High Country | Autumn Leaves Festival

🍂 High Country Autumn Tour | Wednesday 29 April – Tuesday 5 May 2026 🍂

Join Port Bus for a spectacular 7-day adventure through Victoria’s stunning High Country during the magical autumn season. Explore the charming towns of Beechworth, Milawa, Bright, Myrtleford, and Harrietville. Highlights include wine and cheese tastings, the vibrant Bright Autumn Festival and Grand Parade, a guided tour of historic Beechworth, the picturesque Red Stag Deer Farm, and visits to beautiful gardens and local producers. With quality accommodation, delicious meals, and breathtaking scenery along the way, this tour is the perfect way to experience autumn’s finest colours and flavours.

Day 1 (LD) HOME TO GOULBURN                                                                                                    Wednesday 29 April 2026

Welcome to our 7-day autumn tour to the High Country.  Sit back and meet your fellow travellers as we make our way south with a morning stop at Bulahdelah. Lunch today will be at the Ourimbah RSL. Our travels this afternoon take us further southwest of Sydney to Goulburn. A welcome dinner awaits us in the hotel.

Morning Tea from the coach | Lunch at Ourimbah RSL | | Dinner at the hotel

Mercure Goulburn, Goulburn | 1 night

Day 2 (BLD) GOULBURN TO WANGARATTA                                                                                                    Thursday 30 April 2026

Following an early breakfast, we continue south through Gundagai and Holbrook towards Table Top. Our lunch venue is the Table Top Hotel. This afternoon, we continue through to Wangaratta, where we can unpack and relax as this will be our home for the next four nights.

Breakfast and dinner in the motel | Morning Tea from the coach | Lunch Table Top Hotel

Quality Hotel Wangaratta | 4 nights

DAY 3 (BLD) LEGENDARY BEECHWORTH AND GOURMET MILAWA                                                     Friday 01 May 2026

Following breakfast, we make our way to Beechworth, where a local guide joins the coach to tell us some stories about this beautiful town. We have time for a morning break in the township before we visit the Beechworth Historic Courthouse – get ready to re-enact some of the dramatic events which took place inside these walls! We are in for a treat at Last Street Brewery (previously Billsons). The historic brewery was built in 1865 while Beechworth was at the height of the Gold Rush. The site was chosen because of a natural spring that occurs here, and the pure water has been used in all the beverages to this day, known now as Snowline Pure Mountain Spring Water.  During the 1920's due to the intervention of a temperance group, the production of beer ceased, although Stout continued to be made for another 30 years. It was at this time that a soft drink and cordial factory was started. Today, they specialise in turn-of-the-century gourmet cordial mixers of long forgotten flavours made to time-honored recipes and methods. We enjoy a tasting here before making our way to the Milawa Gourmet Region, starting at Brown Brothers Vineyard, which has been making wine in this region since 1889. We have a wine tasting here and lunch before visiting the Milawa Cheese Company for a tasting, located in the historic Murray Goulburn Butter Factory. Leaving the area, we return to our hotel in time to freshen up before dinner.

Breakfast and dinner in the Hotel, Morning Tea from the coach | lunch at Brown Brothers

Day 4 (BD): BRIGHT AUTUMN LEAVES FESTIVAL                                                                          Saturday 02 May 2026

The Bright Autumn Festival is a ten-day celebration of the wonderful autumn colours and autumn produce of the valleys of Victoria's Alpine High Country. We meet our local guide for a town tour of Bright before we enjoy the festivities. We are lucky enough to be here for the highlight of the festival – the Rotary Gala Day! So, we can enjoy the markets, bands, and entertainment at our leisure, followed this afternoon by the Grand Parade, the highlight of the festival! We make a time and meet up to return to our hotel for the evening.

Breakfast and dinner in the hotel | lunch, own arrangements, and cost

Day 5 (BLD) EXPLORING THE REGION                                                                                                                   Sunday 03 May 2026

