508paulinem
We were delighted to be taken on the Night Tour of Loch Ard Gorge recently. Apart from its natural beauty, we learned about the history of the Gorge and the ship wreck the Gorge was named after. We were also lucky enough to see the Mutton Birds returning from their 'honeymoon' in Tasmania. John our guide was just fantastic and his knowledge of the area and history was extensive to say the least. I would highly recommend Port Campbell Touring company.
717sarahr
My boyfriend and I had a full day tour with John (company director). He picked us up from our accommodation and took us on an exciting food, wine and scenery tour. We got to experience all of the landmarks not only by seeing them but learning about their history, their causes, and even their predictions for the future. John (being an ex park ranger) is extremely knowledgeable about everything environmentally and politically. We got history and stories of things that you could never read about. John is also very well known in the area and each venue we attended (wineries and other foods like cheese and chocolate) were extremely attentive to us as tasters and customers. Even the land away from the great ocean road john was very knowledgeable about from the gas industry to farming and cattle. John is also very welcoming as a tour guide. From the get go we felt like we were valued to him. He was friendly, kind and very interested in us as people and very good when we asked questions.It was an absolutely amazing personalized tour. I would definitely recommend John and his company for the best experience you could ever have on the great ocean road. Not just for couples like us but families, friends and even businesses would greatly enjoy this tour as john can modify his plan to suit your needs. ( eg, avoid the winery because of the kids).
Bridger7
We did a 1/2 day tour around Port Campbell in September. Although it was short, it was memorable. We did all that we set out to do, even managing to catch the last lights of sunset at the 12 apostles despite making a detour to see kangaroos! (We caught them boxing - which was quite a treat!!) This short tour is definitely a teaser for a bigger trip which we'll certainly contact John again. John McInerney was an excellent guide: Knowledgeable, patient and kind with kids - I highly recommend him!Singapore
toffee_shock
I knew John and his company as a recommendation from Wendy of Bellevue Farmstay. Initially I plan to experience a farmstay during my holiday trip in Melbourne. I found Bellevue Farmstay but it's not easily accessible without driving there. So, Wendy recommend us to contact John to drive us to Bellevue and experience Great Ocean Road Tour. And I'm grateful that I chose John as part of our trip.He is very kind to inform us what kind of tour we should take, with flexible time arrangement, and as well his patient to explain us about his recommendation for this trip. We didn't know any detail of Great Ocean Road as we only hear that it is a good scenic spot. But John arrange everything carefully so it will be convenient for us. We are a group of 6 people (4 adults and 2 elderly) from Indonesia. As the elderly didn't understand english very well, we need to translate whatever John's explanation to our language. John are very understanding and gave us time to translate and explain it. He also let us know if the scenic spot is a bit difficult for the elderly to walk through.Overall, our 3 days 2 night trip (1 day at Bellevue farmstay) are memorable. We all have fun and John are a great tour leader. He explain everything well, not only about the scenic spot but also any information that he thought it would be useful for us. From geography, history, science, as well as sports (Yeah.. I will support the kangaroos football team!). Glad to experience and see wild koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, any many other animals in its nature habitat.As a gift of this trip, we are able to see the best sunset at Twelve Apostles. I will always remember John and his company for our next trip to Melbourne. Thanks for the friendship and hope we will meet again soon.Terima kasih :)Cheers,Irene & family, Bing, Ros
BigChiefMountain
We can't say enough about John and his company Port Campbell Touring Company. From the very moment he picked us up in Melbourne he was a walking encyclopedia of fauna, rocks and even birds on the Great Ocean Road. Being a retired Port Campbell National Park ranger, he knew much more than the normal tour guide and what a pleasant personality and very flexible too. We only had two days but we felt like we really experienced the Great Ocean Road. Thank you, Thank you, John!
93evas
If you are looking for amazing landscapes, good balance of active and relaxing holiday, discovery of nature wonders and one of the best examples of the warm and friendly Aussie attitude, John and Josie are your answer!They came to pick us up at the airport in Melbourne and drove us to Port Campbell, a lovely little town on the coast. The motel run by Josie is simply perfect, we had a nice, comfortable room, provided with an equipped kitckenett. Josie and John invited us for a bbq dinner at their place, we really felt welcome!The day after John picked us up at the motel and drove us to the point where we started a strech of the great ocean walk. He tuned the hiking itinerary on the weather conditions and provided us with a small backpack with plenty of water and snacks. We set up the meeting point at the 12 Apostoles. John encouraged us to take our time to enjoy the walk. After lunch we had some free time to enjoy a swim and relax on the beach at Port Cambell, and have some refreshening from the hot temperatures of the day. At the end of the afternoon John drove us to Lock Ard, where we could enjoy this wonderful place without being in a crowd of tourists. Before the sunset we went back to the 12 Apostoles, to enjoy the beauty of the sunset while waiting for the penguins to appear on the beach. Unfortunately the penguins did not show up, but the breathtaking view of the 12 Apostoles in the colours of the sunset can largerly compensate for it. The third day John drove us along the Great Ocean road, where we stop everal times to enjoy the rainforest, some koala spotting in wild conditions, a refreshing swim and a nice coffee near a lighthouse. John explained us a lot about the nature, the wildlife and the history of the area and adjusted the itinerary to our interests. After a relaxing swim in Melbourne, John drove us to our hotel. Unforgettable experience, highly recommendable!
