Good News for Beer Drinkers ! Tours from Melbourne

Top Down Tours who operates Cabriolet Chevrolets has joined the Australia Card and offers a 10% discount on their Beer Tours to Yarra Valley.

On this tour you visit the Major Watering Holes in Yarra Valley and have the opportunity to discover the “divine drink” which was a gift from the Gods according to the ancient and not so ancient or as one bloke puts it; Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer.

Well, here is an opportunity to check out the Beers of Yarra Valley. You start this tour by travelling the winding roads of Warrandyte to Healesville where you visit Buckleys Brewery named after William Buckley, the famous escaped convict. The beers are traditionally brewed, non-filtered and full flavoured. This is Yarra Valleys First Traditional Brewery with Solar Heated Brew. There are 4 beers to choose from. This is where you will be taken through the brewery and shown the step by step production method of making Beer.

Next stop "Innocent Bystander Giant Steps" and the new brewery 'White Rabbit'. The guys there are creating some great beers and have been awarded for "Little Creatures", the 2007 Worlds Best Ale in The Australian International Beer Awards. There is also a personal selection of some of the worlds other great beers.

Next we travel the rolling hills across to Yarra Glen to visit Hargreaves Hill Brewery. This is a family owned micro-brewery which brews with rainwater. They make the ales the old fashioned way, no preservatives, no chemicals or sugars. They have 3 new beers and 2 guest taps.

This is also where we stop for lunch at the new Bar and Restaurant. The Chef is known for his delicious modern brasserie style menu.

After lunch we visit Coldstream Brewery which is a micro-brewery that has Rod Williams as a renowned brewer for over 25 years. His experience and expertise in establishing the brewery is marked by the unique beer and ales available. There are 4 beers available.
We travel back to Melbourne via Warrandyte.
ALL BEER TASTINGS AND LUNCH NEED TO BE PAID BY CUSTOMER.

Using The Australia Card you will enjoy a 10% discount on the tour price.

The Nullarbor - Australia's Great Drive

Crossing the Nullarbor Plain is one of the foremost outback travelling accomplishments for Australians and overseas visitors alike. It’s said that until you’ve spent the time making your way across this endless, mostly treeless, plain you’ve not fully experienced the true loneliness – and freedom – that Australia can provide. It’s been driven, walked, cycled, trained and even skateboarded, and has come to represent everything that is vast and intensely featureless about much of the Australian Outback. With the compliments of Australian Traveller –Australia’s Best selling travel magazine here are some fascinating facts about this “roadtrip of roadtrips”.

The Nullarbor can be done fast or slow, and in fact sometimes it’s difficult to tell which is which; time has a way of telescoping on this famously arid drive. Foot to the floor, it can be done in less than 24 hours – but that’s foolhardy in the extreme. Allowing yourself anywhere from five to ten days is best for really embracing the wide expanse, occasional low spinifex and straight, straight bitumen. Driving east is more comfortable than driving west - you don't drive into the sun in the afternoon.

It’s easy to imagine the Nullarbor as it must have been millions of years ago when it was thought to be a vast seabed. The Plain itself covers around 200,000km2, and is gutted east to west by the ramrod straight Eyre Highway, which begins at the WA end at Norseman and terminates almost 1700km later in SA’s Port Augusta. In between, you’ll find only a few things to disrupt your train of thought as you drive. These include: the world’s longest straight bit of road (the 90 Mile Straight, 146.6km between Caiguna and Balladonia); giant semitrailers intent on sweeping you into the roadside gravel if you’re not careful; hundreds of feral camels (of which a handful are almost certain to stray out of the darkness into your path); ditto Big Red ’roos; a roadhouse or two; tourists (probably German) on bikes; and dozens of shimmering mirages as you slowly succumb to white-line fever.

The spectacular cliffs of the Great Australian Bight, some of the longest in the world, can be viewed from several different Marine Park lookouts and provide some important relief from the mesmerising uniformity. As do the plethora of underground cave systems, such as Cocklebiddy, one of the longest underwater caves in the world. Be sure to check out the museum at Balladonia for more info on these fascinating – and tremendously fragile – environments running beneath the Nullarbor’s extensive limestone surface.

