TOUR HIGHLIGHTS…....

DAY 1…………… Welcome to Sydney !

• Welcome gathering at the Wentworth Travelodge.

DAY 2…… SYDNEY HARBOUR

• View the sights of Sydney Harbour via ferry, including the iconic Fort Denison, Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, Garden Island Naval Base & Rose Bay Sea-plane Base.

• Visit the Australian National Maritime Museum, located in vibrant Darling Harbour.

• Lunch at Doyle’s Waterfront Seafood Restaurant located at Sydney’s South Head.

• Short walk to ‘The Gap’ overlooking the ocean which has been the scene of many tragic events over the years including Sydney’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

• Join John Brock on a walk around Circular Quay to the World Heritage Listed Opera House as he points out the original shoreline location & shows images of the Opera House survey & highlights its major features.

• For those of you who wish to explore further Government House & the Botanic Gardens are nearby.

DAY 3…………… SOUTH COAST

• Travel, by coach, to the South Coast of Sydney along the Grand Pacific Drive, which takes in 140km of spectacular coastal scenery.

• Visit Bald Hill for delightful views over the Illawarra coastline & if the wind is right, see hang-gliders taking off.

• Over morning tea hear how Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian pioneer of flight made a successful flight from the beach below in November 1894.

• Cross the 665m out-over-the-ocean Sea Cliff Bridge & being April keep a lookout for whales migrating along the east coast of Australia on what is known as the ‘Humpback Highway’.

• Visit & Lunch at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum which houses an impressive collection of marine & survey instruments in the Surveyor’s Gallery.

• Climb aboard the former Sydney Harbour Lady Denman Ferry located inside the museum & view footage of how ferries were a vital transport link before the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

• Before departing on our return journey to Sydney, you will have the opportunity of experiencing an Aboriginal Cultural show (to be confirmed).

DAY 4…………… SYDNEY CITY

• The best way to experience Sydney up close is by train & foot.

• Visit Sydney Observatory (1856).

• Presentations by John Brock on ‘The Transit of Venus’ & ‘Surveying the Sydney Harbour Bridge’.

• Lunch venue (to be confirmed).

• Visit Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Museum which houses the Surveyor’s Stained-Glass Window. View historic footage of the building of the bridge plus enjoy captivating views of Sydney Harbour from the top-of-the-pylon lookout.

• Visit the Sydney Harbour Bridge Discovery Centre, which has on show the uniquely designed large theodolite, made specifically for the Harbour Bridge survey plus other displays of interest.

• View the statue of Captain Bligh, 4th Governor of NSW, & famous for the ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ & Sydney’s oldest remaining building, Cadman’s Cottage (1816).

• Dinner at the Crown Hotel (close to the Travelodge).

DAY 5…………… BATHURST / HILL END

• Travel, by coach, to Bathurst, Australia’s first inland settlement & town, set on the banks of the Macquarie River & owes its existence to explorer & surveyor George Evans, the first European to cross the Great Dividing Range.

• Morning tea at Bathurst Visitor’s Centre where you can gaze upon an early form of transport, a historic Cobb & Co. coach, specially designed for travel into the Australian outback.

• Visit the old gold-mining town of Hill End which was active in the 1850s & 1870s. Today it is like entering a ‘time warp’ & home to numerous Eastern Grey kangaroos.

• Lunch at Hill End Lodge with presentation by John Brock on ‘Historic Hill End & its Early Surveyors’.

• View the ‘Footsteps-in-Time’ monument, one of numerous markers commemorating the first survey of the road across the mountains by George Evans, Pillars of Bathurst & short walk ‘Surveyors of Bathurst’.

• Light dinner on our return journey to Sydney.

DAY 6…………… SYDNEY CITY

• A leisurely walk, through Hyde Park, Australia’s oldest public parkland, which holds many delights including the Anzac Memorial & Pool of Reflection, Statue of explorer Captain James Cook, Sandringham Gardens and the impressive Archibald Fountain adorned with Greek mythical themes.

• Visit St. James Church, Sydney’s oldest existing church, built 1819-24 by convict labour. Of special interest is two plaques dedicated to early New South Wales surveyors, Kennedy & Dumaresq.

• Passing a significant row of colonial buildings, Hyde Park Barracks, The Mint, Sydney Hospital & Parliament House we arrive at the Mitchell Library to view the Tasman Map & Surveyor’s Doors.

• Lunch at The Conservatorium of Music, a castle-like structure, that was once the servant’s quarters & horse stables for Government House.

• View the former Lands Department building adorned with a wealth of statues of many early explorers & surveyors, the Governor Macquarie Obelisk, & scale model of Sydney at Customs House.

• Dinner venue (to be confirmed).

DAY 7…………… LA PEROUSE / KURNELL

• A later start this morning.

• Travel by coach to La Perouse situated on the northern shores of Botany Bay overlooking Bare Island & the idyllic bay where the First Fleet arrived in Australia from England in January 1788.

• Visit the La Perouse Museum which has an extensive display on the French explorers of New South Wales & the history of the area.

