On day 4, change your perspective with an optional visit to the Melbourne Skydeck atop Eureka Tower. In a swift lift ride, you’ll arrive on the 88th floor to survey panoramic views across Port Phillip Bay, the MCG and sporting precinct, and Melbourne’s glittering grid. If you dare, step into The Edge glass cube for a vertiginous thrill.

This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Visit by day for crisp detail, or time it for sunset over the bay when the skyline blushes and city lights spark alive.

As evening falls on day 4, journey from Melbourne for the optional Phillip Island Penguin Parade. Take your seat along Summerland Beach to watch Little Penguins emerge from the surf and waddle to their burrows, passing beneath your boardwalk vantage. Coastal viewpoints like the Nobbies reveal rugged sea vistas and abundant birdlife.

This wildlife encounter is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Hear ranger insights on conservation while the cool ocean air and deepening twilight heighten the mood. Expect a later return after witnessing this gentle nightly ritual.

Still on day 3 in Federation Square, join a guided galleries tour at the Koorie Heritage Trust, a First Peoples cultural centre. Encounter contemporary art and traditional objects—such as possum-skin cloaks, carved tools and weaving—while hearing Koorie perspectives on Country, identity and resilience in south-eastern Australia.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER experience supports community-led storytelling and cultural continuity. By engaging directly with artists and curators, you deepen your understanding of place and help sustain living culture at the heart of Melbourne.

Savor a sweet spin on storytelling on day 4 with an optional History and Donuts walking tour. Thread through laneways and arcades—from Degraves Street to the Block Arcade and Hosier Lane—while tasting artisan doughnuts from beloved bakeries. Along the way, hear how the gold rush and the Hoddle Grid shaped Melbourne’s flavour and flair.

This small-group outing runs at a relaxed pace, is at additional cost, and is bookable on tour. It’s a playful blend of local bites and lively urban lore, perfect for an afternoon in the city.

On day 2, gain your bearings as you ascend Mount Ainslie Lookout for a sweeping view over the capital. From this classic vantage, trace the land axis from the Australian War Memorial down ANZAC Parade to Old Parliament House and the current Parliament House. In the crisp morning air, Canberra’s geometric plan and Lake Burley Griffin unfold below.

The panorama reveals the vision of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin—a city shaped by triangles, vistas and water. It’s an ideal moment to pause for photos and reflection before turning south toward Victoria and the historic gold-rush towns.

Cross the Murray River into Victoria on day 2 and explore the Beechworth Historic Precinct, one of Australia’s best-preserved gold towns. Wander past stone public buildings and weatherboard shopfronts, browse honey and gold merchants, and chat with the publican of a heritage hotel. Then settle in for afternoon tea in the town’s oldest hotel, soaking up the easy country cadence.

Beechworth boomed in the 1850s; its courthouse and telegraph station still anchor stories of miners, merchants and the notorious Ned Kelly. Today’s visit layers living small-town warmth over rich heritage before you continue to nearby Wangaratta.

On day 3, arrive in Victoria’s capital and join a guided city sightseeing tour. Follow the Yarra River’s Southbank, pass the arts precinct and gleaming Crown complex, and trace grand boulevards framed by Victorian facades. Breathe in the lakes and lawns of the Royal Botanic Gardens and feel Melbourne’s confident mix of heritage and edge.

Forged by gold-rush wealth, the city’s elegant grid, arcades and enduring tram culture reveal a place made for strolling and people-watching. After your introduction, enjoy a free afternoon to revisit laneways or riverside promenades at your own pace.

On day 1, break the journey south with a visit to Berrima in the Southern Highlands and stroll the main street lined with restored Georgian heritage buildings. Take in the mellow sandstone of civic landmarks, browse country bakeries and craft stores, and amble by the Berrima Courthouse and riverside reserve. This charming pause lets you stretch your legs and settle into the slower rhythms of rural New South Wales.

Founded in the 1830s along the old Great South Road, Berrima preserves early colonial fabric. The Surveyor-General Inn lays claim to being Australia’s oldest continuously licensed pub, while the convict-built gaol speaks to grittier chapters. Your stop on day 1 offers time to pause for photos and reflection beneath eucalypts edging the Wingecarribee River.

Near Canberra on day 1, arrive at a working property to enjoy a Be My Guest Aussie barbecue lunch with the Starr family. Step into the shearing shed to watch a sheep-shearing demonstration with Craig, feel the lanolin in freshly shorn fleece, and chat with your hosts about life on their 400-hectare station. Plates of grilled favourites and fresh salads round out this flavoursome country interlude.

Here you’ll see how sheep and wool shaped Australia’s fortunes—from mustering to classing Merino fleeces for market. The visit blends authentic country hospitality with hands-on insight into seasonal rhythms, weathered resilience and clever stockcraft, leaving you both well-fed and connected to the land’s enduring stories.

Later on day 1, arrive in the capital and explore the grounds of Parliament House atop Capital Hill, with time for a self-guided visit if you wish. Walk the sweeping lawns and terraces, admire the stainless-steel flag mast, and trace the ceremonial axis that aligns sightlines across Lake Burley Griffin to the Australian War Memorial.

Opened in 1988 and designed by Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp, the building’s grass-clad profile symbolically places government beneath the people. The precinct reveals Canberra’s planned geometry and civic ideals, offering moments to pause for photos and reflection as late-day light brushes its limestone colonnades.

• 1 Lunch (L)
• 4 Breakfast (B)

• Beechworth: Experience small town charm and Australian hospitality during your visit to Beechworth.

AAT Kings