The various towns dotted along the Nullarbor Plain range from Eucla at their largest (near the SA/WA border, with its much-photographed Old Telegraph Station being gradually reclaimed by sand dunes), to Ceduna, the last major town if crossing east to west, to Balladonia, Caiguna, Madura, Mundrabilla and Penong – which are essentially roadhouses with the odd hotel/motel and caravan park thrown in. Balladonia became briefly famous in 1979 when chunks of Skylab crashed to Earth nearby, Caiguna has its own landing strip, Madura is focused mainly on sheep farming, Mundrabilla is famous for large meteorites fragments discovered in the area, and Penong is known for its abundance of windmills. So don’t let anyone tell you there’s nothing to do out there.

At the WA end of your Nullarbor odyssey, you can elect to veer south and wind your way through Esperance and Margaret River – but to do so would be to abandon the Outback flavour of your journey. Instead, head north from Norseman along Route 94 for Kalgoorlie and the Golden Mile. And remember, if you’re travelling west to east from Perth across the Nullarbor (especially if you’re on the great Indian Pacific train journey), Kalgoorlie represents the last major town for many hundreds of kilometres. So be sure to stock up on water, snacks and plenty of in-car games.

Tell anyone you’re driving almost 2000km across the Nullarbor and you’ll get one of two reactions. The first is usually a mixture of bewilderment, pity and horror: “It’s so long and boring – why don’t you fly, or at least catch the train? It’ll take days and there’s nothing to see.” Others look at you enviously: “Wow, I’ve always wanted to do that!” The Nullarbor’s like that. There’s no denying it’s a long trip – four days, maybe more: it covers an area equivalent to England, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, with 7000km2 left over. And it’s definitely flat, with long sections of empty straight between tiny settlements where shopping, nightlife and good coffee is non-existent. But once you’ve done the trip you could never argue that it’s boring, nor could you say there’s nothing to see. As far as great Aussie road trips go, this one can’t be beaten.

Total distance: Perth to Ceduna, around 2000km

Suggested itinerary:
Day 1: Perth to Kalgoorlie, 596km
Day 2: Kalgoorlie to Balladonia, 378km
Day 3: Balladonia to Nullarbor Roadhouse, 693km
Day 4: Nullarbor Roadhouse to Ceduna, 297km

Contact me on hans@sander.com for any bookings in Australia.

Din kontakt i Australien

Hej, vi är etablerade i Australien sedan 1986 och sysslar enbart med inkommande trafik, både FITs och grupper.

Jag hoppas min blogg kan vara av intresse och uppskattar om Du registrerar Dig för kommande artiklar. Det kan alltid vara av intresse eller nytta i arbetet.

Om Du har en kund eller grupp och behöver priser eller resplaner email mig på hans@sander.com för ett snabbt svar.

Under 2010 har vi också en 'promotion' vilket ger Dig ett vinglas i kristall med Australienskt motiv. Mycket uppskattat världen runt. Allt du behöver göra är att sända en beställning.

Dining in Australia - Now you can plan ahead !

At last, here is a service that any traveller to and in Australia will enjoy. I can recommend Menulog to anyone organising a holiday in Australia. It allows you to view menus as well as prices in advance and you will find reviews from other diners and their experience with the restaurant.

There is a wide range of styles from Australian to African and locations all over Australia. You book the restaurant with short notice or well in advance and all details are set out – phone number, location and cancellation procedure.

I can see a lot of use for this online service. Normally you look up a restaurant in the Yellow Pages or get some ideas from the newspaper or the concierge at the hotel but with access to over 1000 restaurants in Australia you can plan your dining well in advance and read reviews.

You’ll find all details at; www.menulog.com.au

Skiing in Australia ?

,First a bit of history. You all know about kangaroos and Sydney Opera House, koalas and Ayers Rock, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef but you might not be aware of the fact that Australia was a pioneer nation in the sport of ski racing, with annual ski races being conducted at Kiandra during the 19th Century.

The Kiandra Snow Shoe Club was formed in 1861 by three Norwegians, Elias Gottaas, Soren Torp and Carl Bjerknes on the Kiandra Gold Fields in New South Wales. This original ski club is recognised as the first snow ski club in the world and also carries the distinction of being the longest continously operating club. Later in 1861 the second oldest ski club was formed in Norway.

