Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures and the International Cricket Hall of Fame!

Visit two of the main tourist attractions in the Southern Highlands – The Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures and The International Cricket Hall of Fame – using the new joint ticket and enjoy significant savings on a great day out for the whole family.

Available from 1 July, just in time for the school holidays, the joint ticket is the perfect excuse to get the kids out of the house for the day. The Southern Highlands is only 90 minutes from both Sydney and Canberra, and less than one hour from Wollongong and Nowra.

The International Cricket Hall of Fame in Bowral offers hours of entertainment for all family members; cricket fans will probably want to spend all day! Interactive kiosks and fascinating displays ensure the content of the museum appeals to people of all ages and levels of interest in cricket. As one guest commented: “Everything is superbly marked and informative – even for a non-cricket fan. A brilliant not-to-be-missed introduction to Bowral.”

The award winning Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventure, near Robertson, is one of Australia’s premier treetop walk experiences. Offering a unique rainforest experience, where you walk through the beautiful warm temperate rainforest at 25 metres above the ground, the walk features stunning views of the Illawarra and Wollongong region as well as a special nature-based experience.

Families receive a distinct saving when buying a joint ticket as the second and third child are admitted to both attractions for free. The family tickets costs $91. Individuals save 10% off the entry prices when using the joint ticket.

Tickets are available from 1 July to 30 December 2011, and are valid for three months from purchase.

Tickets can be bought online through www.southern-highlands.com.au or at each of the attractions. Bookings will also soon be available through accommodation venues throughout the Highlands.

Media information: Jen Walker 0411 480 220 or media@bradman.com.au and Debbie Howie 0417 572 228 debbie.howie@fallscreek.net

It also provides the international travel trade the opportunity to experience Australia first hand. A

TE is divided into two modules allowing exhibitors to target the markets most appropriate for their tourism product. The Eastern Module (Saturday 2 – Monday 4 April) targets Buyers from Japan, Asia and the Gulf Countries, and the Western Module (Tuesday 5 – Friday 8 April) targets Buyers from the UK, Europe, the Americas, South Africa, New Zealand and the South Pacific. International buyers attend the module according to where their company is based and Australian exhibitors can apply to attend one or both modules.

If you are attending ATE – be sure to keep an eye out for the Otway Fly Treetop Adventure stand and drop to see us!

Otway Fly has a mobile animal farm coming during the school holidays. 

“Kids are mesmerised by young farm animals and don’t often get the chance to see them, let alone have a pat” says Sarah Nolan Marketing Manager Otway Fly.

Tracey’s mobile farm will bring the animals to the Otway Fly Sunday 17 April & Sunday 25 April 11am – 4pm each day “The farm animals are well looked after and enjoy the company of people” says Nolan “they have an experienced staff member travelling with them, who can talk to the kids about the animals. These may include lambs, goats, piglets, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, deer, turtles etc”.

As part of the entry families can take a walk on the Otway Fly canopy walk “it’s a great chance to not only show children the farm animals, but to interact with the pristine rainforest.”

Come and see the farm animals, then walk the world’s longest and highest aerial canopy steel walkway to see the spectacular Otway rainforest from high above the forest floor.

There’s also a 45m tower you can climb with spectacular views. Otway Fly Treetop Adventures is open 9am – 5.30pm each day.

Entry $22 adults, $9.50 children, $55 family.

Farm animal viewing is free and located at the children’s area at the front of the Visitor Centre.

Zip Lining NEW

If you’re game you could try the new Zip Lining. Fly through the trees on a harness attached to cables throughout the rainforest. You zip 7 times throughout the tour with full action for all the family including two swing bridges.

Gift vouchers are available if you want to impress with something very different.

Zip lining costs $115 per person and is an action packed eco journey.

The Fly is part of the Great Ocean Road touring route, directly accessible from Phillips Track and is 15 minutes’ drive from Lavers Hill, 45 minutes from Apollo Bay and 40 minutes from Colac.

Travelling time from Melbourne via the Princess Highway is 2.5 hours. Travelling time via the Great Ocean Road is 3.5 hours.

It’s worth the journey.

Phone 03 5235 9200 for information or check the website at www.otwayfly.com.au For more media information please contact Debbie Howie 0417 572 228 or debbie.howie@fallscreek.net

HIGH up, high speed, and certainly high adrenalin.

The new Otway Fly Zip Line attraction transforms a tranquil rainforest setting into one of the most thrilling experiences on offer. But far from spoiling the natural beauty of the Otways, this ecoadventure aims – and succeeds – in giving visitors a unique way to enjoy the spectacle.

Located about 90 minutes from Geelong, the zip line is the newest addition to the popular Otway Fly Tree Top Walk, which offers guests a chance to experience the unseen heights of the rainforest through a raised platform walk.

