1

Jai Baba everyone

Thank you for expressing an interest in the pre-tour of Melbourne and Sydney prior to the

60th Anniversary.

I am enclosing a proposed itinerary, and have some estimated costs based on 30 people

attending. Costs will of course vary until we have exact numbers. The itinerary is in early

stages, but we intend to include as many Baba activities as we possibly can. If any of you

have talents to share, we welcome contributions from you.

AT this stage the tour cost will be around $1500 US PP, we are hoping to reduce this but

can’t give actual costs until we have numbers. This includes most meals, accommodation,

internal flights, airport transfers, speciality tours such as Sydney Harbour, Blue Mountains,

Great Ocean Road, Yarra Wines and Puffing Billy and Melbourne Tram Restaurant. It also

includes daily breakfast, 10 lunches and 9 dinners.

I can also reduce costs if people are not wanting to do all the sightseeing tours.

This cost is based on twin share, it will be a little more if there is a single room. I am working

to get the cost down as much as I can, and we are looking at various options but until we

have numbers we can’t really work on anything.

I would like to secure the flights accommodation in the first instance. I am looking at a

cheaper option for the Sydney accommodation, but Sydney and Melbourne are very

expensive, and what you might save in not being central there will be additional costs in

getting places.

A tour kit is being prepared which will include information about the historical sites,

information about the Baba personalities and Baba places you will be visiting.

The hosts of the tour will be Charmaine and Tony Foley. Included where appropriate we will have personal stories from people who met Baba in 1956 and 1958, children of the early Baba families, and early Baba Lovers. Historians who have done research on Meher Baba, Francis Brabazon, and the early Baba history will also be contributing.

Baba lovers in Sydney and Melbourne are opening their hearts and homes and will be

hosting meals and activities throughout the tour.

Accommodation is in centrally located hotels in both capital cities. We will have a hire bus

to ferry people around to various locations in both cities and will in some cases use public

transport i.e. trains to go to some areas.

2

HINTS FOR THE TOUR.

The tour commences on the 26th May from Melbourne. That will require you to be in

Melbourne on the 26th. Our suggestion is that you would leave your place of residence on

the 23rd or 24th. e.g. If you leave the states on the 24th from the west coast you will arrive

in Melbourne on the 26th am, have a rest and be ready for our first activity that night.

There are several ways you can book your flights. You can book Melbourne to place of

residence return, or place of residence to Melbourne, departing from Brisbane. Or Brisbane

to Brisbane and then get an internal flight Brisbane to Melbourne to start the tour.

Domestic Flights in Australia are extremely cheap, the cost of the internal flights will be

somewhere between $100 and $130.00 AU (or US$80 -100). We can assist you with

booking extra flights once we know your plans.

The map below shows the east coast of Australia and gives an idea of the locations we are

travelling into. The distances between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne is around 1200km

or 800 miles. By air: Brisbane to Sydney is 750km = 470 miles; Sydney Melbourne is 700km

=430 miles). Avatars Abode is about 15 mins drive from Nambour.

Meals on Tour

Most meals are catered for, including all breakfasts, most dinners and some lunches.

However, you will need some extra funds for the odd lunch or dinner. You do not tip in

Australia, and VAT is included in the price.

3

Weather

Weather will be cool especially in Melbourne, but we are not travelling anywhere that will

have snow. Our winter is very mild, but Melbourne can be quite windy, so a good coat

would be useful.

Melbourne: Annual Weather Averages. January is the hottest month in Melbourne with an average

temperature of 21°C (70°F) and the coldest is July at 10°C (50°F) with the most daily sunshine hours

at 11 in January. The wettest month is May with an average of 68mm of rain.

Sydney: In the month of June, the average daytime temperatures are generally around 14°C in the

city while the average high temperature can reach 18°C on the warmest days. Sydney never gets too

cold, even in the winter. Average minimum temperatures generally tend to be around 10°C.

Sunshine Coast/ Avatars Abode: The daytime beach temperature in July averages around 20°C

and in January, the temperatures average around 28°C. In the hills of the hinterland, temperatures

tend to be a degree cooler or warmer than on the coast. During the winter months the temperature

along the coast can average around 20°C (68°F).

Payment

We will require a deposit to secure your place on the tour. This will allow us

to secure flights and accommodation. There are a couple of ways you can do

this. You can forward a direct debit to our bank account, or we have a PayPal

account. The travel agent may be able to use a credit card but there are

sometimes issues with the foreign issued cards. Let us know how you would

like to proceed and we can forward you the details.

