THE MURRAY, APOSTLES & KANGAROO ISLAND - Australian Star 2025

Package summary: 14 nights Cruise, Tour & Stay
Package starts: 16 November 2025 - from Melbourne
Cruise starts: 17 November 2025 - from Echuca/Torrumbarry Weir
Cruise ends: 21 November 2025 - into Echuca
Tour starts: 24 November 2025 - from Melbourne
Tour ends: 30 November 2025 - into Adelaide
Package ends: 30 November 2025 - in Adelaide
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EARLY BOOKING SAVINGS!
Twin Deck 1 Queen cabin - was $9446 - your special price from $8,655*pp
Twin Deck 2 Queen cabin - was $9446 - your special price from $8,655*pp
Twin Queen Suite with balcony - was $10,286 - your special price from $9,370*pp
Twin King Suite with balcony - was $10,886 - your special price from $9,885*pp
Single Deck 1 Queen cabin - was $14,565 - your special price from $13,220*
All prices in Australian dollars per person
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Highlights:
- Join the owner for an insightful tour of Restdown Winery and its picturesque wetlands, capped off with a delectable lunch featuring locally sourced produce. Indulge in table wine tastings to enhance the experience.
- Traverse Perricoota Station`s enchanting gardens alongside your knowledgeable skipper, soaking in the allure of the famed filming location for the iconic Australian television series, All the Rivers Run.
- Delve into Echuca`s historical sites on a narrated coach tour, gaining insights into the captivating stories that shaped the area.
- Savor a one-of-a-kind riverside BBQ dining experience under the stars, accompanied by live entertainment and the warmth of a crackling campfire.
- Cruise aboard the venerable 110-year-old PS Canberra, sipping on traditional morning tea as you enjoy the timeless surroundings.
- Experience all-day cruising with a historical commentary that will transport you back in time and immerse you in the rich cultural heritage of the Murray River region.
- Cultural Immersion - Lose yourself in the many laneways at Adelaide Central Market. Hear the stories of the stallholders and makers who have worked here for generations and try some of their delicious homemade wares.
- Sustainable Footprints - Support bushfire and wildlife rehabilitation projects on Kangaroo Island when you visit Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Wildlife & Nature - The underworld beckons at Naracoorte`s Alexandra Cave, a maze of delicate needle-like stalactites and massive twisting columns.

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THE MURRAY, APOSTLES & KANGAROO ISLAND Cruise, Tour & Stay package prices include:
- 1 night pre-cruise hotel stay in Melbourne
- One way train journey from Melbourne to Echuca with transport to the port
- 4 night river cruise aboard the NEW Australian Star round trip from Torrumbarry Weir to Echuca, Victoria
- Accommodation onboard in the cabin type chosen
- All shipboard meals including morning and afternoon tea
- Chef prepared Regionally-inspired meals
- Onshore Tours
- Selected wine & beer with dinner service
- Espresso coffee, tea, soft drink & bottled water
- WIFI throughout the boat
- 1 night post-cruise hotel stay in Echuca
- One way train journey from Echuca to Melbourne
- 2 night hotel stay in Melbourne pre-tour
- 6 night escorted group tour from Melbourne to Adelaide including: 6 nights accommodation (Warrnambool, Naracoorte, Kangaroo Island and Adelaide), 6 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners with wine and 1 farewell dinner, Services of a travel director and driver/guide, local specialist guides, National park entrance fees.

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Day to Day Itinerary: CRUISE

Day 1 - Torrumbarry Weir to Norris Bend
Monday 17/11/25
As you depart Torrumbarry upstream, enjoy an afternoon Devonshire tea, take in the sights and sounds of the river, and get to know your fellow cruisers. There’s ample time to chat with the skipper in the wheelhouse to learn about PS Australian Star, and her river history or simply relax in your private cabin. When the sun begins to set, this marks the start of ‘Happy Hour’. Enjoy a drink in the saloon before a chef-prepared welcome dinner. Listen to the river birds’ evening chorus and watch for kangaroos, wombats, and many species of birds as the stars begin to appear. Tonight, we moor at Norris Bend where your crew will have a riverside campfire (weather-dependent) ready for you to enjoy after dinner.

Day 2 - Morris Bend to Perricoota Station
Tuesday 18/11/25
After a hearty breakfast, Australian Star cruises to the famous Perricoota Station, the property first settled by James Maiden in 1843, and famous for starring in the TV mini series “All the River Run” where our famous PS Emmylou was renamed PS Providence.
Here you will depart to Restdown Winery, producers of fine organic wines and Hereford beef. Join the property’s owners for a guided tour along a 1.4km wetlands walking trail, highlighting items of great Aboriginal significance before a gourmet lunch of local produce and wine tastings. Arriving back at Perricoota Station the skipper will invite you to walk along the historical buildings and immaculate gardens of Perricoota Station before happy hour. Tonight enjoy a fabulous dinner aboard overlooking the famous Perricoota Station mansion. Tonight, after dinner it’s Movie Night with a special presentation of “Riverboats Remembered”, a fabulous historical presentation featuring archival footage of the paddle steamers and communities of the Murray River from the early 1900s through to the mid1970s.

Day 3 - Perricoota Station to Layfield Lane
Thursday 19/11/25
For early risers and keen photographers, the morning mist and wildlife around Perricoota is a sight to behold. After breakfast, Emmylou gracefully steams onwards upstream for a full day of cruising towards our riverside mooring, Layfield Lane mooring.
Today enjoy lunch on the deck or in the saloon with plenty of time to relax with a good book or just take in the river views. Tonight, enjoy a grand dinner on the riverbank – our signature Australian BBQ (weather dependent), lit up by candles on the tables and stars in the sky. After dinner enjoy casual conversation around the campfire (weather dependent) with live entertainment before retiring for the evening.


