Griffith Spring Festival & Temora "Warbirds"

Day 01 (D) HOME TO GOULBURN Wednesday 16th October 2024

Today we depart on our holiday to Griffith for the Annual Festival of Gardens and the exciting Warbirds of Temora celebration of Australian Aviation history. Early morning, after we completed our passenger pick-up service, we headed south to Goulburn for our first night on tour. We stop en route for refreshments and rest breaks along the way. On arrival in Goulburn, we have time to freshen up before dinner.

Lunch own arrangements and cost | dinner in Motel

Mercure Goulburn | 02 4822 5445 | 1 night

Day 02 (BLD) GOULBURN TO LEETON Thursday 17th October 2024

This morning we head to Jugiong where we start our day with good country hospitality. We are met with a local guide, showing us the sights and dazzle us with information on Jugiong and all it has to offer from the Murrumbidgee River, historic buildings including the bush school that Richie Benaud attended, bushranger past to spectacular scenery. Our tour includes morning tea and lots of laughs! Before we leave the area for Leeton, we enjoy our picnic lunches.

Breakfast in motel | picnic lunch included | dinner at Leeton Soldiers Club

Motel Riverina, Leeton | 02 6953 2955 | 4 nights

Day 03 (BLD) NARRANDERA Friday 8th October 2024

This morning we set out to enjoy the tranquility of the Narrandera Memorial Gardens. Meander through the pretty gardens before getting your camera ready to capture the Royal Doulton Hankinson Fountain. There are only two of these fountains known to be in existence. Next, we experience the compelling Fisheries Centre educating us to the native and non-native fish species inhabiting the waters of the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, and Darling River systems. We enjoy lunch at the Ex-Servicemen’s Club. We finish the day with a locally guided tour of Narrandera.

Breakfast in motel | Lunch at Ex Servicemen’s Club | Dinner at Leeton Soldiers Club

Day 04 (BD): WARBIRDS DOWNUNDER AIRSHOW – TEMORA Saturday 19th October 2024

The entire day will be spent at the Temora Aviation Museum today. It is a public museum displaying military aircraft of historical significance to Australia. The Museum's aircraft are kept in airworthy condition and flown regularly, making it a memorable aviation museum experience! Our visit today though is a very special one as we will get to see plenty of aerial action when most of the Museum’s aircraft collection will be taking to the skies as well as plenty of visiting aircraft to take part in the “Warbirds Downunder” Airshow. Apart from the flying program, there will be other exhibits for us to enjoy, including a display of assorted classic, vintage, and military vehicles. Food vendors are here so there will be plenty of lunch options to choose from during our time here. After what is sure to be a fantastic day, we return to Leeton with plenty of stories to share over dinner.

Breakfast in motel | lunch own arrangements and cost | dinner at Leeton Soldiers Club

Day 05 (BLD) Griffith and the Spring Festival Sunday 20th October 2024

One of the highlights of the festival is the magnificent citrus sculptures. More than 70 wacky, larger-than-life sculptures line the main street of Griffith. Created using more than 100,000 oranges and 100,000 rubber bands, a dedicated project manager, and an army of volunteers, these sculptures are most impressive and unique to Australia. We then visited several stunning gardens today. At Rosewood Park, we’ll be immediately inspired by its beauty. Surrounded by vineyards and beautiful orange trees, this garden truly captures the magic of the festival. Hedged by a wall of roses, flowering trees, and a variety of shrubs, this garden has so much to explore. Shade-loving plants provide cool areas to stop, and a gazebo nestled on a large pond filled with water lilies and irises is a welcome respite after a meander through the garden. A delightful lunch follows. Next, we meet prune farmer Ann as she talks about her journey from being the youngest female prune grower in Australia, to now being the only prune farmer in the Southern Hemisphere using solar drying technology. Be taken on a walking tour of the orchard and solar drying system, and finish off in the Prune Room, taste testing the full range of Naturally Dried Prunes products – little secret: there’s chocolate involved! Tonight, we dine out at the Leeton Soldiers Club.

