will also be discussed. Enjoy a BBQ lunch with your hosts. Afterwards, journey down the Derwent Valley to Hobart and check into your well-located hotel for a 2-night stay. [B/L]

Day 10: Feb 11, 2026: HOBART, TASMANIA
The day will be spent to the east of Hobart – in an area known as the Tasman Peninsula. Visit a successful company farm where the cool, temperate climate allows them to grow their baby salad leaves all year round. They are the only critical care salad producer in Australia growing the majority of their salad on their own farms. Visit the World Heritage listed Port Arthur historic site – where the buildings are a living reminder of Australia’s convict past, dating from 1840. There will be time for an introductory guided walk, lunch and a short harbour cruise with commentary. Depart, with enroute views of three scenic iconic sites: Tasman Arch, the Devil’s Kitchen and the historic Eaglehawk Neck, before visiting the Bangor Vineyard Shed, to enjoy a wine tasting accompanied by a tasting platter of local produce. Return to Hobart and then onto Mt. Wellington (weather & time permitting) for spectacular views of Hobart and the surrounding area. There will be a farewell dinner this evening. [B/L/D]

Day 11, 12 & 13: Feb 12, 13 & 14, 2026: Hobart to Adelaide / Indian Pacific Rail from Adelaide to Perth*

Flight from Hobart to Adelaide.  Board the Indian Pacific, travelling from Adelaide to Perth for a 2 night/3-day journey.  This all-inclusive experience including a gourmet dinner, regionally inspired menu paired with a selection of local wines, Dinner under a million outback stars at Rawlinna.  Explore the now ghost-town of Cook with timeless travel between two great cities.  [3 breakfasts/2 lunches & 2 dinner] 

Day 14 & 15: Feb 15 & 16, 2026: Perth & Area / Margaret River Wine Region

Tour Perth and discover Fremantle by coach and by boat.  A day tour to the wine region of Margaret River.  Food, wine, nature and a touch of the countryside over these two days. [B Daily/1 lunch & 1 diner].

Day 16, 17 & 18: Feb 17, 18 & 19, 2026: Darwin, Northern Territory

Flight from Perth to Darwin, located in the Northern Territory of Australia.  Get your Darwin bearings on a city tour revealing the events that have shaped the city over the decades, from wars to natural disasters. Visit such attractions like East Point Military Reserve and the MAGNT (Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory). Visit the home of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Tourist Facility as well as the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, loaded with 200+ stalls. [B daily/1 lunch & 1 dinner]

Day 19: Feb 20, 2026: Darwin / Brisbane

Mid-day flight from Darwin to Brisbane.  Overnights at an airport hotel.  [B]

Day 20: Feb 21, 2026: End of Tour

Flights from Brisbane back to North America.  Since you cross back over the International Date Line again, you arrive back in North America this same day.  [B/IFM]