We wake up to the freshness of mountain air, where we will be out all day in it, exploring the townships of the high country. Starting the day taking a trip through Japan, Morocco, and India as we wander through a mixture of hand-picked antiques, artisan-crafted goods, and recycled items at Red Ramia Trading in Myrtleford, so much to discover, after some time to explore and maybe some purchases, we enjoy morning tea here. From here we continue to the little township of Eurobin to visit Red Stag Deer Farm, a stunning farm with alpine views in all directions. The unique property offers the opportunity to feed, touch, and learn about deer, emus, and ostriches. We enjoy lunch here with a stunning outlook.  This afternoon, we travel to the quaint sub-alpine village of Harrietville to visit Lavender Hue Farm. Here we meet the very welcoming staff who will give us a talk on the farm and the lavender. Our next visit for the day is at Shady Brook Gardens. It is a magnificent property which has been featured on the ABC Gardening Show more than once.  We spend some time here taking in the beautiful gardens.  We now travel along one of the most beautiful drives in this area - through the Wandiligong Valley. The whole Valley has been registered with the National Trust. We pay a visit to Nightingale Bros Apples. The Nightingale family has been growing apples in the Wandiligong Valley since 1954. You may want to stock up on some fresh local produce from the area.  After a full day of exploring the region, we return to our hotel for dinner, ready for the Bright Autumn festival tomorrow.

Breakfast and dinner in the hotel | lunch at Red Stag Deer Farm

Day 6 (BLD) WANGARATTA TO GOULBURN                                                                                                      Monday 04 May 2026

This morning, we say farewell to Wangaratta and our hosts and head north past Albury to Holbrook, where we stop to stretch our legs. Our visit will reveal why the HMAS Otway's final resting spot came to be here, in a country town. Through an amazing holograph presentation, we will hear how a brave young Submariner, whose exploits during the First World War earned him the honour of having a town named after him. Our lunch today has been arranged at the Holbrook RSL Club close by. From here we travel through to Goulburn for our final night on tour.

Breakfast and dinner in the motel | Morning Tea from the coach | Lunch at Holbrook RSL Club

Mercure Goulburn | 02 4822 5445 | 1 night

DAY 7 (BL) HEADING HOME                                                                                                                        Tuesday 05 May 2026

What a lovely time we have had enjoying the shift of autumn from lush greens to brilliant shades of red, orange, and gold, painting the landscape in warm, nostalgic hues.  Following breakfast, we check out of the hotel and make our way to Raymond Terrace Bowling Club before continuing home. Arriving later today with many wonderful memories of our fantastic holiday in Wangaratta.

Breakfast in motel | Morning Tea from the coach | Lunch at Raymond Terrace Bowling Club

TOUR INCLUSIONS

•             6 nights’ hotel accommodation

•             6 cooked breakfasts

•             6 dinners

•             5 included lunches – see below

•             Lunch at Table Top Hotel

•             Locally guided tour of Beechworth

•             Guided tour of the courthouse at Beechworth Historic Courthouse

•             Visit and tasting at Last Street Brewery (previously Billsons Brewery)

•             Lunch and tasting at Brown Brothers Winery, Milawa

•             Taste and Talk at Milawa Cheese Company

•             Locally guided tour of Bright

•             Bright Autumn Festival

•             Morning tea at Red Ramia Trading

•             Talk and lunch at Red Stag Deer and Emu Farm, Myrtleford

•             Entry and Talk at Lavender Hue, Harrietville

•             Garden entry and talk at Shady Brook Gardens, Harrietville

•             Visit Nightingale Bros Alpine Apples

•             Guided tour at the Submarine Museum, Holbrook

For more information or to book;

Phone                 02 6583 3330

Email:                 admin@portbus.com.au

Website:            https://www.portbus.com.au

$3,161 pp twin share | + $889 pp single supplement | $670 pp deposit

Please Note

•             The price is based on a minimum of 20 paying passengers. If numbers fall below 20 paying passengers, this quotation may need to be recosted.

•             The price is valid for the above tour dates only.

•             It is highly recommended that you have travel insurance in the event of travel disruptions.

•             Accommodation is subject to availability. If alternative accommodation needs to be sourced, the price could change.

•             Attractions are subject to availability. When these are booked, we request passenger numbers based on those the tour has been costed on.

•             Surcharges may apply if accommodation dates fall on public holidays or special events.

•             Morning teas or afternoon teas are not included unless specified.

The itinerary may be subject to change without notice. Whilst every effort is made to adhere to the itinerary as provided. Port Bus reserves the right to alter the touring and attractions as dictated by circumstances and conditions outside the company’s control. Alterations may be made to ensure the smooth running of the tour. Every attempt will be made to ensure alterations do not adversely affect the operation of the tour. Port Bus will not be held responsible for weather-based cancellations or closures made at the venue’s discretion.

Cancellation fees will be levied relative to the amount of notice given:

42 days or more—loss of deposit

29-41 days: 50% of fare plus deposit

30 days before and the Day of departure: 100% of the fare