Australian Educational Touring Coaches - AETC

10/09/2025

🟢SUNSET, SNACKS AND SMILES🟢

There is no better time to see the rock than at sunset.

As the sun slowly sets over the west, the light reflects off the rock creating a colourful horizon which changes every few minutes. It is truely a magnificent phenomenon!

Not only did our students get to witness this last night, but they did so whilst enjoying an amazing spread of cheese, biscuits, dips and more prepared by the wonderful team Chef Skills Catering.

Now that’s what we call a luxury outback experience!

07/09/2025

🟢OVERNIGHT EXPRESS TRIPS WITH AETC🟢

An overnight express journey to Coober Pedy may sound far! But with our team of experienced drivers and coaches equipped for comfort, we make the over 1,500KM journey feel like a breeze.

Last night we began our express journey with a school group of year 11 and 12 students, and will arrive at our first destination, Coober Pedy, at lunch time. The group is well rested and ready to start their adventures as we journey further up North over the next couple of weeks!

Nothing beats falling asleep and waking up to that first sunrise over the outback!

10/05/2025

We are incredibly honoured to be featured as Best Bus of May by Australasian Bus & Coach.

This shot was captured by our driver (and resident photographer), Ian, on our most recent trip to Uluru. Ian’s skills—both as a driver and through his fantastic photography—along with his dedication and love for the job, do not go unnoticed. A massive thank you to him for capturing all the beautiful moments on the road so we can share them.

Congratulations to our entire team for presenting not only fantastic-looking buses but also delivering amazing service.

Thank you to Australasian Bus & Coach—be sure to check out their article below if you haven’t already!

The winner of ABC’s Best Bus May photo competition comes courtesy of John Louder and a dynamic shot of a bus trio

10/04/2025

🟢FULL FLEET MEET UP🟢

All four of our buses journeyed out to share one of Australia's iconic landmarks with their groups today.

The students were lucky enough to catch the sun-setting over the Uluru whilst enjoying the warmer weather (35 degrees still!☀️), as all of us back home in Melbourne begin to dust off our puffer jackets and adjust to the early sunsets of daylight savings. We wish we were there instead!

Check out our fantastic looking fleet and our even more fantastic drivers!

06/04/2025

🟢SAFARI SEASON IS HERE🟢

It’s our favourite time of year, as we begin the first of our big Safari Seasons for 2025 here at AETC.

With all four buses headed for the North, it has been a busy week preparing and getting our coaches on the road!

The first two coaches, with John and Steve behind the wheel, are currently set up at Flinders Ranges with a fantastic group of school students who have already been eagerly exploring the region! Check out the fantastic set up amongst the trees - Safari Style!

And of course, it isn’t a Safari camp without home cooked meals - we have the fantastic chefs, Nick and Daniel from Chef Skills Catering, whipping up a storm! With facilities this good, we might as well start calling it “Glamping”⛺️✨!

Ian and Mike are also on the road and not too far behind. We can’t wait to see their camp all set-up and all of the exciting adventures awaiting them!

08/03/2025

🟢HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY🟢

From AETC to you, we would like to take a moment to celebrate all the hard working women in the world!

For a long time, our industry, like many others, was a male dominated field. It is great to see the way it has progressed over the years, and we love to support women to get on board (and behind the wheel!🚌).

One of our amazing drivers Angie has been working in the industry for nearly 30 years! She is a talented, dedicated driver and we are grateful to have her a part of our team! Check out a picture of her and her bus below!

A massive shout out to Angie, and all the other women in our field who help keep the wheels turning!

31/10/2024

🟢WHATS BEEN HAPPENING AT AETC🟢

The team here at AETC has been super busy these past few weeks! Let us give you a quick update on what we have been up to...

We finished up all our Northern Territory and Top End trips. We received some amazing feedback from the teachers and students, and we are proud to have delivered a series of fantastic services. A huge congratulations and a big thank you to our team of drivers and chefs from Chef Skills Catering for another successful season of tours!

Behind the scenes, our team has been working hard to move into our 🏠NEW PREMISES🏠 We are still in the process of adding the final touches to make the place feel like home, but we are extremely excited for this next chapter at AETC.