4

Melbourne Sydney Pre-History Tour Proposed Itinerary.

Day 1 26th May Welcome to Australia and to Melbourne, the birthplace of the Baba movement in Australia. Arrive in Melbourne on early flight, rest day, dinner on Colonial Tram Car Restaurant, travel the streets of Melbourne whilst enjoying wonderful Australian cuisine and wines. Overnight Vibe Hotel https://vibehotels.com/hotel/savoy-melbourne?gclid=Cj0KCQiAkZHTBRCBARIsAMbXLhGMUsIz-OW9DrzpRLW7H2d3_JOjDITNDptiLG1qB6uG3-bZUDh4SPcaArcIEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

5

Day 2 27th May Meet Dave Dickens for bus trip around the Baba houses and areas he visited. Tour guides will be Cynthia Borg and Margaret Harrison who will tell stories of the 1956 Baba visit and a bit of history about the Baba community. Both Cynthia and Margaret were from the early Sufi families who were involved with Baron von Frankenberg, and later Francis. It was Cynthia’s mother along with Ena Lemmon who invited Baba to come to Australia. Cynthia can also provide information on the building of Meher House, as her family lived with Francis for 18 months and helped with the building project. The homes of course are not accessible, but we can follow Baba’s tour, and look at these lovely homes. Lunch TBA, Dinner with local Baba lovers, we hope that some of the guests will entertain us as well. BLD

O’Brien House 1956 Day 3 28th May Bendigo and Castlemaine. Bendigo was one of our early gold cities, we will catch the local train from Souhern Cross Station, Melbourne to Bendigo station for a lovely trip to the Victorian countryside. We hope to have a walking tour in Bendigo, and then travelling on train to Castlemaine for lunch with Paul and Ann Smith. Paul is one of the most foremost scholars on Hafiz, and found out about Baba from Robert Dreyfuss. After a wonderful afternoon we will head back to Melbourne for dinner at one of the local baba lovers home. Vibe hotel BLD https://mehermelb.jimdo.com/locals-visitors-to-melb/paul-ann-smith/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlemaine,_Victoria

6

Day 4 29th May Today we play at being tourists, you have the choice of the Great Ocean Road (around 12 hours) or Yarra wine trail and puffing billy. You will be picked up from the hotel and returned, lunch will be included. Vibe Hotel BL http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road http://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/Yarra-Valley-and-Dandenong-Ranges/Things-to-do/History-and-heritage/Puffing-Billy-Steam-Railway.aspx Day 5 30th May Federation square, Ian Potter Gallery. This gallery has the Australian impressionists, some were part of the artistic group the angry penguins. Francis Brabazon related to this group. As well, I am hoping we can see some of Ozzie Hall’s paintings. Ozzie was an early Sufi and then baba lover who was one of the finest Australian artists. Bus to airport via the most spiritual places in Australia the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Rod Laver arena, home of Australian Rules Football, Cricket and the Australian Open. Flight to Sydney and to hotel. B Rydges World Square https://francisbrabazon.org/francis-brabazon-oswald-hall/ https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Placestogo/Galleries/Public/Pages/3945.aspx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cricket_Ground https://www.rodlaverarena.com.au/

7

Welcome to Sydney – Home of Meher House Day 6 31st After a leisurely breakfast it is off to a trip on Sydney Harbour and to the famous Bondi beach. Dinner at Wendy and John Borthwick. Rydges World Square BLD

8

Day 7 1st June Several options. Trip to Camden to see the residence and grave of Baron von Frankenberg, lunch at the Samadhi Café. Hosts Baba lovers Kevin Mossberger and Emily Chanteri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_von_Frankenberg or Taronga Park Zoo - largest zoo in Australia, lots of native fauna https://taronga.org.au/taronga-zoo or Powerhouse Museum Museum of Applied Arts, learn about Australian society. https://maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/ or NSW Art Gallery Day 8 2nd June Train or bus to Blue Mountains, meet with local Baba lovers for lunch and sightseeing? Hosts Blue Mountains Baba lovers. https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/blue-mountains-national-park

9

Day 9 3rd June Today we will visit Meher House in Sydney, after a ferry trip to Manly we will head to Meher house. Pot luck lunch and program at Meher house. Dinner will be at a restaurant close to Meher House with a night ferry back to our hotel. Hosts Sydney Baba group. BL Rydges World Square

10

Day 10 4th Flight to Sunshine Coast, pick up and to your hotels. Welcome lunch, pot luck dinner at Foleys. BLD Anniversary opens 11am on the 5th.