Day 4 - Layfield Lane to Echuca
Sunday 20/11/25
Start your day with a satisfying breakfast to fuel up for an exciting half-day adventure on both land and water. Your guided Henry Hopwood Town Tour tour will take you through the charming town of Echuca, uncovering hidden historical gems like Hopwood’s Punt and the pontoon bridge. This bridge, the brainchild of Echuca’s founder Henry Hopwood, marks the initial river crossing in the area. Next, prepare to be enchanted by our 110-year-old PS Canberra featuring a red gum timber hull built in 1912 at Goolwa South Australia. Enjoy morning tea aboard. Before returning to Australian Star for lunch when your river cruise adventure continues upstream cruising past the imposing Port of Echuca Wharf once home to over 100 paddlesteamers in its heyday. T
his evening you will enjoy a farewell dinner cruising upriver of Echuca .

Day 5 - Echuca
Thursday 21/11/25
This morning before breakfast early risers can enjoy a riverside stroll before we reluctantly say farewell.
Coach transfer to Echuca Car Parking, Train Station, and CBD Hotels

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Day to Day Itinerary: COACH TOUR


Day 1 Melbourne - Warrnambool
You’re on your way to the Great Ocean Road, a snaking coastal route that is one of the world’s most epic journeys. Across a dramatic 240 kilometres you’ll take in limestone stacks like the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge. Then traverse through World Heritage listed rainforest, skirting untouched coastal coves, and pausing in sleepy towns like Lorne and Apollo Bay, where bare feet and boardshorts are the dress code. Get together with your fellow travellers for a Welcome Dinner.
Hotel: Lady Bay Resort
Included Meals: Dinner with Wine

Day 2 Warrnambool - Naracoorte
Emus, kangaroos, koalas, echidnas... oh my! These are just some of the animals you'll likely spot as you drive through Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, housed in a dormant volcanic crater. Remarkably, this pocket of paradise was once wasteland, transformed by volunteers. More volcanic history awaits across the South Australian border in Mt. Gambier, home to the crater-filling Blue Lake. Bring your sunglasses, because the lake’s name doesn’t do it justice – the intensity of the hue is blinding. By now you’ll be pretty thirsty, so it’s a good thing the Coonawarra wine region is around the corner. Fancy a world-class cab sav, shiraz or merlot? You’ve come to the right place. Your final adventure is deep, in every sense of the word. Naracoorte’s Alexandra Cave is a maze of delicate needle-like stalactites and massive twisting columns.
Hotel: William MacIntosh Motor Lodge, Naracoorte
Included Meals: Dinner with Wine, Breakfast

Day 3 Naracoorte - Kangaroo Island
Nature rules large again today as you weave along the Fleurieu Peninsula to Victor Harbor. After rolling hills, sandy beaches and rugged cliffs, you’re greeted with the charms of this seaside town – the gateway to Kangaroo Island. All aboard the ferry for your journey toward this ‘mini Galapagos’. Kangaroo Island deserves its moniker, as you’ll discover tomorrow, but for the rest of the day, all you need to do is relax at your hotel in Kingscote, South Australia’s oldest European settlement, or perhaps take a stroll along the picturesque waters edge.
Hotel: Aurora Ozone Hotel, Executive Rooms
Included Meals: Dinner with Wine, Breakfast


Day 4 Kangaroo Island
First stop today truly deserves its name: the orange-lichen-clad Remarkable Rocks command your attention over the blazing blue of the Southern Ocean. Then there’s Admirals Arch, home to an immense colony of raucous fur seals and a very photogenic lighthouse. Like much of the island, Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary was badly damaged by the 2019 bushfires. Through your MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, you’ll assist with their bushfire recovery plan and wildlife rehabilitation program. Learn from one of their experienced guides about the delicate ecosystem and Australian native animals. More wildlife greets you at Seal Bay Conservation Park. Here, on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience you’ll visit one of the country’s most important sea lion breeding grounds. On a guided walk, you’ll learn about these creatures - one of the rarest species in the world of only 12,000, 800 of which call Seal Bay home. Move aside: enormous sea lions regularly barrel down the sand toward the water. Finish today’s adventure with a tasting of craft beers at Kangaroo Island’s only brewery. How does a Limestone Road Pale Ale sound?
Hotel: Aurora Ozone Hotel, Executive Rooms
Included Meals: Lunch, Breakfast

Day 5 Kangaroo Island - Adelaide
On your cruise back to the mainland, picture some of the culinary opportunities that await you in the South Australian capital. Adelaide is known as the 'city of churches' but we think a more apt title is the 'city of cuisine'. After a city tour, the afternoon is yours to see just how many restaurants and bars you can sample. Want recommendations? We might point you in the direction of the epic Central Market, the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 70 stalls selling artisan edibles (and drinkables).
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Adelaide
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 Adelaide Hills and the Barossa
Now that you have a taste for South Australian produce, take a deep dive on today’s adventure through the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa, dotted with atmospheric towns like Hahndorf, Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. Wander down its tree-lined streets and take time to explore the quaint shops. Wining and dining dominate the landscape, with some of the country’s oldest grape vines planted across this pocket of the state. Discover local flavours at a wine tasting at Wolf Blass and over lunch at Lambert Estate, nestled in rolling hills enveloped by vines. Return to Adelaide and join your Travel Director for a Farewell Dinner at Koomo, Adelaide’s highest restaurant, for a Japanese inspired feast.
Hotel: Crowne Plaza Adelaide
Included Meals: Farewell Dinner, Lunch, Breakfast

Day 7 Farewell from Adelaide
A week in this part of the world really isn't enough. We hope we've inspired you to come back for another taste.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Please note: This itinerary may be subject to change.