Educational Tours

Port Campbell Touring Company provides professional, in-depth interpretation of the Shipwreck Coast. We can arrange to meet your coach or bus anywhere from Laver's Hill to Warrnambool.  However, we do specialise in interpretation of the Port Campbell National Park and Bay of Islands Coastal Park. We are also available during evenings to give interpretive talks and presentations at your accommodation venue.  If an educational  tour is required we can also quote to transport up to thirteen students in our Toyota HiAce Commuter.

Our interpretations covers flora, fauna, shipwreck history, geology, marine and fire ecology, and also include the potential conflict between tourism and park management.  Our presentations at the Twelve Apostles Centre discusses this in depth. Our presentation is entertaining and will tremendously add to your student's experience.

Our primary aim is to provide an understanding and appreciation of the natural values of the area, in particular the Port Campbell National Park and Bay of Islands Coastal Park. As such, we focus primarily on secondary and tertiary students. We have a background of 25 years in park management primarily in the Grampians National Park and the Port Campbell National Park

Port Campbell Touring Company is a member of Shipwreck Coast Tourism and is licensed through Parks Victoria and is accredited for Working With Children . Emergency management plans, first aid qualifications and $10 million public liability insurance is in place. Our normal rate is $65 per hour (subject to time of day and number of students).

School and Tertiary groups have a selection of options when visiting the Shipwreck Coast.  The following module below has been prepared as a guide to assist teachers in developing a 2 to 4 hour program which will provide students with a unique educational experience. Other modules have been developed which expose students to a diversity of small industries on the Shipwreck Coast. Please contact us for further details on these other modules.

Module – Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard

Meet students at Twelve Apostles (or Loch Ard ) and travel to Loch Ard (or Twelve Apostles).

Twelve Apostles
The on site presentation, as with all educational presentations delivered by Port Campbell Touring Company, initially covers the status of the park within Victoria and the legal tenure of the land on which we visit.  Students are given an introduction to the Port Campbell National Park Management Plan and the initial reasons for declaration of the park in 1964.

The standard presentation at the Twelve Apostles explores the possible conflict between tourism and conservation, the role of Parks Victoria as park managers and the impacts on local communities.   The presentation covers the history of the development of the Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre including local community opposition to the  development of a major Visitor Centre, the role of community consultation and role that State and local government play at this site.

When examining commercial tourism on this site, we discuss the operation of helicopter flights from the adjoining land, commercial filming and photography, the declaration of the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park and the impact on local crayfishermen.  The development of several major gas projects adjoining the park is also discussed. 

The presentation primarily deals with role of tourism and human impact at an icon tourism site within a national park which was established primarily for conservation reasons.  The emphasis is on encouraging the students to work through the issues confronting the site and contributing to the discussion.

Duration: 45 to 90 minutes.

Loch Ard Gorge
The standard presentation at Loch Ard covers the formation of the coastline.  Loch Ard provides an excellent example of coastal geomorphology on a high energy coastline.  Students have access to gorges arches, steep cliffs, beaches, blowholes and rivers and can readily see how all of these features are formed.

The Southern Ocean and climate change is covered in some detail during the presentation.

In addition to the above, the adjoining marine national park, local fauna, including whale migration along the coastline, vegetative adaptations and fire ecology on the surrounding coastal heath is discussed.

As Loch Ard is a significant Australian shipwreck, the wreck of the Loch Ard and early migration to Victoria  by sail is also normally covered during the presentation.

Duration:  45 minutes to 2.5 hours.

Please feel free to contact Port Campbell Touring Company for an obligation free quote or if we can simply assist you in any way. If you wish to make a booking, simply download an Educational Group booking form (.doc format) and email the completed form back to us.