Tour Dates & Route Map

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31 July - 12 August 2011

 

 

DAY 1-STAWELL TO LIGHTNING RIDGE

We depart Stawell around 8am crossing the Pyrenees Ranges, the farmlands of northern Victoria crossing the Murray river near Cohuna, then on over the rice growing areas of Wakool and Deniliquin on our way to a fuel and lunch stop at Griffith.

It's then all aboard for a short 15 minute flight to Walgett for a fuel stop and onto the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge. After landing we are transported to our motel, then join our local tour guides for a tour of the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge and visit an opal mine. At the end of the day we are dropped off at our accommodation the Wallangulla Motel, with dinner tonight at the local Services Club..

DAY 2-LIGHTNING RIDGE TO BUNDABERG

This morning we track north east crossing the cotton growing areas around Mungindi and St George passing overhead Chinchilla to Bundaberg.

Upon arrival we collect our bus and travel into the city for lunch and settle into our motel, then this afternoon we travel to the famous Bundaberg Rum Factory for a very interesting insight into how rum is made. We see how the molasses is pumped from the nearby sugarcane refinery into the huge storage vat, we taste the raw molasses, visit the distilling process and the warehouses storing the maturing rum. The aroma is magnificent. We then visit the bottling plant and see how the rum is bottled into various size bottles. At the end of the tour the bar opens for tastings where we take our two free drinks and perhaps try some of the exotic liqueurs and products that you have to visit Bundaberg to see.

After the tour we return to the Bundaberg CBD prior to retiring to our motel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 3 -BUNDABERG TO AIRLIE BEACH

After a leisurely breakfast we return to the airport and depart north via the coast overflying Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Proserpine to land at Airlie Beach. Lunch is available at the airport café, then we travel to our accommodation for the next two nights - the luxurious Sea Star Apartments set high on the hillside above Airlie Beach Harbour.

The balance of today and all tomorrow are free to take part in the large range of activities which are available at this coastal resort. Bookings for all tours and activities are available through reception at the apartments. Dinner tonight is at our apartments.

DAY 4-AIRLIE BEACH

All day to enjoy any activities you may choose. We meet for dinner tonight - a BBQ at our apartments.

DAY 5-AIRLIE BEACH TO UNDARA

This morning we depart Airlie Beach tracking via the Whitsunday coastline passing Bowen and overflying Townsville, then inland to Undara, the world's most spectacular display of lava tubes, remnants of the 100 km basalt pipeline that once flowed from the now extinct Undara Volcano. After lunch we join our guide for a tour of the Lava Tubes.

We return to the Lava Lodge in time to clean up before our three course dinner at the restaurant. After dinner there is opportunity to join in on the campfire activities, sometimes bush poetry, nature talks or slide shows. We stay overnight tonight in the restored 100 year old railway carriages.

DAY 6 -UNDARA TO CAIRNS

This morning we enjoy a magnificent breakfast cooked and served at the Ringers Camp, a very unique location indeed. An open air cooked breakfast. Then we are airborne for the one hour flight over the Great Dividing Range to land at Mareeba where we refuel and board our bus and make our way to Kuranda for lunch. You will have time then to browse the many stalls and shops, galleries or visit the Butterfly enclosure before boarding the scenic railway for the trip down the mountain to Cairns. Boarding our bus at the station in Cairns, we transfer to our accommodation for tonight. Dinner tonight will be at Charlie's Restaurant a magnificent banquet of seafoods and hot and cold meats.

DAY 7-cairns

A free day in Cairns today, with many options available. Optional day tours are available to the reef, fishing, scuba diving, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation or town tours if you decide to stay in town. All tours can be booked at reception at our accommodation, the Coral Tree Inn. Dinner tonight is a selection of seafoods from Cairns Gourmet Seafoods.

DAY 8-CAIRNS TO Horn ISLAND

Up early this morning to catch the first cable cars for the 15km ride above the treetops of the rainforest up to Kuranda. This trip offers magnificent views of the rainforest, mountains, and rivers. On the way to Kuranda we change cars twice with the option of taking a short walk around the walkways at each stop. On arrival at Kuranda we bus back to Mareeba Airport and depart for Cape York.

Our track takes us over Port Douglass the Daintree Wilderness area, Cedar Bay and Black Mountain National Parks. This is one of the most scenic legs of the whole trip. We track via the eastern coastline of the Cape York Peninsula, overflying Lockhart River to Cape York, overflying the most northern tip of mainland Australia. We then fly across to Horn Island where we refuel and park the aircraft and travel by bus to our accommodation, the Wongai Beach Hotel. If time permits a tour by ferry to Thursday Island will be available this afternoon.

DAY 9-Horn ISLAND TO KARUMBA

This morning we are taken to the airport by bus and once airborne we turn south, tracking down the west coast of Cape York, passing Weipa, the aboriginal communities of Aurukun and Kowanyama for a landing at Karumba.

 This afternoon you may wish to take an optional fishing trip with one of the local operators on the Norman River or hopefully if the small motel bus is available we may be able to tour the Barrumundi farm or cattle feed lot. Accommodation tonight will be at the recently opened End of the Road Motel with dinner tonight at the adjacent Sunset Tavern.

DAY 10-KARUMBA TO Adels Grove

Airborne from Karumba, we track southwest across the Gulf Cattle Country crossing many of the large rivers which flow to the sea, for a landing at Adels Grove. Here we pick up our packed lunch and are driven the 10 km to the magnificent Lawn Hill Gorge. The day is then free to take in some of the very interesting and picturesque walks or hire a canoe and paddle up the Gorge. Later in the afternoon we to return to Adels Grove and move into our accommodation for the night. Dinner tonight is at the resort..

DAY 11-Adels Grove TO Birdsville

After breakfast at Adels Grove, we are airborne for the one hour flight to Mt Isa. After refueling the aircraft we will travel into the city where we can spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon meeting after lunch to return to the aircraft and depart for Birdsville.

The flight to Birdsville will take us over the floodplains of the Georgina and the Diamaninta Rivers, passing Boulia the home of the legendary Min Min light and overflying Bedourie. Our overnight stop is in Birdsville with dinner at the Birdsville Hotel.

DAY 12-Birdsville TO WHITE CLIFFS

There is plenty of time this morning to explore Birdsville and visit the excellent Birdsville Working Museum, browse through the display at the tourist information centre, or visit Wolfgang Johns gallery.

We gather for an early lunch at the Birdsville Pub, famous for its 7 course lunch (six pack and a pie!) before leaving Birdsville in the early afternoon.

After leaving Birdsville we track south across the Sturt Stony Desert, crossing the Cooper Creek near Innamincka then across the Strezlecki Desert, crossing the "Dog Fence" into New South Wales to land at Reola station. Prior to the drought Reola ran more than 50,000 Merino sheep and in the early 90s built the famous 16 stand three story woolshed. This afternoon we tour through this shed before tracking across north western New South Wales to the opal mining town of White Cliffs, where we overnight at the White Cliffs Hotel-Motel.

DAY 13-WHITE CLIFFS TO STAWELL

This morning providing transport is available we will tour the opal mining area of White Cliffs with a short stop over at Val's opal mine. After an early lunch, we depart south for Stawell, overflying Mungo National Park and the Wall of China, crossing the Murray River at Robinvale, then on for a mid afternoon landing at Stawell.