Australia

Your tour includes:

• 9-day Avis car rental with:
  • Standard, 4-Door, Automatic - Group D
  • Vehicle Registration Fee (VRF).
  • Administration Fee*
  • Goods & Services Tax (GST)*
  • Premium Location Surcharge (PLS)
  • Concession Recovery Fee (CRF)
  • Loss Damage Waiver**
  • Airport pick-up and drop-off
  • Unlimited mileage
• Map of Australia
• 8 nights accommodation
  • Noosaville, Qld - 1 night
  • Hervey Bay, Qld – 2 nights
  • Rockhampton, Qld - 1 night
  • Mackay, Qld - 1 night
  • Airlie Beach, Qld - 2 nights
  • Townsville, Qld - 1 night
• Breakfast daily

Price does not include:

• International or Domestic airfares
• Any taxes and surcharges relating to airfares
• Gas or other car related products
• Additional car insurance
• Car upgrades
• Travel insurance
• All alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
• Other meals not mentioned in itinerary
• Extras and gratuities
• Early check-in, late check-out
• Expenses of personal nature

 

* These taxes apply on any other payments made directly to Avis

** With the standard rates an excess of to US$3,345 (US$4,180 for Group W). This is reducible to zero by upgrading the insurance at the Avis counter

Hotels in your Tour:

 

City	Hotel Name	Room Type	Tripadvisor
Noosa, Qld	Noosa Lakes Resort	Studio	3.5
Hervey Bay, Qld	Best Western Ambassador Motor Lodge	Standard	4
Rockhampton, Qld	Travelodge Rockhampton	Guest Room	3.5
Mackay, Qld	Clarion Hotel Mackay Marina Hotel	Superior Deluxe	4
Airlie Beach, Qld	Airlie Beach Hotel	Bayview Studio	4
Townsville, Qld	Mercure Townsville	Standard Resort	4

Hotels will be confirmed at time of booking

Day 1: Brisbane, Noosa  (90 miles)

Pick up your rental vehicle at Brisbane Airport commence your drive to Noosa via the Bruce Highway. Once you check-in at the hotel you’ll find your trip documentation and a HEMA Road Atlas to help you during your trip. Overnight in Noosa.

Noosa Heads has a cosmopolitan atmosphere, coupled with the natural beauty of the area. The headland is a National Park and there are several walks meandering through it to the various attractions of Boiling Pot, Hell's Gates and Paradise Cave, to name a few. Noosa's boutiques and restaurants are first class, and there is no shortage of entertainment.

 

Day 2: Noosa, Hervey Bay (116 miles)

Departing Noosa today travel to Cooroy where you turn right on to the Bruce Highway to Gympie. Continue through Gympie to Maryborough where you leave the highway and head to Hervey Bay. [B]

Gympie is the main entrance into the delights of Cooloola Beach, Great Sandy National Park and the glories of Fraser Island. At the Deep Creek Gold Fossicking Park you can explore an old gold mining site and pick, shovel or pan for gold.

Maryborough is one of Queensland’s oldest cities and was first settled in 1843. Many European immigrants arrived in the town during the second half of the nineteenth century. The splendid old houses have given Maryborough its reputation as one of the most beautiful historic towns in Queensland. This can be appreciated by following the Heritage Walk, which takes in 28 historic buildings in the central business district.

 

Hervey Bay is full of history, beauty and attractions around sheltered waters and some 9 miles of golden beaches. Hervey Bay offers a colorful concentration of lifestyles and its waters are home to turtles, dolphins and dugongs. It is the whale watching capital of the world and the gateway to Fraser Island.

Fraser Island is a unique part of the Fraser Coast region, and its unusual formation of sand and rainforest make it a special source of adventure for visitors to explore. Although well known amongst fishermen and 4WD enthusiasts, it is the history and Aboriginal culture that gives Fraser Island its individual character, expressed through wonderfully colored sand cliffs, unique fresh water lakes and diverse flora and wildlife.

 

Day 3: Hervey Bay

Full day at leisure in Hervey Bay to explore the area or alternatively you may wish to take a full day tour to Fraser Island. [B]

Day 4: Hervey Bay, Rockhampton (244 miles)

Depart Hervey Bay and travel to Torbanlea where you turn right on to the Bruce Highway. Continue through the towns of Childers, Gin Gin, Miriam Vale and Calliope to Rockhampton. [B]

Childers is a sugar town as well as a National Trust town. Even though a 1902 fire destroyed much of it, many impressive Victorian buildings remain and are listed by the National Trust. A visit to the Pharmaceutical Museum containing the original cedar fixtures, a 1906 cash register and leather-bound prescription books is a must. At the Isis Sugar Mill you can see raw cane turned into familiar white sugar crystals.

Gin Gin is a pretty town, situated on the Bruce Highway. Attractions in town include the Historical Museum, the Currajong Gardens and the Moonara Craft Spinning Inn. East of Gin Gin on the Bundaberg road, are the Mystery Craters, strange sandstone formations probably made by meteors.

