Incentive Activities

Urban Essentials

With so many areas of specialty such as the arts, sports, culture and history, Melbourne offers an extensive menu of incredible experiences for incentive delegates seeking a unique, Australian experience.

• Step into the Australian bush with an Aboriginal guide and explore the myriad of Indigenous foods, native to Australia, that can be found in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Listen to ancient stories and taste a selection of authentic seasonal bush foods, herbs and spices prepared by celebrity Indigenous chef, Mark 'The Black' Olive, and Black Olive Productions.
• Live the dream of becoming a racing car driver, at least for a day! Learn to manoeuvre the Formula 1™ Australian Grand Prix circuit in a V8 car, racing around one of the world's premier circuits.
• Discover Melbourne's hidden laneways and historic arcades on a special walking tour - find the city's best shopping secrets, and take in the history and architecture of Australia's largest labyrinth of cobblestone laneways and art deco arcades.
• Gain 'The Edge' when you experience Eureka Skydeck 88 - the Southern Hemisphere's highest observation deck, and the only one in the world to project three metres out from the building - with you in it. Standing in a glass cube, you will be suspended almost 300 metres above the ground, seeing Melbourne from a whole new perspective.
• Take a private, guided tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), or the 'G' as it is affectionately known. Home to Australia's favourite sporting matches, meet a famous Melbourne cricketer - maybe even Shane Warne. Re-live great sporting moments and see more than 3,500 objects related to the greatest moments in Australia's sporting history at the MCG's National Sports Museum.
• The Fox Classic Car Collection is home to a $15 million collection of more than 50 luxury vehicles, from Bentley to Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche and Mercedes Benz. Hold a unique gala dinner surrounded by the prestigious car collection and appreciate the building's heritage, with the vehicles housed in the heritage-listed Queen's Warehouse.
• Melbourne is home to many championship private and public golf courses, all within a 30 minute drive of the city. Golf attracts a loyal following from the locals, with four of Australia's top 10 courses located in Melbourne. Play at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club (Heineken Classic 2002-5 and venue for The Presidents Cup 2011), the Huntingdale Golf Club (The Australian Masters) or the Sandhurst Club (home of PGA Australia) to be 'on par' with the world's best. With courses offering year-round, high quality play, improving your handicap is possible whenever you visit.
• Take time out to pamper yourself at one of Melbourne's renowned day spa retreats. For a uniquely Australian experience, visit Li'tya Spa, which offers sensory treatments incorporating Aboriginal healing techniques and touch therapies. Choose from indulgence treatments or soak up the ocean's healing powers in a private seawater spa tub overlooking Port Phillip Bay.

Made in Melbourne

Melbourne is renowned for its expertise in arts, innovation and design, which makes it the perfect destination for creative incentive workshops or team building programs.

Exciting and engaging activities are available in Melbourne covering a range of interests, leaving incentive delegates with newly acquired skills and a tangible memento of their experience.

Milliners Workshop

Design your own hat in a private workshop with one of Melbourne's top milliners. Use local fabrics, feathers, flowers and buttons to create a unique head piece for the races or a special occasion.

(Suitable for small groups, 2-3 hours.)

Barista Workshop

For caffeine connoisseurs, learn how to create your own coffee concoction that is a smooth work of art. Finish the workshop with a competition for 'best barista'.

(Suitable for small groups, 2-3 hours.)

Cheese-Making

With a clean, green environment in which to raise quality livestock, Australia is famous for its innovation and excellence in cheese-making, and Victoria is the biggest cheese producing State in the nation. Become a speciality cheese artisan in this session, making tasty creations to take home to mature and enjoy.

(Suitable for small groups, 5 hours.)

Opal Experience

Australia is home to the opal - one of the rarest and most beautiful gemstones in the world - providing more than 96 per cent of the world's supply. Enjoy an in-depth opal lesson at Lightning Ridge Opal Mines, learning about the many varieties of the gemstone, how they are mined and the valuation process. Delegates can cut and polish their own opal on the wheel to take home, or design their own beautiful piece of jewellery.