The zip line taps into this head for heights, while offering the incredibe thrill of whizzing along on a cable through the trees. With the attraction already proving popular, zip line guests should book in advance onto one of the tours running regularly throughout the day.

On arrival, we were taken into the briefing room with the rest of our tour group to get strapped safely into our harnesses. Groups are made up of about 10 people, with children over a certain height welcome.

Friendly guides talked us through putting on our harnesses, before carrying out a thorough safety inspection. Heading outside to the simulator, we had a welcome chance to practice our moves just a tew feet on the ground.

Sitting back in the harness for the first time and trusting it to hold fast was possibly the most nerve-racking point of the whole experience, and made me glad any problems would have resulted in nothing more serious than a bruised bottom. But as expected, the expert safety measures did their job, and we were whisked away to the first of nine ‘cloud stations’.

These bouncy white stations circle the trees along the zip line and serve as the departure and arrival points along the zip line route. Under the watchful eye of our friendly and entertaining guides Rachael Sady and Clayton Purvis, our group members were soon zipping our way one by one along the first line, measuring about 30 metres.

The breathtaking rush alongside the high-up canopy felt like flying. While it was tempting to concentrate on nothing but the approaching cloud station landing the first few times, by the time our group reached the longest zip line – all 120 metres of it – we were easily confident enough to look around and enjoying the stunning views. The zip line finishes at the start of the existing tree top walk, allowing visitors to seamlessly enjoy both activities.

And fans of the tranquillity offered by the walk needn’t worry, the adrenalin-thrilled zip line is invisible from the boardwalks and doesn’t disturb the natural surroundings. Otway Fly’s general manager Elaine Burridge said the zip line was already proving a hit. “It is extremely exciting,” she said. “Not only is it a wonderful adventure that showcases the rainforest, and provides an adrenalin fuelled activity for visitors to the Great Ocean Road, but with its unique features it’s also the first of its type to be built in the world.”

The zip line experience takes about two-a-half hours from checking to completion, with a further hour recommended for the tree top walk. Combining the beauty of nature with the adrenalin rush of adventure, the Otway Fly Zip Line is something that once experienced, will never be forgotten.

The Fly is directly accessible from Phillips Track and is 15 minutes’ drive from Lavers Hill, 45 minutes from Apollo Bay and 40 minutes from Colac. Travelling time from Melbourne via the Princes Highway is 2.5 hours. Travelling time via the Great Ocean Road is 3.5 hours.

For bookings and information, call 5235 9200 or visit www.otwayflytreetopadventures.com.au

As you drive around this summer keeping the boredom bugs at bay have your radio tuned to i98 or Wave fm and you will catch our special offers designed to keep you entertained all summer long. From Coffee and Cupcakes for groups of mums and their kids to Family passes that include four children at the price of two or a glass of wine included with your meal when you dine at Café 106. Keep listening for Illawarra Fly Tree Top Adventure – “high adventure, close to home”” …. and you will have a great day out!.

Our Ranger Activity program is always a crowd pleaser not just for the little kids but the BIG ones as well. Enjoy the brain teasers, find the answers, colour the pictures is all you have to do to enjoy a free icy pole at the end of your treetop adventure.

Otway Treetop Adventures offers families the opportunity to give their kids new challenges and have a great deal of fun. “Kids have a blast when they come to the Otway Fly” says Elaine Burridge GM “From the minute they walk in the door there’s something for them to do, they never get bored, and they don’t realise they’re learning as they go which is a great plus”.

The new Zip Lining Eco tour is a fabulous opportunity for kids to take in the rainforest and have an adrenalin fuelled few hours as they fly through the trees many times throughout the tour. “This new adventure tour adds to the rainforest experience” says Burridge “Its great for families, groups and companies wanting to take their staff on a good fun bonding experience”.

Located just off the Great Ocean Road near Lavers Hill (past Apollo Bay), the drive to the Otway Fly Treetop Adventures is spectacular along the coast, or travel via Colac for an easy drive from Melbourne and Geelong. Activities include:

• Zip Lining NEW Fly through the trees on a harness attached to cables in the rainforest.You zip 7 times throughout the tour with full action for all the family
• Abseiling from the Treetop Walk 26 December – 9 January Jump off the 25m high steel canopy walk and abseil to the forest floor. Pure adrenalin.
• Otway Fly Treetop Walk – Enjoy the treetop canopy walk along the world longest and highest steel walk structure, with the 45m tower high above the rainforest Gift vouchers are available if you want to impress with something very different.

The Fly is directly accessible from Phillips Track and is 15 minutes’ drive from Lavers Hill, 45 minutes from Apollo Bay and 40 minutes from Colac. Travelling time from Melbourne via the Princess Highway is 2.5 hours. Travelling time via the Great Ocean Road is 3.5 hours. Worth the journey.