Mollymona
Thoroughly enjoyed our family vacation with John as our driver and guide despite the unpredictable weather. John goes the extra mile to make up for the bad weather and is extremely patient with the young and the old. John is knowledgeable and is a true blue park ranger and we all enjoyed the walks and the talks through grampians and the apostles. Thanks John for our memorable holiday!
J0yce_10
'Uncle John' is the guide whom my 4-year old fondly called and whom we engaged for our recent trip to Great Ocean Rd for our family of 7 with elderly and young kid.John is a very experienced and knowledgeable guide. With his previous background working in the National Park, John has an excellent grasp of the Great Ocean Rd and the environment. He was very patient and accomodative, making sure that all our requests are met especially my 4-year old. Not forgetting that he made a special trip to the farm that we were staying (even though we did not engage him for that day) to bring us to see sunset at 12 apostles when we could not do so on the first leg of our trip. John is also attentive to details such as providing us with towels to dry our feet. He was friendly with kids and my son was able to talk to and play with him easily. We highly recommend John for family who wants a personalised tour with GREAT SERVICE!
712sarahn
My partner and I went on the food and wine tour with John who was actually one of the best tour guides I've ever had! His knowledge of the area, it's history, the wildlife and plant life is amazing. He is engaging and entertaining. He went above and beyond our expectations, including arranging for one of the attractions to open up just for us on a day they are usually closed. We will remember that day for a long long time. Thanks John :)
Genvas
John excelled in every aspect of our family adventure along the shipwreck coast. He was extremely personable, understood his product completely, allocated extra time and severices than what we paid him for, and always with a pleasant smile. Nothing was a problem for him. He engaged incredibly well with our smaller children (2-10), teenagers and adults; connecting with each age group to ensure we walked away with a knowledgeable experience. I regard him highly as a tour guide and thank him immensly for ensuring we had an amazing time.
IanSeward
Four of us, two couples, hired John McInerney for an 11 day trip of the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians, Penola and the Coorong. John was a great guide; knowledgeable and friendly but not intrusive, a very good driver of a most comfortable vehicle which took the four of us plus John and all our luggage easily. He also cooked us two great BBQs! Eleven days is a long time to spend with someone you have never met before but John was excellent company for the duration and we all had a lot of fun together. His knowledge and enthusiasm for the flora and fauna greatly enhanced our enjoyment of the trip and we would recommend him highly.
stormj
We walked the Great Ocean Road in November - all of it - 8 days of packing everything in and out. John picked us up at the end and transported us to Port Campbell for a couple of days relaxation. We then did a half day tour with John and would thoroughly recommend this to anyone. As we had spent so long hiking we did not have our own transport and this was the perfect way to see the best views along the coast, The Twelve Apostles, London Bridge etc. He tailored our tour to our needs - we needed to finish in Warrnambool. He had a vast knowledge of the history of the area and was pretty good with a camera too - many of our holiday photos are of each other and not often of the two of us so great to get some good pics taken by someone who knows how to use a camera! Would recommend John/Port Campbell Touring Company to anyone - well worth it and got some amazing photos one of which I have had done as a large canvas - a lasting memory. Thanks John!
HLK2010
We spent 1.5 days with John and learnt so much from him about the Great Ocean Road. We even had the luck to sit in his new vehicle which was very clean. John tried his best to make my 2 year old comfortable and that gave us some relaxation as well. His experience really showed when he explained about the history of the GOR and how the natural formations came about.
ghi07
This was a wonderful and in-depth tour of the Great Ocean Road. It was always a dream for us to get there and your captivating narrative of the Apostles and the coast-line geology and history definitely made our trip much more memorable. Your local knowledge from years as a park ranger was clearly evident, as was your genuine love of the area. Thanks John.
Nessdad
Thank you for the great day out!!!! John made our day out extremely interesting and introduced us to the intriguing tales of the history of the area. My husband and I had travelled this route a year and a half earlier, but it is so amazing to have someone with so much knowledge of the area guide you around and give you an insight into every aspect of it's make-up. We will be looking at some of the other tours on offer for the near future. This was a special 50th birthday treat from my children and I will remember it for a long time to come.