At the moment we currently have Ian out on the road in Canberra with a group of students undertaking an educational tour of our Capital Territory.
Whilst spring is yet to fully arrive in Melbourne, it was all sunshine and flowers at the Benalla Rose Gardens where Ian and his group stopped for morning tea on their way to Canberra. Check out the amazing photos!! We are sooooo jealous!!!

22/09/2024

🟢WEEKLY RECAP🟢

Wow, what a week it has been at AETC!

We have had John finish up his tour with his Year 11 Students, and Ian is currently part way through his trip with his Year 10 Students. We have also had Mike and Steve depart with our third and fourth Coaches to begin their journeys.

John dropped his Students off at the Darwin Airport last night, as they finished up their amazing and insightful tour of Australia’s Top End. The Students were super busy, and visited so many exciting and significant cultural locations during their final week. Here’s a few highlights:

Whilst travelling between Renner Springs and Katherine Gorge they stopped in at Australia’s most famous outback pub in Daly Waters. After so many long days of travelling, they took a quick dip at the Mataranka hot springs for some well needed rest & relaxation time.

They also stepped off the Coach and aboard boats! The Students undertook a variety of cultural cruises which allowed them to explore the landscape from a whole different perspective! This included the Nitnit Dreaming Two Gorge Cruise, The Yellow Waters Cruise, as well as a Sunset Dining Cruise for their final night in Darwin.

Other key locations included the famous Mindil Beach Market which they strolled at sunset, enjoying the variety of food and other goods offered at this unique and lively market. Another essential was a visit to The Royal Flying Doctors Base where they learnt all about this amazing service which provides emergency services to remote areas saving lives all across the Australian Outback. We would also like to mention the thoughtfulness and generosity of the amazing Students we had on board. Upon our visit, the Students and Teachers all contributed to a donation for the organisation. It brings us great joy to educate the younger generations about such services, and we were extremely proud that upon this they were so willing to support such an essential service for our Country - Wow! The grand total for their donation was just over $400👏🏼.

John thoroughly enjoyed his time with his group, and was honoured to guide the Students along their journey. We are sure this will be an unforgettable experience for the Students and Teachers, we hope that the lessons learnt, fun had and memories made will last them a lifetime!

As always, we couldn’t pull off such successful tours without our partners Chef Skills Catering, who make sure we are always fed and fuelled for our adventures. They craft and create healthy and delicious meals for us while we are on the road, From breakfast, to lunch and dinner, and all the snacks in between, its like we have a very own personal 5 star chef on board! A big thank you to Damien, our chef for this tour, who did an amazing job and encouraged some of the students to embrace their inner chefs!

Meanwhile, Ian and his group have been making their way along a similar path to the Top End. We hear they are having an amazing time checking out all the essential cultural and scenic locations of this region. Keep an eye out for some amazing photos of their trip taken by our resident photographer and Driver Ian in the coming days. In the meantime, check out the photos from John’s group from the previous week’s adventures.

17/09/2024

🟢IAN AND OUR SECOND COACH ARE ON THE ROAD🟢

Our second Coach departed last Friday for a 13 day tour finishing in Darwin.

One of our fantastic Drivers, Dave, departed Melbourne with our Year 10 Students on board and drove express to Port Wakefield, where in the early hours of the morning, he met with the Primary Driver for this tour, Ian. Big shout out to Dave for getting the Students and Teachers safely into the hands of Ian who was well rested and excited to commence this Journey!

From Port Wakefield, they made their way to Coober Pedy where the group got to stay in the underground accommodation! The bunkhouse rooms are dug out of the natural landscape, this provides the Students with a real life experience of what it was like in the mining days.

💡Fun Fact💡 Many locals still have their homes partially underground, as it provides a sanctuary from the intense heat, as it is so hot that it remains 20-22 degrees even underground!

In town they completed a guided tour of the town and the famous Opal mines.

The following day they were up early and on the road to Yulara! Along the way they stopped for some quick food and toilet breaks (And photo opportunities📸) in Marla, The South Australia and Northern Territory Border and Erldunda.

Once at Yulara the Students did an amazing job setting up their tents. After that they quickly jumped on the Coach to see the amazing sunset at Uluru where they enjoyed some snacks before heading back to camp for dinner!

The following day the Students spent most the day in Uluru immersing themselves in the local culture and sightseeing experiences, this included The Valley of the Winds walk, a presentation by one of the Educational Rangers of the National Park at the Uluru Cultural Centre, a walk around the Rock and a stop at the local IGA to pick up the essentials, lollies!

