Australia Tour

​

Our journey starts in Sydney, Australia's largest city. It is certainly not a bad idea to arrive one or two days earlier to see all the highlights, such as the world-famous opera house or the harbour bridge before heading out to the Australian Alps.
We leave Sydney heading south, following the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and enjoying the winding roads. Once in Melbourne, the ferry will transfer to Devonport in Tasmania overnight. Tasmania is a dream for every motorcyclist. Varied roads, low traffic, landscapes of every taste and just great people. After a few days in Tasmania we head back to Melbourne to crown our journey with a loop around the Great Ocean Road. From the culinary point of view, the south of Australia and Tasmania are a fireworks display for the taste buds: fresh oysters and fish, juicy steaks and excellent wines make your mouth water. Whales, koalas and kangaroos - with a bit of luck you can catch a glimpse of these and many other animals in this huge outdoor zoo. A real motorcycle tour for all senses.

​

DAY 1.  Welcome to Sydney

Upon arrival in Sydney, meet at the designated hotel for check-in. Spend your free time relaxing or exploring the City before our safety briefing.

​

DAY 2.  Sydney - Jervis Bay

Southbound, we leave the busy city towards quieter areas. As soon as Sydney has disappeared from our rearview mirrors, we enter a new world. We'll use the first day to familiarize ourselves with our motorcycles, the left-hand riding, and the roads in Australia. An easy ride along the inland highways is the perfect start for
our adventure.
From here we take smaller roads like the old Hume Highway towards Berrima, a great place for a lunch stop. As we are not in a rush we get off the Highway and get to see the red sandstone and white waterfalls of Morton National Park, this time at its northern end, where we will see the Fitz Roy waterfall.
Later on, we take the Princess Highway to reach the coast again, spending a night in Jervis Bay.

​

DAY 3.  Jervis Bay - Jindabyne

Today we ride towards Canberra, the capital of Australia and at the same time the biggest city in our fourth federal state (or territory) of Australia: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
In the morning, after leaving behind the white sandy beaches of Jervis Bay, we cross the Morton National Park, an elevated plain of sandstone with spectacular waterfalls. Once in Canberra, we will do a little side trip to get a view of the capital and its administrative area, the Parliament House, from Mt. Ainslie. To the southeast of Canberra, we ride through a pretty dry area that seems to be even drier after some years with nearly no rainfalls. We leave Canberra with the Monaro Highway, leading us to Jindabyne. The town located at Jindabyne Lake is
the Mekka for thousands of winter and summer sports enthusiasts every year.

​

DAY 4. Jindabyne - Wangaratta

Today offers something very different from most of the other days: Australia's highest mountains, with ski resorts and perhaps even some snow in Summer!
We leave the lowlands around Jindabyne and soon we ride refreshing curves in the mountains. Here in New South Wales we go straight into the heart of the Australian Alps, very close to their highest peak, Mt. Kosciuszko. On the Alpine Way the road becomes smaller and twistier, we could spend all day in this area.
Later on we make our way through the Goulburn Valley, Australia’s fruit bowl, riding along the breath-taking area of Hume Lake. We reach Wangaratta for the overnight stay .

​​

DAY 5. Wangaratta - Ferry to Tasmania in Geelong (Ferry to Devonport)

Time to reach the coast again, this time arriving in Melbourne, perhaps the most vibrant city in all of Australia.
In the morning we cross the fertile Ovens Valley, aka "gourmet country". A lot of tempting food and wine is produced in this area, a good place for a stop. We'll have lunch in Jamieson after riding through alternating Hills and flat farmland, in the area where the famous bandit Ned Kelly was once active. The town where he had his last stand and was finally captured is close by.
We arrive in Melbourne through the Yarra Valley, with hills and temperate forests that remind us more of England than far-away Australia. As we reach Eildon, we're up for a real treat with the Eildon-Jamieson road. Not for the faint of heart, it takes us through a very remote area around Lake Eildon, through many curves
and sweepers.
In Melbourne, or more precisely in Geelong, we head straight to the port for our check-in on the ferry to Tasmania.

​​

DAY 6.  Devonport - Queenstown

After the overnight trip on the ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania, we reach Devonport the next morning in good shape, if the gods of the Seas were merciful with us. After breakfast in the harbour, we head onwards to one of the most beautiful motorcycle roads in Tasmania, through various national parks that could be confused with Brazilian rainforests. In the highlands, we approach Cradle Mountain, one of the main sights of the island, nearby we might get a chance to see some of those famous Tasmanian Devils! We leave the highlands on lonely forest roads towards Zeehan, and on to the coast and the Henty Dunes area. After a coffee in Strahan, we cruise over the Lyell highway, with its many curves, climbs, and drops towards our destination of the day, the old mining town of Queenstown.

 

DAY 7:  Queenstown - Hobart

As we leave Strahan the landscape changes again: from the empty highlands to forests and lowlands. The first half of the day takes us on the A10 through some of the more remote parts of Tasmania, where we'll stop for coffee as we admire Lake St Clair. After many more forest miles, we descend from the highlands and ride in the same direction as the river Derwent flows. Civilization slowly returns as we get closer to Hobart, with small towns appearing more often by the roadside.
We dive into some twisty, hilly roads to Glenlusk, before we end our day in Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania.

​

DAY 8:  Hobart

Hobart itself is worth spending at least one day here. There are different options to discover this interesting city, such as the MONA museum on a cruise outside the city. If you want, you can join us for another ride on our motorcycles, to Tasmania's main attraction: the historic prison site of Port Arthur. We'll cruise along a nice combination of twisty roads in the hills, and rural flats to the Forestier and the Tasman Peninsula, where Port Arthur was built. There are a few really interesting views and sights along the coast as well. The day is not very long riding-wise, so we have plenty of time to look around Port Arthur as well as have a bit to eat there.