In 1898 Messrs. C A Falstadt (Consul General for Norway and Sweden), and Andrew (Banjo) Paterson were elected as Vice Presidents. Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda, Australia’s unofficial national anthem.

When the first snowstorm of the year hits, the freenzy that is the ski season begins. Overnight the various ski fields across NSW and Victoria are transformed into a winter wonderland. Australian Traveller, Australia’s best selling travel magazine has an update of all ski resorts for 2010 and for further details visit AT’s website here.

Falls Creek
The big news for Falls Creek in 2010 is the unveiling of more sections of the palatial Quay West Resort & Spa. Part of a massive $65m development, the five star resort has a day spa, gym and a supermarket onsite – and since it’s so new, of course there’s a winter savings package to kick things off. Called “White Space”, it’s valid from June 12-25 and you get to stay in one of the 23 apartments in the just-completed West Wing for five nights from just $2400. Since they’re two-bedroom apartments, that’s pretty good split four ways. The resort has also introduced valet parking, which includes having your car dug out of the snow for you if required,

Falls Creek has also bolstered its snowmaking arsenal this year with an additional 28snow guns, ensuring a better base throughout the 2010 season. More importantly, this has meant they can finally introduce a night skiing program on their famous Wombat’s Ramble, at 2.2km the longest beginners’ run in the country. Wednesdays and Saturdays are the only nights running for now, so time your visits carefully – and try skiing into Tom, Dick and Harry’s – ski bar and café at the Quay West for a hot toddy before zooming back onto the slopes.

And lastly, legendary Australian skier and three-time Winter Olympian Steven Lee has been given the green light in 2010 to conduct special backcountry tours of Falls Creek.

Mt Hotham
Not wishing to be outgunned by Falls Creek, steep and deep Hotham has also upped its snowmaking capabilities, with 22 new guns blasting out over Heavenly Valley. And believe us when we say, any technology that allows Heavenly Valley to open earlier and close later in the season is very good news indeed.

It’s also never been easier to reach Hotham’s 320 hectares of terrain, with QantasLink flying four times a week direct from Sydney to the only Australian alpine resort with an airport. Hotham also remains the only ski field in Australia to offer dog sledding, so strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

Mt Buller
Only three hours northeast of Melbourne, Buller has a much younger feel – probably because it’s the only resort to extend its “kids pricing” tickets all the way through to Year 12 (a great move that should really be taken on by the other big players), and at just $54 for a kid’s day pass and $99 adults, that’s insanely good value.

A lot of its accommodation packages also contain that all-important “Kids Stay Free” rider, which helps the hip pocket enormously. So with that, plus the largest lifting system in Victoria, more on-mountain beds than any other Victorian resort and a tonne of eating and drinking options, Mt Buller is very hard to beat for an all-round great on-snow experience.


Mt Baw Baw
Mt Baw Baw is just 150km east of Melbourne, so for city slickers this is what skiing in other snow-blessed countries must be like: hop in the car for a leisurely drive to the ski fields; stay or drive home the very same day.

The emphasis here is on “accessible and affordable”, so be sure to make good use of the inexpensive lodges and apartments clustered around the small village centre (the solitary hotel houses a backpackers dorm and weekly Foozball comps).


Perisher
The largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere, and the adopted training ground of golden girl Torah Bright, Perisher is a playground for all ages and all types of snow sports, allowing you to ski, board, tube, snowshoe or skidoo across seven mountain peaks, the highest reaching 2054m. And this year things might get very interesting at Front Valley on Australia’s only Superpipe: the best three-minute video of jumps, tricks and twists filmed on the pipe and PlayStation Slopestyle course will win $5000 in Coca-Cola’s annual “Tube My Ride” comp.

And we simply cannot write about Perisher without recommending perennial AT favourite Moonbah Hut (www.moonbahhut.com), nestled on the edge of a lake near Jindabyne, as a place to stay. For a completely different way to experience a trip to the snowfields, you simply must check it out.


Thredbo
The rivalry between Thredbo and Perisher has traditionally been fierce, primarily due to proximity, since the resorts offer such different on-mountain experiences. Thredbo sits lower than Perisher but still has 480 hectares of good riding, and while Perisher village might be whirling in snow, Thredbo can often be a wind-free haven. They’ve also reached into the coffers to completely overall their hire equipment, which means shiny new skis, boards and boots for all ages and skill levels.