• Presentation by John Brock on the French explorers who visited Australia.

• Lunch at The Boatshed Cafe, overlooking Frenchman’s Beach & views across the bay of planes landing & taking-off from Sydney Airport.

• Travel by coach to the southern shores of Botany Bay to visit the Kurnell Visitors Centre situated in Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

• View the Captain Cook Monument commemorating the landing of James Cook in Botany Bay in April 1770 & the first meeting between the British & indigenous Australians.

• Dinner at the 360° revolving Sydney Tower Restaurant with delightful views over Sydney as the city transforms into a fairyland of lights.

DAY 8…………… PARRAMATTA

• Relaxing 1½ hour Rivercat cruise along the iconic Parramatta River to Parramatta, for a tour, by coach, of Australia’s second oldest mainland European settlement & the only place in Australia with buildings dating from the 1790s which today are dotted among the high-rise of Sydney’s second largest CBD.

• Tour highlights include Australia’s oldest remaining building Elizabeth Farm (1793), Lancer Barracks (1818), Australia’s longest continuously operating military facility & The Tudor Gatehouse (1886).

• Visit World Heritage Listed Parramatta Park.

• Lunch in Lachlan’s Restaurant with tour of adjoining Old Government House (1799), Australia’s oldest remaining public building.

• Visit the grave of Australia’s first Surveyor-General, Augustus Alt & drink a toast to his memory.

• Tour of Sydney Olympic Park, home to the 2000 Olympic Games. John Brock will relate how he surveyed & set out the Olympic Track.

• Dinner Venue (to be confirmed).

DAY 9…………… BLUE MOUNTAINS

• Day tour, by coach, to the breathtaking Blue Mountains, located in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Listed Area.

• Visit Featherdale Wildlife Park where you can see up-close a variety of native Australian wildlife including koalas, wombats, emus, echidnas, dingoes, & Tasmanian devil, with the opportunity to pat & feed kangaroos & wallabies.

• Visiting various ‘Footsteps-In-Time’ monuments which follow the line of George Evans’s historic traverse.

• High-Tea Lunch at the grand Hydro-Majestic Hotel, overlooking the Megalong Valley. This majestic hotel during World War Two was requisitioned as a base for the U.S. Army’s 118th General Hospital. In recent years it has undergone a $30+ million refurbishment.

• Visit the Govetts Leap Visitors Centre & breath-taking lookout over the Grose Valley. The Leap is named after assistant surveyor, William Romaine Govett.

• A must see is the unusual rock formation, The Three Sisters, overlooking the Jamison Valley & regarded as the Blue Mountains most spectacular landmark.

DAY 10…………… CANBERRA

• Depart Sydney, by coach, & head south to Australia’s capital city, Canberra, located in the Australia Capital Territory (ACT), which was designed by American Walter Burley & his wife Marion Griffin.

• En route visit Meridian Park at Marulan, the only town in the world situated on the 150° meridian.

• Visit the Big Merino, a 15.2m (50ft) tall concrete merino ram, nicknamed ‘Rambo’. Time to visit the gift shop & view the history of wool display.

• Following lunch, a visit to Namadgi National Park Visitors Centre to view the display surrounding the relocated Mouat’s reference tree. ‘Happy’ Harry Mouat was one of three Commonwealth surveyors who with his team surveyed part of the NSW/ACT boundary.

• Visit to Telstra Tower, rising 195.2m above the summit of Black Mountain, with panoramic views over Canberra. View a DVD showing the surveying & construction of the tower plus historic artefacts, then head to the viewing platforms for 360° views.

• Dinner at your motel.

• Overnight - Motel accommodation plus full hot breakfast.

DAY 11…………… CANBERRA

• Depart motel, by coach, & travel to the top of Mt. Ainslie for a panoramic view over Canberra.

• Visit the National Canberra Exhibition Centre which tells the story of how Canberra became our capital city.

• Morning Tea at the Captain Cook Memorial overlooking man-made Lake Burley Griffin.

• Visit the Old Bus Depot Markets & The Glassworks.

• Visit the National Library of Australia to view maps & artefacts owned by Captain James Cook & sextant used by Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell.

• Private tour of New Parliament House.

• Visit Scrivener’s Hut in Surveyor’s Park which is the last remaining part of the original Federal Capital survey camp. Named after Charles Robert Scrivener, the first director of Commonwealth lands & surveys.

• Tour of the Embassies & High Commission districts.

• Dinner at Surveyor’s Hill Winery with presentation by John Brock titled ‘Surveyors of Canberry’.

• Overnight - Motel accommodation plus full hot breakfast.

DAY 12…………… CANBERRA

• Depart motel, by coach.

• Visit the Australian National University to view a rare copy of William ’Strata’ Smith’s 1815 ‘Map that changed the World’. Followed by morning tea.

• Visit the National Museum of Australia on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin which highlights people & events that have shaped the nation of Australia.

• While in this idyllic location enjoy lunch at the very popular Museum Café.

