A range of organised tours, including pre-congress, mid-congress and post-congress tours will be offered.

Pre and post congress tours

Eleven organised tours, seven in Australia and four in New Zealand, will be offered. These will offer a wealth of opportunities for visits to centres of scientific interest and to innovative horticultural enterprises “down under”. The tours, together with some of the likely highlights, are as follows:

Australian tours

Brisbane region:

• Botanical gardens and parklands
• Centre for Lifestyle Horticulture
• Subtropical fruits and vegetables
• Surfing beaches of the Sunshine Coast
• Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo

Sydney region:

• The premium wine growing region of the Hunter Valley
• Hawkesbury wildflower reserves (Waratahs, Grevilleas, Boronias, and Flannel flowers)
• Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House
• Blue Mountains National Park
• Jenolan Caves

Melbourne region:

• The Yarra Valley – home of numerous award winning wineries and tourist attractions
• Healesville Sanctuary for many of Australia's unique native fauna
• Berry farms, orchards, cut flower producers and nurseries of the Dandenong Ranges
• The Goulburn Valley – the pome and stone fruit bowl of Victoria
• Rutherglen vineyards and wineries

Adelaide region:

• Adelaide City parklands
• The National Wine Centre
• Vineyards and wineries of the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra
• Pome fruit, cherry and olive orchards of the Adelaide Hills and Plains
• The Flinders Ranges – a taste of the Australian Outback

Perth region:

• King's Park
• Vegetable, pome fruit, stone fruit and tree crop farms in the Perth Metropolitan, Swan Valley and southern regions
• Margaret River wineries
• Caves, surfing beaches and National Parks of the southwest corner, home to the unique giant karri tree
• Native wildflower reserves

Darwin region:

• Kakadu National Park with its wetlands, wildlife and Aboriginal art
• Exotic tropical fruit farms growing mango, banana, durian, rambutan, carambola, pitaya (Dragon fruit), mangosteen and jackfruit
• Litchfield National Park with its waterfalls, rainforest, termite mounds and cycads
• Darwin Botanical Gardens
• Melon production areas

Cairns region:

• Great Barrier Reef
• The century-old Botanic Gardens
• The Daintree Rainforests
• Farms of the Atherton Tableland featuring avocados, mangoes, macadamias, cashews, and coffee
• Banana, papaya and exotic fruit farms of the Innisfail region

New Zealand tours

Temperate fruits:

• Auckland-Waikato region
• Fruit tree and rootstock nursery, kiwifruit research centre and orchard in the Bay of Plenty
• Thermal wonders and a Maori culture evening in Rotorua
• Pome and stone fruit orchards, packing operations, high density apple orchards, a vineyard and fruit research centre in Hawke’s Bay

Subtropical fruits:

• Auckland
• Citrus, avocado, persimmon, passionfruit and feijoa orchards and a horticultural research centre in the Bay of Plenty and Northland regions
• The historic Waitangi National Trust Treaty Grounds
• Boat trip around the beautiful Bay of Islands

Ornamentals:

• Auckland
• Greenhouse flower crops, native plant nurseries, botanical gardens and a research centre near Auckland
• An introduction to Maori culture at the Auckland Museum

Vegetables:

• Auckland
• Tomato and capsicum greenhouses in Auckland
• Onion and potato production farms and a research centre in Pukekohe
• An introduction to Maori culture at the Auckland Museum

Mid congress tours

One day of the congress will be devoted to exploring the amazing horticultural diversity of the region surrounding Brisbane. Each tour will visit a specialist research facility. The tours, together with some of the likely highlights, are as follows:

The Granite Belt

• An elevated temperate horticultural area featuring apples, pears, peaches, grapevines and award-winning wineries
• Tour through some of the rich broad acre farms of the southern Darling Downs
• A visit to the Applethorpe Research Station specialising in pome fruits, stone fruits and grapes

The Lockyer Valley

• The salad bowl of Brisbane, specialising in a range vegetables, including onion, potato, carrot, sweet corn, beetroot, crucifers and cucurbits
• Commercial organic farming
• The Eastern Darling Downs where extensive vegetable crops are grown for export
• A visit to the Gatton Research Station, featuring vegetable research

Redland Bay

• The centre for amenity horticulture, featuring cut flower production, major plant nurseries and turf production and research
• The Mt Cotton winery and its award-winning wines
• A visit to the Redlands Research Station and the Centre for Lifestyle Horticulture, the centre for amenity research and development

The Sunshine Coast

• Tropical fruits such as pineapple, passionfruit, macadamia, avocado, custard apple, lychee, mango, persimmon, strawberry, low chill stone fruit, and citrus
• Tropical horticulture promotion at the Sunshine Plantation featuring the Big Pineapple
• The largest confectionary ginger factory in the world, the Buderim Ginger Factory at Yandina
• A visit to the Maroochy Research Station, the centre for subtropical and tropical fruit research

Northern New South Wales

• Tour through this picturesque area, traversed by three rivers and bounded by sandy beaches and native eucalypt forests
• Visit macadamia orchards with technically advanced mechanisation in the major macadamia producing region of Australia
• Visit a modern macadamia processing factory and enjoy the unique flavour sensation of Australian macadamias
• A visit to the Tropical Fruit Research Centre at Alstonville.