​

DAY 9:  Hobart - Launceston

Having seen the beauty of the west coast, it is hard to expect more. But: the east coast is shaped and formed by rugged granite rocks and white sandy beaches, embedded in the gorgeous blue and emerald green shimmering sea. We ride the sweeping A3 Tasman Highway along the coast, with forest, grassland, and little streams and bays passing beside us. After a coffee stop in Swansea, we head on toward Freycinet and Wineglass bay. You can choose to ride to the end and explore on foot or go for a scenic flight to take it all in from the air. After a lunch
stop in Coles Bay or Bicheno, we ride along the coast to one of our highlights: the mountain road over Elephant Pass. We get to sleepy Saint Mary before we head into the flat highlands over the Esk highway until we hit the Midland Highway that takes us straight to Launceston, our destination for the day.

​

DAY 10:  Launceston - Ferry Devonport - Melbourne

On this day we explore the more remote North-Eastern area of Tasmania. We'll follow the Tasman Highway for the first few hours, which takes us through some high-adrenaline roads in the rainforest. Once we're through the hills, we follow the Ringarooma river to Gladstone, leaving the lush mountains behind for dry fields and hills. Through remote farming areas, we head for lunch in Bridport, where you can take a stroll on the beach afterwards. From Bridport onwards, civilization draws nearer and as we cross the Tamar river outlet, we ride along smaller roads through logging areas. Before we reach Devonport for our Ferry back to the mainland, we still cover quite a few miles and a little coffee stop in Frankford. Once in the harbour, we'll load our bikes into the ferry and get ready for hopefully another calm night back to Melbourne and the mainland.

​

DAY 11:  Melbourne - Apollo Bay

The description for this riding day could be kept quite short, three words describe one of the most beautiful roads in the world: "Great Ocean Road". We leave the port of Geelong and head to Torquay, one of THE surf hotspots of Australia, if not the world. Here begins the Great Ocean Road, which we follow towards the
southwest. Just before Lorne we turn off, where the roads are very curvy and see very little traffic.
After lunch in Colac, a small town on the shore of the lake of the same name, which is often almost dry in summer, we take the winding roads back to the coast. There, in Apollo Bay, we settle in for the night. Since the bay with its beautiful sandy beach faces east, instead of a romantic sunset there might be a beautiful sunrise.

If you get out of bed early enough...

​

DAY 12:  Apollo Bay - Warrnambool

The western half of the Great Ocean Road mostly doesn't lead along the coast, but through the mountainous hinterland, with many curves. We visit Cape Otway, where you can admire the cute koalas sleeping in the trees. We can climb high up into the treetops, too, further north at a treetop trail. Here you can get up close and personal with the eucalyptus jungle.
Back on the coast, we then reach one of the most famous sites in all of Australia: the iconic Twelve Apostles. Of course, the viewpoint is crowded, but a photo here is simply a MUST!
Shortly after, we reach our destination, Warrnambool. The city has a few picturesque old buildings, but mainly it impresses with its fantastic location and the beautiful coastline. Here you can often even watch whales from the shore!

​

DAY 13:  Warrnambool - Melbourne

The hinterland of the coast along the Great Ocean Road is covered with dense virgin forest and is crisscrossed by winding roads with little traffic. This is where you can really enjoy riding! In addition, we will cover the part of the Great Ocean Road that we skipped the day before yesterday. The ride is a dream that should never end, but eventually we reach Melbourne, refuel one last time and then return our motorcycles.
Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia, is one of the most liveable cities in the world. Those who can spend a few more days here are very lucky...​​​​​​

​

DAY 14.  Airport transfer and check-out

After breakfast, transfer to the Melbourne airport. Goodbye, and safe travels home!

​

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

​

MINIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 8

If the minimum number of participants isn’t reached, the tour may be cancelled or run with a different format.

 

WHAT IS INCLUDED:​

• All overnights (comfortable middle-class hotels) during entire tour

• Breakfast every day

• 2 picnics/lunches

• 13 dinners

• Motorcycle rental with unlimited mileage

• Third party liability insurance for motorcycles

• Comprehensive vehicle insurance for motorcycles with deductible according to the booked motorcycle model

• Tour information package in English or German including safety tips, details about the hotels, the route and the sights

• English and German speaking tour guide on motorcycle

• Support van for luggage transportation (1 piece per person) and space for passengers (limited) on entire tour

• Ferry ride Melbourne-Tasmania-Melbourne

• Edelweiss Riding Tips

 

IS NOT INCLUDED:

• All services not mentioned as included and all items of a personal nature

​

OPTIONAL SERVICES:

• optional deductible reduction on included motorcycle insurance (Cover All / Cover Plus)

 

TERMS OF PAYMENT:

• With the registration, at the earliest, however, eleven months before the agreed end of the tour a down payment of EUR 500.00 shall be made.

• The remaining payment shall be paid without any further request 42 days before the journey starts concurrently against delivery of the travel documents.

• In case of procured journeys, the payment conditions of the respective organiser or, respectively, service provider shall apply.

• We expressly reserves the right to cancel the booking for the traveller at his/her own expense if payment deadlines are not complied with.​

CANCELLATION POLICY:
In the event of cancellation by the traveller, the following compensation lump sums shall be laid down:

• until 60 days before the beginning of the journey EUR 200,00

• until 42 days before the beginning of the journey EUR 350,00

• until 31 days before the beginning of the journey 30 %

• from 30 days before the beginning of the journey 100 %

• No-show 100 % from the respective travel price. It is recommended taking out a travel cancellation insurance.

• A one-time rebooking at the latest 60 days before the start of the tour shall be possible free of charge.

• After having realized a rebooking, the cancellation charge amounts to at least EUR 350,00 per person.