Small group tour of Eastern and Central Australia

The group comes together in the late afternoon for a tour briefing and introductions.

There is a group welcome dinner this evening.

Today, we depart from Sydney very early, (hence our selection of hotel for the first night) after breakfast we head to Dubbo, via Mudgee or Orange along the Mitchell Highway via Narromine and Nyngan. In the afternoon we’ll continue west to Bourke where we’ll spend the next two nights.

Dinner tonight will be in a local restaurant.

Bourke today is a town with an outback spirit, on the edge of the wilderness, and with a great sense of Australian adventure in its historical, cultural, and geographic significance on the Darling river

In the morning of day three, the group spends time in Brewarrina, we stop off to see one of the world’s oldest surviving man-made structures: the Brewarrina Fish Traps. The Ngemba people are the custodians of the fish traps, a complex aquaculture network estimated to be over 40, 000 years old. An elaborate network of rock weirs and pools form a series of complex dry-stone walls and holding ponds, stretching for around half a kilometre along the Barwon riverbed. For the Aboriginal people of western and northern New South Wales, the fish traps and surrounds are extremely significant for their spiritual, cultural, traditional and symbolic meanings. The creation of the fish traps, and the laws governing their use, helped shape the spiritual, political, social, ceremonial and trade relationships between Aboriginal groups from across the greater landscape. Brewarrina was one of the great Aboriginal meeting places of eastern Australia.

In the afternoon we return to Bourke for a walking tour of the town to learn more about its history.

This small group tour spends a night in Charleville. Whilst here the group have the opportunity to go star and planet gazing, take time to tour the historic town and understand the value of wool to a town like Charleville in the early 20th century period. Take a private tour of the heritage listed Hotel Corones with a rags to riches story linked to Qantas, Greek islands, Brisbane and Sydney.

This afternoon we explore the town and its history, we will visit the Charleville Historic House Museum and its building that dates back to 1887. We’ll also learn more about the time the local airport became temporarily part of the USA in 1942 on a secret WWII tour. In the evening we will star gaze at the magnificent outback sky at the Charleville Cosmos Centre & Observatory. Charleville was the home to the stagecoach company Cobb and Co for many years. With the main coach building factory based in Charleville.

We pause at Barcaldine as this small group tour continues North. Barcaldine is home to the Tree of Knowledge, which marks the birth of the labour movement in Australia . The tree grew outside the Railway Station for around 180 years until 2006, when sadly, it was poisoned by an unknown culprit. Today, the famous tree has been preserved and placed under an award-winning structure that gives the illusion of a canopy over the Tree.

We continue onto Longreach, where we overnight. This afternoon we visit the Stockman’s hall of fame, a escorted tour with a local guide of Longreach and a light show visit to the Qantas founder’s museum. Longreach was one of the founding centres for Qantas, technically QANTAS was founded in Winton.

We depart after breakfast and drive to Winton arriving late morning and begin exploring this outback town.

We visit the North Gregory Hotel, known as the ‘Queen of the Outback ‘, which has an impressive history. The first public performance of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was here on April 6, 1895 (the story of which is told at the Waltzin’ Matilda centre , the world’s only museum dedicated to a song) and in the 1920s clandestine meetings helped launch a little airline known as QANTAS …

During World War II, future American president Lyndon Johnson was forced to stay here in Winton, when forced to ditch his plane. The dining room – where you can enjoy a traditional outback dinner – features original etchings by acclaimed artist Daphne Mayo. Winton is also home to the red-browed pardalote, found across Queensland and the Northern Territory , and the elusive rusty grasswren , a small, long-tailed bird with reddish-brown upper parts (related to the Kalkadoon Grasswren , found in the Mt Isa region). We have a walking tour in the late afternoon to identify heritage buildings and more stories of the history of Winton before a group meal.

Winton is also the dinosaur capital of Australia .

From Winton we travel north-east to Charters Towers, an outback town that was established in 1871 after the discovery of a gold nugget.

The group has a tour in the morning after arriving the previous afternoon into Cairns. We stay in a central city location allowing you the afternoon to explore.

Today we visit the Undalla lava tubes. A unique geologic experience created by the gases during the active period of Volcanism. We carry onto to Georgetown for the night.

The pace slows and the group explores this old trading post and beach. Unspoilt Australia, we take an adhoc tour of the area where we pause for two days.

We depart Karumba and continue our drive west towards the Northern Territory. We have a rest stop in Nicholson for our overnight.

We cross the border to the Northern Territory and make way to Borroloola, a remote fishing community situated on the banks of the McArthur River in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

On our way to Kakadu National Park we’ll stop overnight at Katherine to break up the drive.

The well laid out Territory Wildlife Park displays only Top End wildlife in its natural habitat & this affords us a chance to familiarise ourselves with the highly specialised animals of the Kakadu/Arnhem region before we get there. There is much to see and learn and this will take us the best part of a day.

We then drive out along the Arnhem Highway to Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve. Here as the sun sets, many kinds of water birds can be seen in close proximity to the road. A little over an hour will get us to the Aurora Kakadu South Alligator for evening meal.

Arriving in Darwin. The group has a tour on the first day then a leisure day following.

We depart around lunchtime/early afternoon for Katherine. This morning the group has a organised tour with the local guide.

Today we tour and explore Katherine including the Victoria River.

It is a full day from Katherine to Renner Springs.

Two week on, the landscape continues to grow in size in front of the group as we travel further South today along the original line of the Stuart highway passing and occasionally pausing at the historic telegraph stations along our way. Time permitting we stop at places such as Newcastle waters and attack hill.

Now for the traveller, the landscapes appear to gather the views to infinity. We know where to stop for good coffee or tea, and the best place for lunch as we travel the Stuart highway.

the road house at Renner Springs for the night. Community life could be observed up close if the shearers and hands from the local stations decide tonight is the night to blow off steam at the roadhouse. Contemporary history is on show of past travellers here, who are possibly scattered to the four winds.

As well the telegraph stations we stop at Devils marbles and anywhere else that appeals as we travel onto

We reach Alice Springs, via Kings canyon where we are based for up to 3 nights. Day 12 we explore the region around the Alice.

Participants have the opportunity to travel on a flight to Uluru from Alice Springs or Coober Pedy to then re-join the group.

Day 23 is a rest day.

This morning we head further south still in the Australian outback, too Coober Pedy to the opal mining settlement. We spend a night here.

A late afternoon tour of Coober Pedy, during which we explore the opal mining activity that made the town famous, we then visit the John McDouall Stuart Monument. Stuart (1815-1866) was the most accomplished and most famous of all Australia ‘s inland explorers we learn about his stories of exploration. Stuart completed the first European crossing of Australia from Adelaide to Van Diemen’s Gulf in the Northern Territory in 1862, charting new territory and routes into the outback.

Travel down the Stuart highway to Port Augusta.

The group has 2 days in Adelaide. There are tours with knowledgable local guides scheduled for the afternoon and following morning. The afternoon is at your leisure on day 27.

Travel across South Australia to Naracoorte.

Here we visit the Wonambi Fossil Centre at the Naracoorte Caves and learn about Australia’s iconic Megafauna.

Today we drive across the border to NSW and continue on to the historic town of Hay, on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River the town is one of Australia’s major wool growing areas.

There is a farewell group dinner this evening.

After breakfast we start our last long drive and make our way back to Sydney, arriving late afternoon. The tour concludes on arrival in Sydney.