'The Great Escape'

Surf Coast and Hinterland

Saturday 28 September, 2019

8.15am sharp - 5.45pm

Bus departs from and returns to 665 Collins Street, a short walk from Southern Cross Station.

Freshwater Creek pick up 9.30am - Dickens Road sports oval (just off the Anglesea Road/Great Ocean Road)

Tickets $195 through TryBooking, includes:

  • Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea
  • Tour notes

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Join us for a tour of four wonderful private coastal gardens, each with its own character and each nestled into the hinterland behind the dunes.

A destination of note is Peter Shaw’s sensational Sunnymeade garden at Anglesea - one of the most outstanding gardens on the West Coast. Another highlight is a garden completely transformed in recent years with the creation of a remarkable rocky water feature designed by award winning Philip Johnson, complete with frog pond and descending stream.  

You will see how each of the garden owners has focussed on introducing indigenous plants into their environment. Some are also trying to meet the challenge of organic food production. 

Hinterland House provides a fascinating example of  ‘Gardening in Reverse’…where the result is seen in not what you are putting into the ground by planting new species but what you are removing from the ground and its impact on the broader environment through natural regeneration opportunities.

Peter Shaw will lead this very special tour which will also explore a range of heritage listed coastal and heathland landscapes that define the character of the Great Ocean Road. The areas surrounding the towns of Anglesea and Aireys Inlet are amongst some of the most bio-diverse landscapes in the world.You will learn about their bands of vegetation and the role plants play in creating this remarkable ecosystem.  Spring is the time when they come into their own. With Peter guiding a wildflower walk you will discover many species, including some you may not have noticed on your own. 

Finally the tour will visit the perimeter of a decommissioned industrial site currently being considered for the Southern Hemisphere’s ‘Eden Project’.

Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided.

This is a tour with a difference. It is an exploration of gardens within the Australian Landscape and a celebration
of the form and structure of what makes our coastal vegetation so admired, valued and respected.

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