Join in all the fun as the TODAY family hit the road for their first massive WE LOVE AUSTRALIA trip for 2017 – beginning Monday, April 3.

The week’s crazy adventures with Lisa, Karl, Richard, Tim and Natalia will begin in the beautiful New South Wales Southern Highlands town of Bowral. There the team will chat with Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes, taste-test what are claimed to be the best pies in Australia, and we will see Karl and Tim go up against the  brawniest highlanders in the country in a very unusual strongman competition. 

Then the team will head for the glorious Gold Coast for a festival of sport and entertainment to celebrate the one-year countdown to the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Viewers will get a chance to see how the Gold Coast is transforming for Australia’s biggest international sporting event since the Sydney Olympics, and learn how they can make money from the Games. 

TODAY will be joined by Aussie sporting greats Sally Pearson and Libby Trickett, Rugby Sevens star Charlotte Caslick, The Volleyroos, and Borobi the Blue Koala, the official mascot for the Games.   

On Wednesday it’s off to Tasmania’s magnificent west coast and the beautiful town of Strahan – gateway to the state’s World Heritage-listed national parks, where the rainforest meets the sea. The team will take in the stunning natural sights from a river cruise, jump aboard a steam railway train and head to the dunes for high-octane buggy racing. They will also explore the town’s fascinating convict history.

Next stop is the scenic seaside town of Inverloch in Victoria’s Gippsland region, an easy 90-minute drive from Melbourne. There the team will be camping in true Aussie style: waking up, barbecuing, and broadcasting from the front of their caravans at the Inverloch Big4 Holiday Park. As well as testing Karl and Lisa’s camping skills, the team will dig for dinosaurs, check out the indoor water park and showcase all the spectacular local scenery.

TODAY will end the week with a massive party in the African savannah at Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast. They’ll be joined by all manner of wildlife as well as one of the country’s favourite families – Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin. While Karl runs from the crocodiles, cobras and koalas, Lisa will sit down with Bindi Irwin for an Australian exclusive.  Plus, they’ll be offering free entry to the first 200 people who come down to the zoo before 7.00am that morning.

Lisa Wilkinson said: “So excited to be finally heading off on our first We Love Australia week for 2017. Although I’m definitely counting the days until we reach spectacular places like the Southern Highlands and the pristine beauty of Tasmania, I’m secretly longing for the big camping bash down at Inverloch in Victoria. Holiday and camping parks are the foundation of all good Aussie holidays. If you have a fun, holiday memory chances are it happened there.”  

Karl Stefanovic said: “Definitely ready to dust off the old double pluggas and hit the road, if not a tad nervous about the number of animals we have on the show. Sounds like there’s a lot. What could possibly go wrong?”

And it wouldn’t be the TODAY Show without a whole heap of competitions. As well as the hugely popular Block of Cash calls, TODAY will be giving away a spectacular Lotus Freelander Caravan valued at $84,000.  

TODAY would like to thank the following sponsors for making this WE LOVE AUSTRALIA trip possible: Destination NSW, Destination Southern Highlands, The Bradman Foundation, Tourism Tasmania and Visit Victoria.

For further information:
Lis Clough
Channel Nine Publicity
lclough@nine.com.au 

Monday, 27 March 2017