Escorted Holidays with Shirley Tamm

Have you always wanted to see the beautiful wildflowers in the west, experience the famous dolphins up close or walk above the tall tree tops –
Well you can do all of this and so much more in beautiful springtime, on our Wildflowers Tour in October.  We travel over to Perth on the mighty Indian Pacific in Gold Service for 3 wonderful nights. 2 nights in Perth with a great city tour and river cruise before heading north for 3 fantastic nights to see the iconic Pinnacles, view the magnificent gorges of the Kalbarri National Park and then meet the world famous Monkey Mia Dolphins.

Back into Perth overnight before travelling south, via Bussleton Jetty and onto Margaret River. Lots to see and do in this picturesque region, we visit the Mammoth Caves, wine, cheese and chocolate tastings- yum! We travel to the timber town of Pemberton overnight via the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and visit the tallest kauri tree, the Gloucester Tree. We will explore the Ancient Empire and experience a breathtaking view of the Valley of the Giants on the timber top walk. We enjoy a wilderness cruise on the Nornalup Inlet, travelling high up the Stirling Ranges for a fantastic view over the valley on Bluff Knoll. Overnight in Hyden where we encounter the magnificent Wave Rock. 2 nights back in Perth with some free time to explore this lovely city. Your flight is included back home however you may like to extend your stay there or perhaps return home on the train. 

Looking for that perfect Gift?
Well here it is – a Travel Gift voucher!
It seems to be difficult these days to find just the right gift for some people and a travel gift voucher could be the perfect solution. Just purchase a travel gift voucher from anyone of our offices, for any dollar amount you wish to spend. These travel gift vouchers can then be put towards any travel arrangements i.e. flights, tours, accommodation, car hire etc. that your fortunate recipients may like spend these on. Ask anyone of our experienced travel consultants about purchasing these and your gift buying will now be made easy for you and will certainly be received with great pleasure.

From the 1st April, 2013 Great Southern Rail have introduced some exciting new inclusions and experiences onboard The Ghan and Indian Pacific to give their Gold and Platinum Service guests more adventure and value for their holiday dollar.

Check In – guests are welcome to check-in on the train and relax in the Outback Explorer Lounge before departure. No more lining up in a long line before departure, especially at Central Station – this will be great for our group departures.
Dining - will now offer more flexible meal times, allowing you to rise for breakfast at your own leisure, enjoy a long lunch, or an intimate dinner later in the evening. They have also introduced new menus, designed to reflect the best of regional produce and flavours along the way. This is a very welcome change, as sometimes our Tour passengers were not able to get the sitting (early or late) that they wanted. Now you are able to choose whatever (within reason) time you would like to dine and not have to rush your meals– a much more pleasant way of dining onboard.  
Beverages - guests will now have all refreshments including soft drinks, beers, high-quality standard wines and base spirits included in your fare throughout your journey. I guess because none of my Tour passengers drink, this inclusion will be of little interest!!!……This will be a great enhancement to your dining experience and when relaxing in the Lounge..
Off Train Excursions–also included in your fare will be a new series of exclusive Off Train Excursions experiences that are designed to discover the culture and history of the destinations you will visit on your journey. Including the off train tours really does give you fantastic value for money – a great initiative.
Luggage allowances will increase to 25kg per piece. Platinum Service guests will be able to take up to three pieces per person (75kg) and Gold Service guests will be able to  take two pieces (50kg). * However, please note that  as our Tours also include air sectors we do have to limit our passengers to 20k for one suitcase (airline requirement) plus hand luggage of 7k*

Leave the cold and rain of winter behind and escape with us in July to beautiful warm weather and the sunshine of Northern Australia! Our new tour this year is really quite exclusive to us and includes some very special highlights.
We fly to Townsville for an overnight stay at the award winning Jupiter’s. Next day, our 25 minute Sealink ferry transfer takes us across to what many people consider as paradise – Magnetic Island. The island is a National Park and is a haven for a wide variety of birds & wildlife. We stay for 2 nights at the beautiful Peppers Blue Resort right on the water’s edge in Nelly Bay.

We then travel from Townsville to tropical Cairns on the daylight service of the Tilt Train, in a business class seat. 3 wonderful nights in Cairns including a full day Kuranda Experience. We enjoy the tranquility of the rainforest as we soar above the canopy aboard the Skyrail and then experience breath taking scenery aboard the Scenic Railway on our return journey.  There will be time to explore Cairns & the Reef on your free day before we fly to Darwin for 2 nights. We take in the sights of this cosmopolitan city in our included tour of Darwin before travelling to Nitmiluk National Park, Katherine. Our tour passengers will be some of the first guests to stay at this luxury resort, the Cicada Lodge (pictured above) as it was just opened in March 2013. Drinks and canapés will be served before we join a cruise with a gourmet dinner along the Katherine River and Gorge. Next day we travel to Australia’s largest national park, Kakadu to discover some of the natural beauty and history of this fascinating area, staying overnight. We then travel onto Mary River to experience our truly unique accommodation for the next 2 nights in luxury safari tents with ensuite - the entire experience providing a grounded closeness to the wilderness with all the romance of the ultimate luxury hideaway.

We enjoy an educational wildlife cruise on the Rockhole Billabong whilst taking in the beauty of the stunning Mary River floodplains system. Then our tour takes us across country, through cattle stations and back country to Litchfield National Park. We enjoy the beauty of the Florence & Wangi Falls before arriving back into Darwin overnight. Your flight is included home however you may like to extend your stay in Darwin or make part of your return journey on The Ghan.

My feet haven’t touched the ground much this year as I’ve been busy travelling around the countryside of NSW, Victoria and S.A., promoting our fantastic tours at morning tea presentations, train inspections and visiting lifestyle villages.
It’s gearing up to be a good year ahead for all of our tours especially for our new tour in July, the Winter Sun Escape and the added new destinations of our Springtime Wildflowers Tour in October. It will also be exciting to experience the new changes on the Indian Pacific and The Ghan on our up and coming Spectacular Australia Tour in June – I have featured all of these highlights and the new additions in this Newsletter.  

We have had many requests from our past and new passengers, for our tours for next year as some people have to plan around other dates that they have booked in advance or school holidays. So, only just last week we have set the proposed dates for our 2014 Tours and I am pleased to give you a sneak preview of those dates and tours, all be it subject to receiving the new costs, timetables and changes, so you can plan your next year’s touring in advance! Once we have these tours and dates finalized, we will have some special advanced booking discounts available. If you would like a copy of the 2014 tours when they become available, please advise our consultants to put your name on the list.
If you are always searching for a gift to give that special someone that ‘has everything’  (I’m sure we can all relate to that) well, we have the perfect solution for you – a Travel Gift Voucher.

If you have any friends, relatives, work mates or your Club members, that are interested in   travelling and would like to receive this newsletter and our brochure or the new itineraries, please let me or our offices know. Please recommend us to your travelling friends and relatives - as we all know, the best form of advertising is ‘word of mouth’, so I thank you in anticipation of spreading the word!

Warm Regards, Shirley

Shirley Tamm