Rockhampton is the heart of the beef cattle country. Cammoo Caves, approximately 14 miles north of Rockhampton, are two cave systems, which are open to the public. Cave coral, fossils and gigantic tree roots can be inspected in these dry, limestone caves. A short distance away on the coast is Yeppoon is the stepping-off place for visits to Great Keppel Island. Byfield State Forest just north of Yeppoon is a pleasant, secluded spot in a rainforest environment; at Cooberrie Park Flora and Fauna Centre visitors can cuddle a koala or feed a kangaroo; and Koorana Crocodile Farm offers something different. Mount Morgan is a historic township approximately 25 miles south of Rockhampton. Here you can tour through a 100-year-old mining town.

 

Day 5: Rockhampton, Mackay (187 miles)

Depart Rockhampton via the towns of Marlborough and Sarina to Mackay. [B]

Eungella National Park is situated 84 kilometres west of Mackay and is one of Queensland’s most spectacular parks, with cloud shrouded peaks, deep gorges and lush rainforest. Most of the park is inaccessible but the southern section, adjacent to the access road, is popular with campers and day visitors. The park can provide a special treat for visitors lucky enough to see one of the resident platypuses in the creek by the camping area. The park has graded tracks leading through rainforest to waterfalls and natural swimming pools.

Mackay is surrounded by miles of sugarcane fields, which give the city its title of Sugar Capital of Australia. During the crushing season (July to November) Farleigh Mill, a working sugar mill, and Polstone Sugar Cane Farm offer tours of the region. Mackay’s heritage walk takes in the Police Station, the Court House and Commonwealth Bank, buildings that are all over 100 years old and listed with the National Trust.

 

Day 6: Mackay, Airlie Beach (93 miles)

Depart Mackay via the Bruce Highway to Proserpine where you depart the highway and head towards Airlie Beach. [B]

Proserpine was named after Proserpina, the Roman goddess of fertility, and supports a prosperous sugar industry. There is a pleasant hike to Cedar Creek in the rainforest-clad hills behind the town.

 

Day 7: Airlie Beach

Full day at leisure in Airlie Beach to explore the area or alternatively you may wish to take a full day tour of the Whitsunday Islands. [B]

Airlie Beach is a popular holiday resort, and gateway to the Whitsunday Passage - home of hundreds of Barrier Reef Islands. The tropical island resorts of Hayman, Hamilton, Daydream and South Molle, to name a few of the 74 islands that are just off the coast of Whitsunday and which lie inside the Great Barrier Reef, are only some of the attractions of the area. Sunshine, blue water and sandy beaches are the theme of the Whitsundays.

 

Day 8: Airlie Beach, Townsville (186 Miles)

Depart Airlie Beach travelling back to Proserpine where you rejoin the Bruce Highway and travel through the towns of Bower and Ayr to reach Townsville. [B]

Townsville is the second largest city in Queensland and main commercial center of Northern Queensland. Castle Hill offers a panoramic view of Townsville. Great Barrier Reef Wonderland is one of the most popular attractions in Townsville and is well worth a visit with its walk-through underwater tunnel, giving a great all-round view of the coral and the fish.

 

Day 9: Townvilles, Cairns, USA (208 miles)

Depart Townsville today via the Bruce Highway and head towards Cairns via the towns of Ingham, Mission Beach and Innisfail. Return your vehicle to Cairns Airport and board your flight back to the USA. [B]

Ingham – The climate and soil were perfectly suited to the introduction of sugarcane back in the early 1870’s and Ingham continues to prosper from its sugar production. The region has a strong Italian and Spanish Basque background. The Wallaman Falls National Park with its 985 feet falls, bushwalks and spectacular rainforest and swimming and picnic spots, is well worth a visit.

Innisfail – The character of the district was established with the influx of migrants, mainly Italian, after World War I and both the town and the area have retained that very cosmopolitan mix ever since. In the 1950’s Dr. Alan Maruff started growing tea commercially at Nerada, west of Innisfail, and over the years the production of tea from the Nerada Plantation has continued to rise. Tours of the plantation are conducted regularly.

Mena Creek, south of Innisfail is home to the ruins of Paronella Park, a Spanish-style castle built by a migrant named Jose Paronella. There are also walks through rainforest and stands of bamboo and kauri pine to Mena Creek and Teresa Falls.

 

[B] = Breakfast

Tour Prices:

 

Season	Double	Single	Triple
Aug01-Sep27	$859	$1,725	$775
Sep28-Oct24	$875	$1,749	$785
Oct25-Dec15	$865	$1,735	$779
Jan28-Mar31	$875	$1,749	$779

* Dec16-Jan27 rates on request

Prices are per person and may change without previous notice

 

Tour Code: AU07BNE17PP

Book program

Email program

Print program

Call for reservations or information

Car Upgrades:

 

Upgrade to:	Apr-Nov	Dec-Mar
Group E: Full Size	$23	$50
Group P: Full Size Elite	$115	$138
Group F: Full Size Wagon	$115	$138
Group V: Full Size VAN	$226	$240
Group K: SUV	$226	$263
Group W: Full Size 4WD	$429	$457

Prices are per car for the duration of the tour and may change without notice