Natural Wonders Tour
Price A$2800 (Inclusive of travel, English language tuition, accommodation and meals. You are provided with a drive, full time teacher, cook and tour guide.)

Total time : 14 days

English Language Tuition Oral/Aural skills Reading/Writing Skills Teaching Approach

Untamed South West of Australia "Yalata"

For Fun, Excitement and Adventure! Natural Wonders and wildlife at its best.
Pitch a tent, cook a damper or laze by a river - just a few of your options on fun filled teen tours.
Under starry skies, enjoy a bush dance, a concert, a night hike, camp trivia or a campfire - the choice is all yours.
Your days are full of active participation:

• Experience a variety of adventure activities such as canoeing, bike riding, bush walking, surfing, horse riding, skateboarding, fishing, and tobogganing (winter only).
• Visit different youth camps with activities such as trampolines, flying fox, mini-golf putting, archery, volleyball, table tennis and much more.
• Visit fun parks, wildlife parks, the mountains and the sea, whale watching, and swim with dolphins.

Do all this while improving your English language skills. What better way to learn!

Day # 1 Melbourne to Warrnambool
Depart Melbourne to Adelaide via Geelong, Lorne, Apollo Bay, and Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles with overnight stay at Warrnambool.
Accommodation: Motel

Day # 2
Drive West from Warrnambool we descend into the crater of Tower Hill, an extinct
Volcano now well on the way to being restored to pre white man desecration.
This is being achieved by using a 19th century painting as a guide.
Original habitat: kangaroos, emus, koalas, water birds and gliders have all been re-introduced to the Park.
Rising out of the cone we pass the walls of the volcano with its stratified layers of volcanic ash before continuing west to the picture postcard village of Port Fairy with its numerous historic buildings, beautiful estuary and port on the River Moyne.
At Battery Hill we see a collection of cannons and fortifications established in 1860's.
Following the coastline, westward, we arrive at Portland, Victoria's first permanent settlement, established in 1834, by the Henty brothers.
With some two hundred historic buildings, picturesque ocean views, deep water port in the centre of the township and numerous craft and antique shops Portland offers great enjoyment as we tour, walk and browse around its environs.
Lunch can be savoured in the many eating establishments along Bentinick St which overlooks the Harbour.
Departing south we arrive at Cape Nelson Lighthouse, where fabulous coastal views can be seen, before we continue our journey into South Australia, passing extensive pine plantations, the small holiday village of Nelson and the fishing village of Port MacDonnell before arriving at Mt Gambier.
Mt Gambier, a picturesque service centre for South Australia's south east is noted for its Lakes, including the Blue Lake which turns to a deep blue in November each year,
And its limestone, which has, been used to build many fine homes, hotels and commercial buildings in the city
Accommodation: Motel Mt Gambier

DAY #3
Travel: Mt Gambier to Adelaide
From Mt Gambier we travel north through Millicent and west through once coastal marsh land which has been drained and reborn as grazing land, to the picturesque coastal village of Beachport and the historic port of Robe where Chinese miners landed last century to avoid paying "landing tax" in Victoria.
Despite their enterprise and their long, overland trek, the Victorian authorities still caught them as they crossed the Grampians Range. Some things never change… you can't beat the taxman.
Following a tour of Robe and a short morning break, we continue north through Kingston SE and travel along the edge of The Coorong, an expansive estuarine, nature sanctuary, home to thousands of waterbirds and location for the film, "Storm Boy", starring the local pelicans.
Arrive at Meningie, on the banks of Lake Albert where we enjoy lunch.
Depart Meningie to Tailem Bend where we cross the lower reaches of the Murray River before joining the freeway to Adelaide.
We divert to Hahndorf, a German style village, in the Adelaide Hills.
Stroll through the village where the sights and smells of the various bakeries cake shops, eating-houses and craft stores assail the senses.
Descending from the Hills we arrive in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

Day#4
Exploring the City of Adelaide
Today we explore the City of Adelaide and its beauty and tranquillity.
Accommodation: Caravan Park

Day #5
Travel Adelaide to Ceduna
With an early start we head for Port Augusta with a quick look around the iron ore mill, We then travel on to Streaky Bay for a short break due to an other hour drive to Ceduna, the town known for it's coastline beauty and crayfish port, which is our home for the next five days
Accommodation: Caravan & Cabins

Day #7 to Day #11
Ceduna
We spend most of our time dreaming and partaking in activities. We also make a quick visit to the boarder of Western Australia.

Yalata is situated in an isolated Aboriginal community, 210 Kms west of Ceduna, near the SA/WA border.

The Yalata community has built a whale-watching platform, which allows people to stand on top of one of the limestone cliffs looking straight down to the ocean. An idea of the size of the whales can be quickly measured. A dolphin looks like a toy, even the dreaded Great White Shark looks pretty small in comparison.
It's wonderful to see the dedication of the Yalata people to the whales. All the rangers at the whale watching station are from the Yalata community; they work tirelessly to ensure that everyone leaves the whale watching station with good information on the Southern Rights and their struggle to survive.

Day #12
Travel: Ceduna to Port Augusta
Regrettable, the time has come to head back to reality and the big smoke of Melbourne via South Australia.
Accommodation Motel

Day #13
Travel: Port Augusta to Mildura
Today we head for Mildura through Flinders Ranges with an overnight stay in Mildura (Farewell Party) at the Club.
Accommodation Motel

Day # 14
Travel: to Melbourne
We have an early start down the Calder highway through Bendigo to Melbourne End.

English Language Tuition

Oral/aural skills

Some of your classes will be held on route in the bus, where you will learn new vocabulary relevant to the location you are travelling in that day .You will have the opportunity of practicing your newly acquired vocabulary with your teacher and other students, together with locals within the area.

Your teacher will introduce the new language, some of which will be topic based. For example: ordering meals, asking directions, identifying particular flora and fauna etc.

You will practice your oral/aural skills: speaking, pronunciation, intonation and listening on the bus and at the sites and attractions.

Your teacher will give you assignments, either individually or in-groups. You will need to find information to complete your assignment.

Reading/ Writing Skills

Most of these classes will be held within a more formal class situation. These classes will be conducted, either on the road, within the caravan parks or within a motel.

Although these classes will be more formal than on the bus they will still be fun and much more stimulating than being in the same building, in the same classroom for a number of weeks.

Teaching Approach

Our curriculum is content based and learner centred, and is informed by an understanding of a range of methodological principles, particularly those underpinning communicative language teaching. Such principles emphasise the importance of focusing on language, and language learning materials, which are meaningful and useful to the learner. All activities are designed to promote active language use.