Visit the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley on a day trip from Melbourne that takes you riding through forests of towering mountain ash gum trees and giant tree ferns on the Puffing Billy steam train and meeting Australia's unique wildlife at the Healesville Sanctuary. Discover the beauty of Melbourne's most scenic regions as you feed cockatoos and rosellas in the Dandenong Ranges, and visit Victoria’s premier wine-growing region in the Yarra Valley.
Your tour begins with pickup from your Melbourne hotel. Enjoy a relaxing coach trip through Melbourne's leafy eastern suburbs as you travel from the city to the Dandenong Ranges on the outskirts of the city.
Admire views of towering mountain ash gum trees, the world's tallest flowering plants, as you wind your way up the mountains to Grant's Reserve in the quaint mountain village of Kallista. Handfeed the local crimson rosellas, sulfur-crested cockatoos and pink-and-gray galahs as you drink in the crisp mountain air and enjoy a traditional Australian billy tea with savory Vegemite spread and chocolate-and-coconut lamington cakes.
Leaving Grant's Reserve, your tour takes you to the town of Belgrave in the foothills of Dandenong Ranges to board the famous Puffing Billy steam train. This historic train trip takes you 100 years back in time to the days of steam travel as you ride the train from Belgrave to the Yarra Ranges village of Gembrook. Cross the wooden trestle bridge on this 30-minute ride through the rainforest, and glimpse faraway views of Port Phillip Bay glistening on the horizon.
Relax after your Puffing Billy train ride on the scenic drive through the Yarra Valley, where lunch is served at the Rochford Winery (if option selected), known for its chardonnay and pinot noir wines. Seated in the elegant Isabella's restaurant, looking onto views of grapevines and roses, choose from a menu highlighting the Yarra Valley's superb seasonal produce. Enjoy a delicious two course lunch and sip on a glass of one of their top blends.
After a leisurely lunch, continue to Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Australia’s premier wildlife reserves. See all kinds of native animals in a natural bush setting, including wallabies, wombats, kangaroos, owls, emus eagles and, of course, koalas. Don’t miss the popular birds of prey display and see sleepy koalas chewing gum leaves in their eucalypt-tree habitats.
Leaving the Yarra Valley, make your way back to Melbourne, arriving at your city hotel in the late afternoon.