• Cruise along ANZAC (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) Parade, by coach, to view the numerous memorials that line the national capital’s major ceremonial avenue.

• Visit the Australian War Memorial & witness the military tradition, the ‘Last Post’ bugle call that signifies the end of the day’s activities.

• Dinner at your motel followed by a ‘fun’ presentation by Kerima-Gae titled ‘Surveyors Through the Eyes of a Non-Surveyor’.

• Overnight - Motel accommodation plus full hot breakfast.

DAY 13…………… GOULBURN /SYDNEY

• Depart Canberra, by coach.

• Visit the colonial Garroorigang Homestead (1857), once home to Stuart Belcher, Registered Surveyor, who also taught surveying. Enjoy a guided tour of this elegant homestead & Devonshire morning tea plus the opportunity to view Belcher’s field books, Gunter’s chain, etc.

• Town tour of Goulburn, named by surveyor James Meehan in 1818 & proclaimed as Australia’s first inland city in 1863.

• Visit Riversdale, a fine example of a Colonial Georgian home surrounded by splendid gardens. Built in the 1830s it was purchased by Edward Twynam in 1875, who later became Surveyor-General of New South Wales.

• Following a tour plus lunch at Riversdale we set out for the final leg of our journey, to return to Sydney.

Price: $AUD1,850pp twin share/double (Single Supplement: $AUD 150)

Booking Information & Conditions………………. The Surveyors Roo-dezvous – Australia 2020 has been organised as a joint venture between Brock Surveys P/L & Topp Tours. Hotel Accommodation in Sydney/Canberra: 3 nights (25-28 April, 2020) motel accommodation in Canberra with full hot breakfast each morning is included in the tours package. 9 nights (16-24 April, 2020) accommodation in Sydney is for you to organise. A very good group rate has been negotiated for rooms & breakfast at the Travelodge Hotel Sydney, 27 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. NSW. Australia. Please Note: All activities, while in Sydney, will depart each day from the Travelodge Hotel Sydney.

To book promo code: TH12809212 Phone: +61 2 8267 1700 or Hotel Reservations 1300 886 886

or travelodgehotels.com.au

Deposit: $AUD500pp Deposit to be paid to Brock Surveys P/L BSB: 082-330 Account Number: 571010616 SWIFT CODE: NATAAU3302S Name of Bank: National Australia Bank (NAB) Address; 28 George Street, Parramatta. New South Wales. 2150. Australia. Phone No. 13 22 65 Other Information: John Francis Brock, 33 Great Western Highway, Parramatta. New South Wales. 2150. Australia. Phone: +61 414 910 898

Please don’t forget to add your name to the transaction.

Final Payment: Balance of $AUD1,350pp twin share/double (Single supplement $AUD150)

to be paid to K.G.Topp t/as Topp Tours by…….15th January, 2020. BSB: 633-000 Account Number: 123231433 SWIFT CODE: BENDAU3B Name of Bank: Bendigo Bank Address: 198 Church Street, Parramatta. New South Wales. 2150.Australia. Phone: +61 2 8833-9800 Other Information: Kerima-Gae Topp, 33 Great Western Highway, Parramatta. New South Wales. 2150. Australia. Phone: +61 428 284 275

Please don’t forget to add your name to the transaction.

Please note: Check if your bank deducts transaction fees from your money transfer as the above

mentioned amounts are required IN FULL by Brock Surveys P/L and Topp Tours.

Cancellation by Passengers: Before 1st February, 2020. All monies less a $AUD250 cancellation fee. On or after 1st February, 2020 All monies will be forfeited unless the seat or seats can be resold.

Itinerary: While every effort is taken by Topp Tours to operate the tour as listed, occasionally, due

to unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary to alter or amend the itinerary from that listed. The tour must be paid for as a whole & no refunds will be made for any inclusions not availed by a passenger.

Tour Cancellation: If due to exceptional circumstances the whole tour has to be cancelled all

monies received will be refunded.

Travel Insurance: Topp Tours strongly recommends adequate travel insurance for all persons

to insure yourselves fully for loss due to cancellation fees, loss of personal baggage &/or monies, cost of hospitalisation/sickness & having to change travel plans due to unforeseen circumstances.

Smoking: Government regulations prohibit smoking inside tour coaches/buses in Australia.

Smoking is banned completely in NSW & ACT beneath covered public transport waiting areas, including bus, tram, train, light rail and taxi shelters.

Dietary: Where possible Topp Tours will endeavour to cater for dietary requirements but this can

only be done if you notify Topp Tours on your booking form at least 30 days prior to tour date.

Health & Fitness: A minimum level of fitness is required to be able to participate. As a minimum

you will need to be able to walk & manage coach/bus steps unaided. Participants are required to wear closed in walking shoes where requested by the tour manager. You must inform Topp Tours before the commencement of the tour of any medical condition/s which may affect your ability to participate in the tour.

….. Notes…..

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Showcasing Australia’s Rich History

Mobile: +61 428 284 275

P.O. Box 883, Parramatta. NSW

2124 Australia

Email: topptours@bigpond.com