Another big shout out to the fabulous chef accompanying Ian and the group on this trip from Chef Skills Catering, we hear Craig has been serving up some delicious feasts while they have been on the road.

The Students still have much to experience of the beautiful Top End of our country, but so far they are loving the experience!

Check out some amazing photos taken by Ian, a big thank you to Ian who is doing a fantastic job sending through his updates and photos. We look forward to some more picturesque shots of Ian and his Coach on the road!

15/09/2024

🟢FIRST WEEK IN THE NORTH WITH JOHN🟢

John picked up his year 11 Students on Tuesday to begin their exciting adventures in the NT.

They began their journey in Uluru where they settled into their accomodation at the Outback Pioneer Lodge.

They visited the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, where they carried out a cultural presentation with the Rangers. They also enjoyed a guided walk along the Mala walk around the base of The Rock. John then guided the Students along the Kuniya and Liru walk, where he told them one of the four Creation Stories of The Rock, before travelling on to Kings Canyon.

An easy day was had the following day, as we departed Ulura and made our way to Kings Canyon. Here the Students enjoyed the short Kathleen Springs Walk, which leads them to a lovely waterhole. Following this, the Students had a quick lunch before embarking on the Kings Creek Walk, which follows the creek up into the Canyon’s Base.

The next day, the Students embarked on a 7KM climb along the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, where after all their hard work they got to enjoy the amazing view from the top of the Canyon, 800 ft above. Following their journey, the Student kitchen helpers assisted our amazing chef Damien from Chef Skills Catering refuel the group by putting on a big spread for lunch!

After lunch they hopped back on the Coach, and 🎤rocked on🎤 to John’s (Driver and aspiring DJ😂) tunes while travelling to Alice Springs! With plenty of singing, our Coach turned into our very own ‘Australia’s Got Talent’!

In Alice, the Students have been busy! They have seen the original township of Alice Springs where the Old Telegraph Station is located, as well as exploring the Desert Park where they learnt all about the unique Flora and Fauna of Central Australia. They also witnessed the Birds of Prey Show, this is a magnificent display of the beautiful bird's natural survival skills.

The next day was spent out exploring the Western MacDonnell Ranges. The drive out is like a picture postcard as we follow the range out, it is incredibly rugged and beautiful landscape. The rich colours of the red and orange of these ranges is spectacular.

We are lucky to have a fantastic bunch of Students and Teachers on board. We hope they are thoroughly enjoying the sights and sounds of their journey so far, and look forward to their next update along the road.

10/09/2024

🟢AND WE ARE ON THE ROAD🟢

John departed on Saturday as the first of our 4 Coaches to head off to the Northern Territory.

This tour has John travelling up to Uluru empty as he will meet with his Year 11 Students and teachers who would have flown in today to commence their 12 day Tour.

Many of you may not know, but this is John’s (Our General Manager & Fabulous Driver!) first major trip in 5 months, as this past year John has been undergoing treatment and surgery for a cancer which they found late last year. We are extremely happy that John has been able to make a strong recovery, and are absolutely ecstatic to have him back on the road, a feeling he shares greatly. John is extremely passionate about his work, and has missed being out on the road and seeing all the familiar and friendly faces while he was recovering.

Whilst travelling empty up to the Northern Territory, John has enjoyed the serenity as he made his way from Melbourne towards South Australia. Travelling along the Stuart Highway, not only do you have to watch out for Kangaroos, sheep, cattle and Emus who call the surrounding landscape home, you also have to watch out for Planes! The Stuart Highway is home to one of the Emergency Airstrips for the Royal Flying Doctors!

💡Fun Fact!💡
Did you know one of our Coaches is named after John McDouall Stuart, the first European explorer to travel the continent from South to North, who the Stuart Highway is also named in honour of!

John has also stopped in Port Augusta, better known as ‘The Crossroads of Australia’, as well as driven past the working mines of Coober Pedy, the Opal Capital of the World!

Keep an eye on our page for our upcoming posts which will give you an insight into all the exciting adventures and exploration our students will be undertaking. These tours form lifelong memories for everyone involved, and we love being able to share our amazing country with all those who step onboard our Coaches!

We cannot wait to hear all about their coming adventures! In the meantime, check out some photos of our Coach on the road!