The Official Home & Away Tour Review

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BBMLive’s Sandy Dhaliwal takes to the Official Home & Away Tour with Flaming Galah tours to find out just what this trip down memory lane is like and why every visitor to Sydney should tick this tour off their bucket list.

The Official Home & Away Tour Review

Growing up in the UK, especially during the 90s, probably meant that Australian soap Home and Away would have been a fixture in your all-important after school schedule. While we might not have been around water coolers yet, Summer Bay’s soap plot lines, favourite characters or most hated villains would have been staples amongst the notable chatter in the school playground.

This routine might have even extended to your university or work life. Personally, I arranged my uni timetable around my favourite soap, studying and writing assignments in between my twice daily visits to Aussie soapland! I didn’t even care that I had watched the same episode earlier that day, I still had to sit down and watch it again. It just had to be done! And when I was too busy with work, thank goodness for the weekly omnibus! Surely, I’m not alone?

Behind the scenes at Summer Bay

Australians themselves have always been a bit baffled by our obsession with their homegrown shows, as they tend to love all things British by contrast. But to me, it’s obvious really, who wouldn’t want escape the doom and gloom of daily grind in the UK for the sun, gorgeous people and outdoorsy way of life Down Under. I distinctly remember wishing I could stroll along that very beach, hang out in the diner and maybe go and stay with Pippa when things were feeling all too much in real life.

It’s why I think Home and Away will always have a place in so many of our hearts, even if we’re no longer religiously catching it every day. It offers such a beautiful comparison to home, while evoking a wonderful nostalgia of a time that may feel like another life. It’s hardly surprising that so many of us move over to Australia really!

Whilst on a recent trip to Sydney, I rounded off my coastal break with the Official Home & Away Tour to the picturesque Palm Beach, home to the beloved daytime drama. And it was truly the stuff of bucket list dreams. After years of imagining walking down that beach, I was finally getting the chance to do it!

The tour started in the historical part of Sydney, The Rocks, where our friendly driver Paul filled us in on the history of the area. Lisa, our co-guide and a member of the Home and Away production team, soon joined us to give us all the latest behind the scenes gossip, while answering our questions, as we made our way to the famous setting via the illustrious scenery of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

As we arrived, we were informed by security that filming was currently in progress. We were lucky too, as a funeral scene was taking place with many of the characters involved in the episode. After having the opportunity to see some of our favourite stars in the flesh, we were then able to see the familiar exteriors of the Summer Bay Surf Club, Alf’s Bate Shop and a number of the characters’ houses; all while finding out the inside scoop from our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides. They clearly loved the show just as much as everyone on the tour. As we set off back to the city, we all engaged in a rousing sing-a-long of that catchy theme tune we all know the words to; before heading home via Manly.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Blue Mountains may be the region’s top must do’s, but to go home having done Summer Bay as well, you know you’re going to be the envy of all your mates, while feeling like you’ve left Sydney having fulfilled the expat dream! I know I did!

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Words and images by Sandy Dhaliwal