Yarra Valley Overnight Balloon, Wildlife, Wine & Food Tour

A very full & enthralling 2 days, starting with a hot air balloon flight, Australian wildlife and luxury overnight accommodation and concluding with fine food & wine.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Hot air balloon flight with breakfast
• Healesville Sanctuary
• Yering Station Cellar Door & Produce Store
• Yering Station Wine Bar & Restaurant
• Chateau Yering
• Eleonore's Restaurant
• Sweetwater Cafe
• Coldstream Hills Vineyard
• Medhurst Vineyard
• Domaine Chandon Vineyard
• De Bortoli (producers of Noble One, Australia’s most awarded dessert wine).

Your day starts very early, pre-dawn when you depart your accommodation for the Yarra Valley. Arrive at the designated site where you'll be briefed before travelling out to the balloon launch site. Here, you can assist with the launch or stand back and take pictures. And then you'll be air-bound, drifting above Yarra Glen, the vineyards and the meandering Yarra River. After flying for approximately 1 hour, you'll descend to pack up the balloon before travelling through to the Balgownie Estate Vineyard for a hearty champagne breakfast.

Following breakfast, you'll be transported through to the world-famous Healesville Sanctuary, one of Australia’s most recognised and acclaimed wildlife sanctuaries. With 30 hectares of bushland, it showcases more than 200 species of Australian wildlife in a distinctly Australian setting. Here, visitors can experience close-up encounters with some of Australia’s most unique and captivating wildlife in their natural habitat, including koalas, kangaroos, wombats, emus, dingoes, birds of prey and platypus.

We then travel to Yering Station for lunch in their stunning Wine Bar Restaurant. With its world class views and cuisine, you’ll have a full a la carte selection from which to select your main course meal. After lunch, transfer through to Chateau Yering, the historic 1854 property that was reborn in 1997 as a gracious 5 star country hotel. Settle in to your Garden Suite accommodation and the hotel's facilities before dinner in the elegant surrounds of Eleonore's Restaurant.

Your second day in the Valley starts with breakfast in the light filled Sweetwater Cafe before we collect you to embark on a day of wine tasting. Our first stop for the day is at the Coldstream Hills Winery at Coldstream. Established by James Halliday, one of Australia's leading authors and commentators on wine, the wines are beautifully crafted and have enjoyed success at numerous wine shows, especially the chardonnay and pinot noir.

It's then a short drive to the charming Medhurst Vineyard. Very boutique in size with only 35 acres under vine, this family owned vineyard was established in 1999. Located in the dress circle of the Yarra Valley, they produce a small selection of well crafted table wines.

We then head to the very famous and very French Domaine Chandon. Enjoy a tour of the production facilities before settling down to a glass of premium sparkling wine (methode champenoise) while nibbling on cheese and bread and taking in the glorious vista. We then travel to Yering Station for lunch in their stunning Wine Bar Restaurant. With its world class views and cuisine, you'll have a full a la carte selection from which to select your main course meal. After lunch, visit the original winery (circa 1859) that features local artworks and produce as well as estate wines to taste.

Nearby is Yering Station where you'll enjoy another terrific lunch before adjourning to the original winery (circa 1859) for wine tastings. Established as Victoria's first vineyard in 1838, the current owners have restored it to its former glory and it is now one of the must visit vineyards in the valley.

The day concludes at the De Bortoli Winery at Dixons Creek. As Italian as Domaine Chandon is French, it's a great finish to the day with superbly flavoured cheeses that compliment the sparkling, table and dessert wines. Expected time of return into Melbourne would be around 6:30pm.