Thailand Flower Festival

Our first tour to Thailand was timed to visit the Chiang Mai flower festival. This festival is not unlike the Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba with a fantastic street parade and intricate floats. We were very well looked after by tour company Go See touring who provided some really nice additional touches along the way. As well as 5 interesting nights in Chiang Mai, we had 2 nights in Chiang Rai to visit some gardens, temples and the golden triangle, 2 nights in luxury on the River Kwai and 2 nights in the Bangkok. Our group of 19 travelers had a great time with many massages, much food and significant shopping being highlights.

Russia and Scandinavia

Our small tour group of 11 set off in late April to explore Russia and the Scandinavian countries. A plane malfunction and extra night in Singapore proved to the only hitch in an otherwise well organized and smooth tour. 7 nights in Russia proved to be eye-opening. The beautiful old parts of both Moscow and St Petersburg were fabulous and a real contrast to the poorer areas in the suburbs and the rural areas. Castles, palaces, churches and gardens were all interesting in their own way. We had a great day in Estonia after catching he ferry from Helsinki. We caught the overnight ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. We caught the train from Oslo to Flam and the express boat from Flam to Bergen. Tivoli gardens in Copenhagen was the setting for our final dinner and it was probably the garden highlight of the tour – world class (and someone forgot to take their camera…). Visiting Linnaeus garden was like a pilgrimage for the tour leader Brian Sams. The tour group was small but supportive and had a great time.  9 of us ventured on to London for 5 nights to see the Chelsea Flower Show, some beautiful gardens in Essex and some free time in London.

USA and Canada West Coast

26 travellers travelled to USA at the end of July for an epic journey to North Americas west coast. We travelled from Lost Angeles to San Francisco, Sonoma Valley, Yosemite, Las Vegas, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Vancouver and Victoria. Everyone on the tour enjoyed the huge diversity in scenery including the interesting deserts and canyons of Nevada, Arizona and Utah. We stopped at the iconic Route 66, were blown away by the intensity and mayhem that is the Las Vegas strip and loved the gardens in both California and Victoria. Our guide was the enthusiastic and voluble Derek Lundgren who did a great job all the way and our ever smiling driver was Orlando, a native of Las Vegas. Their contribution to a very successful trip was recognised by all who travelled. Upon completion of the main tour most people then ventured further either to Alaska and the Yukon, the Inside Passage cruise or back to see friends in America. All in a all a great tour!

Norfolk Island

Our 2 hours flight east of Brisbane took us into the South Pacific to the lovely Norfolk Island. 29 travellers enjoyed the recently refurbished Castaways Resort and a chance to explore this interesting oasis. The natural beauty of the island is quite well known. The interesting history includes the Mutiny on the Bounty story and the resettlement of the Pitcairn island descendants. We loved the place and the people. the locals were truly welcoming and we managed to get a good insight into quite a different lifestyle that is both independent and largely self sufficient. We visited farms, gardens, national parks and wineries. The inaugural Wattletree Garden Tours Golf Day was great fun with a number of first time golfers making quite an impression in various ways... We look forward to returning for our first ever Christmas tour in 2016. .