(Suitable for small to large groups, 1.5-2 hours.)

Indigenous Painting

Learn the art of local Indigenous painting at the Koorie Heritage Trust. Discover the traditional ways and culture of the Aboriginal people and leave with a work on canvas that can either be compiled into a group artwork for the office or individually taken home.

(Suitable for small to large groups, 2-3 hours.)

The Art of Chocolate Making

Melbourne loves its chocolate, with an abundance of specialty shops and chocolate cafés. Become a 'chocolatier' and create authentic handmade delicacies, cutting, dipping and decorating with your delicious materials. Sample your delectable wares and take home a very special gift.

(Suitable for small groups, 2 hours.)

Beer Pulling

Experience the largest brewery in Australia with a fun and informative encounter at the Carlton BrewHouse in Melbourne. See the brewing process on a special tour before enjoying a tasting. Afterwards, learn how to 'pull' the perfect glass of beer, then take part in a spirited beer pulling competition.

(Suitable for small to large groups, 1.5 hours.)

Rest and Relax in Regional Victoria

Daylesford Spa Country

Visit Daylesford, home to Australia's largest concentration of natural mineral springs, and enjoy a treatment at the Lake House's award-winning Salus Spa. Sip champagne on the Lake House's sun drenched terraces, overlooking stately Lake Daylesford, before a degustation dinner in the property's 'chef's hat' awarded private cellars with more than 700 labels from which to choose.

Great Ocean Road

More than 20 million years of history are on display along the Great Ocean Road. Voted one of the 'Top 20 Journeys of a Lifetime' by Conde Nast Traveller, hire one of the world's most exotic sports cars, such as an Aston Martin, and travel in style, passing cliffs, rainforests, sunken ships and whale watching points. Stop at coastal towns to get a taste of local life along the way.

Bells Beach, one of the world's legendary surf-breaks, is the next stop, followed by Torquay - Australia's home of surfing.

Take a tour of the Surf World Museum to fully appreciate this popular national pastime, then learn to surf yourself with professional instructors.

Ballarat

Step back in time and experience gold rush fever as you seek your fortune at Ballarat's Sovereign Hill. A perfectly re-created 1850s goldmining settlement, Sovereign Hill gives you the opportunity to pan for gold, travel by horse and carriage, and gain a glimpse into the life of the Australian, English and Chinese miners of old, experiencing life as it was 160 years ago.

Yarra Valley

The Yarra Valley is recognised as one of the world's great wine growing regions and Australia's finest region for Pinot Noir and sparkling wines. The stunning Chateau Yering, one of only two Australian hotels in the prestigious 'Relais & Chateaux' collection, provides the perfect base for a 'grape escape' tour. Steeped with over 150 years of history and set on 250 acres, the property also boasts an award-winning menu at Eleonore's Restaurant.

Mornington Peninsula

Life could hardly be more picturesque than picking your own strawberries in the Mornington Peninsula. Just an hour's scenic drive from the city, travelling by the sea and past vineyards, Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm is Australia's largest strawberry producer and also boasts blueberries, raspberries, cherries and avocados. Sample 'Belgian chocolate fondue berries', produced by the farm's skilled chocolatiers, or award-winning farm-made ice cream, fruit wines and liqueurs.

Phillip Island

Phillip Island has a world of wildlife, located just 90 minutes south-east of Melbourne. Most famous for its adorable, nightly Penguin Parade, the Island has so much more to offer. The Nobbies Centre provides the opportunity to view spectacular coastal scenery, including the offshore seal colony at Seal Rocks. A truly special experience for delegates will be meeting cuddly koalas 'face-to-face' on the tree-top boardwalks of the new Koala Conservation Centre.

Assist in the Conservation of Regional Victoria

To leave a lasting legacy and for a truly fulfilling experience, delegates can participate in an activity that benefits the local environment. Enjoy the beautiful Victorian outdoors as you participate in valuable work such as tracking animals, undertaking fauna surveys, coastal revegetation projects and planting trees.