Breakfast in the motel | Lunch at Rosewood Park | Dinner at Leeton Soldiers Club

Day 06 (BLD) LEETON TO DUBBO Monday 21st October 2024

We say farewell to our hosts and have an early start to the day as we travel to enjoy the sights of Forbes, a substantial country town famous for its connections with the bushranger Ben Hall. The town has some impressive buildings and fine parks and gardens associated with a large lagoon known as Lake Forbes, which bisects the town. On arrival, we visit the Forbes Railway Arts and Tourist Centre, located at the Forbes Railway Station with time to explore. Next, we visit the McFeeters Vintage Car Museum, a purpose-built facility that displays a vast collection of meticulously restored motor cars. The cars range from veterans to custom cars that are rare and just downright bizarre. We enjoy lunch here before traveling through to Parkes, a town named after one of the NSW’s most famous Statesman, Henry Parkes. We visit the Henry Parkes Centre which houses the Parkes Visitor Information Centre, the King's Castle Elvis Exhibit, and the Parkes Motor Museum. Our final visit of the day is to the CSIRO Parkes Observatory. An icon of Australian science, the Parkes radio telescope has been in operation since 1961 and continues to be at the forefront of astronomical discovery thanks to regular upgrades. We get to see the facility up close at the astronomy and space science exhibition and a 3D movie in the theatre. After an interesting day, we drove through to Dubbo for our final night on tour.

Breakfast and dinner in motel | lunch at McFeeters Vintage Car Museum

Quality Inn Dubbo International, Dubbo | 02 6882 4777 | 1 night

Day 07 (BL) DUBBO TO HOME Tuesday 22nd October 2024

With our bags packed with wonderful memories, we head for home. We stop in for a morning break at Dunedoo which also has some fantastic silo art. The Dunedoo Silo, side one and two, has been painted by Peter Mortimore over three months during July, August, and September of 2020. Depicted on the side silo is Winx, a retired champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse, and her famous rider Hugh Bowman, who was born in Dunedoo. Also featured is Chris Waller, Winx’s trainer. Side two silo displays the local fauna and flora. We continue through to Merriwa where we take a look at the Merriwa Art Silos. The mural depicts a flock of sheep wearing red socks in a canola field, why the red socks? The artist pays homage to the town's beloved annual Festival of the Fleeces. We have arranged lunch at the Denman Hotel for our last hurrah sharing stories of our trip. What a memorable week traveling with friends.

Breakfast in motel | Lunch at Denman Hotel

TOUR INCLUSIONS

• 6 night’s motel accommodation

• 6 cooked motel breakfasts

• 2 motel dinners and 4 dinners at Leeton Soldiers Club

• 5 included lunches – see below.

• Picnic lunch from Mercure Goulburn

• Live entertainment, morning tea, and guided town tour with Jugiong Country Experience

• Visit Citrus Sculptures Griffith

• Festival Open Gardens from the Griffith Visitor Information Centre

• Rosewood Park Garden entry including lunch, Griffith.

• Guided tour and afternoon tea at Naturally Dried Prunes, Griffith

• Full day at the Temora Warbirds Downunder Show

• Visit Narrandera Memorial Gardens

• Tour at the Narrandera Fisheries Centre

• Lunch at the Narrandera Ex Servicemen's Club

• Locally guided tour of Narrandera

• Entry and guided tour of the museum at McFeeters Motor Museum

• Lunch at Forbes Services Memorial Club

• Entry to Henry Parkes Centre, Kings Castle & Motor Museum, Parkes

• Entry to CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility, Parkes

• Lunch at the Denman Hotel

$2,309 pp twin share | S/Sup $508 pp | $500 deposit pp

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The itinerary may be subject to change without notice. Whilst every effort is made to adhere to the itinerary as provided, Expanding Horizons 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. Expanding Horizons will not be held responsible for weather-based cancellations or those closures made at the venue’s discretion.