Heritage & Hidden Treasures: Naracoorte Caves & Yallum Park Private Tour
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Highlights
- Exclusive Adventure: Discover the history within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Naracoorte Caves on this curated private tour.
- Behind-the-Scenes Access: Explore the renowned Victoria Fossil Cave and active fossil dig sites with a senior guide, offering insights into ancient history.
- Gourmet Dining: After your cave exploration, savour a delightful set menu lunch at Ottelia, a renowned restaurant in Coonawarra.
- Private Yallum Park Mansion Tour: A hosted tour of the mansion built for Coonawarra founder, John Riddoch in 1880.
Tour Overview
Embark on a remarkable journey that immerses you in the rich history of ancient discoveries and the storied past of the Limestone Coast. Our exclusive private tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Naracoorte Caves is perfect for those passionate about palaeontology and unique, immersive experiences.
Your adventure begins with a 3+ hour private exploration of the Naracoorte Caves, led by an experienced national park expert. This rare opportunity takes you ‘under the ledge’ to active fossil digs, including the renowned Victoria Fossil Cave and Blanche Cave, typically off-limits to the public. You might even encounter scientists at work, eager to share their fascinating discoveries.
The tour also includes a visit to the Fossil Lab, where you may observe researchers in action and get up close with fossil collections, deepening your understanding of the ancient world.
After your cave exploration, unwind with a gourmet set menu lunch at the award-winning Ottelia restaurant in Coonawarra, where local produce meets culinary excellence.
Your day concludes with an exclusive tour of Yallum Park, one of Australia’s best-preserved Victorian-era homesteads, located just outside Penola. Built in the late 19th century for Coonawarra founder John Riddoch, this magnificent mansion boasts grand interiors featuring 14-foot high ceilings, marble mantelpieces, and large stained glass windows. The estate is also home to an extensive collection of original English wallpapers, adding to its historic charm.
Experience this exclusive, intimate journey tailored just for you, no large groups, only a thoughtfully designed tour that offers unparalleled access to the hidden treasures of the Limestone Coast.
What’s Included
- Private Cave Tour: Experience a 3-hour private tour of the Naracoorte Caves, including access to restricted areas and active fossil digs.
- Gourmet Lunch: Enjoy a delicious set menu lunch at Ottelia, located in the heart of Coonawarra.
- Private Mansion Tour: End your day with a private tour of the historic Yallum Park mansion in Penola. This Victorian-era gem boasts 14-foot ceilings, marble mantelpieces, stained glass windows, and original English wallpapers.
- Luxury Transportation: Travel in our V-Class Mercedes-Benz for a comfortable and stylish journey.
- Convenient Pickup: Pickup service from your Penola/Coonawarra/Naracoorte accommodation.
- Expert Guidance: Learn from a senior guide with deep knowledge of the Naracoorte Caves and its palaeontological significance.
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The meal at Mayura Station was exceptional, and Simon’s winery tour was great. Everything was well organised, informative, and filled with great chats. Raidis Estate was a definite standout. We also loved touring Yallum Park, an extraordinary step back in time and a real highlight of the weekend.
We can’t say enough good things about Coonawarra Experiences. Every detail was fantastic, making for a really memorable Coonawarra getaway. Highly recommended.
Kerry was friendly, professional, and made the experience both enjoyable and memorable. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
He went above and beyond even taking and sharing photos, which really added to the experience. His knowledge of both the wineries we visited and the Coonawarra region was excellent — informative without ever feeling overdone.
The tastings were generous and well-paced, and the platter lunch was absolutely divine.
We’ve done many wine tours over the years, and this rates as one of the very best we’ve ever experienced.
Very highly recommended.
He went above and beyond, taking and sharing photos, which really added to the experience. His knowledge of both the wineries we visited and the Coonawarra region was excellent and informative.
The tastings were really generous and the platter lunch was absolutely divine.
We’ve done a lot of wine tours over the years, and this rates as one of the very best we’ve ever experienced. Very highly recommended.
Our party of 6 had an awesome day. We were expertly looked after by Kerry who shared a great deal of her local knowledge and some fun facts.
The wineries chosen for us gave us a great appreciation of the wine varieties being grown in the region. Yes there is more than red.
I highly recommend a day with Kerry and the wineries you will visit with her. Just remember you don’t have to like every wine you taste To enjoy a great day
We are not wine drinkers but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Lunch was very good. The mixture of cheeses, meats and condiments was perfect. Plus we got to enjoy wine.
Accommodation very clean and easy to spend time in, while close to main street cafe's and Pubs.
Simon and Kerry excellent hosts
Thanks
Chris and Deb
The apartment was perfect in every way, so close to town, bright, neat, impeccably clean, and so well appointed.
They had thought of everything, right down to the details! Separate cups for tea and coffee, cheese boards and knives, and several different types of wine glasses, and even the solar activated night light and underfloor heating in the bathroom.
The bed was by far one of the best we have slept in away from home!
We had a wonderful and cosy 2 night stay, and the wine and chocolates that welcomed us was a beautiful touch.
Thank you Simon and Kerry.
Helen and Peter
The apartment was perfect in every way, so close to town, bright, neat, impeccably clean, and so well appointed.
They had thought of everything, right down to the details! Separate cups for tea and coffee, cheese boards and knives, and several different types of wine glasses, and even the solar activated night light and underfloor heating in the bathroom.
The bed was by far one of the best we have slept in away from home!
We had a wonderful and cosy 2 night stay, and the wine and chocolates that welcomed us was a beautiful touch.
Thank you Simon and Kerry.
Helen and Peter
We loved our stay with Simon and Kerry and the wine tour we did was fun, informative and well worth doing. All the communication I had with Simon before we arrived was prompt and professional with all my questions answered. We were met on arrival with a bottle of wine and lovely cuvée chocolate and it is those little extras that made the whole experience so good. Very comfortable bed with quality bedding. A very well appointed bathroom, again high quality towels and toiletries. In the lounge/kitchenette was a microwave, decent size fridge and a good selection of crockery, cutlery etc. very happy to see a variety of good wine glasses and an Espresso machine! Really good value, accomodation exceeded expectations
Normally we take ourselves around cellar doors but so glad we decided to take the tour with Coonawara Experiences. We had such a good time. It was very personal and lots of fun. The lunch platter was lovely and meeting the people running the tastings was what really made it. Kerry and Simon are very obviously passionate about the Coonawara and the local produce. Book a tour with them, you won’t regret it.
Enjoyed our day with Simon who was a knowledgeable and interesting host.
Spotted the Brown snake before we did and saved us. :-)
Had a lovely trip out into a few wineries that we wanted to visit and Simon accommodated our requests
We were made to feel like locals and very welcomed! Massive thanks to the team for such a great day :)
If you haven’t done a Coonawarra Experiences experience, then you must put it on your bucket list .
Topped off with an excellent lunch at Ottelia .
We had the best day tasting wines with 2 other couples who we had the best time with, Kerry was a wealth of information during the day and Simon was fantastic to chat with on the phone and organised our day perfectly
Well done guys ????













































