Departing Brisbane, your flight arrives in Barcaldine: “The Garden City of the West”: central to “the shearers’ war” of the 1890s and the location of the iconic “Tree of Knowledge”.
In the 4-wheel drive bus, we drive along the world’s longest sculpture trail to Turraburra station and its traditional aboriginal sites, accompanied by explanations of native foods and medicines from the aboriginal custodians, whose traditional land management practices can also be observed.
Overnighting in the pioneering town of Longreach we visit the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Museum.
At Winton the Waltzing Matilda Museum gives us an insight into the pioneering spirit and everyday life on the frontier.
Viewing many quirky and lonely places of historic interest we will learn of celebrated exploits and stories of bush life, and on this tour you will hear of political movements and the impact of white European settlement on the First Nations Peoples.

The vast expanses of Western Outback Queensland reveal the remains of long-extinct dinosaurs.
The terrain attracted the hardiest of early settlers and explorers who while battling adversity and the tyranny of distance developed successful cattle and mining industries, along with the iconic Qantas airline.
Continuing through the dramatic landscapes of the Mitchell Grass Plains and Diamantina River National Park, with the ever-present stunning mesa formations, we arrive on the eastern fringes of the Simpson Desert in the historic towns of Boulia and Bedourie.
Climb the Simpson Desert’s red sand dunes at Birdsville, enjoying a meal at its iconic hotel before travelling the famous Birdsville Track to remote Innamincka in the top north-west corner of South Australia.
After enjoying a sunset nature cruise on the Cooper Creek, we learn of the fate of the Burke and Wills expedition at the Dig Tree in the Sturt Stony Desert deep in the Channel Country.

We meander through Australia’s most prolific oil and gas basin, before visiting the historic Noccundra Hotel and discovering the Megafauna marvels of the Eromanga Natural Sciences Museum, along with Cooper – Australia’s largest dinosaur.
Our last leg of this Outback experience finds us in Charleville, with all its charm and secrets. We discover a little-known activity of WW2, explore the night skies at the Cosmos centre and meet up close the rare, endangered and very cute bilby. We explore the historic Corones Hotel for ghosts – learning of an interesting past – and tour a date farm sampling its delicious produce.

You will depart on a flight from Charleville Airport, for your return to Brisbane. 

Day 1 @ Saltbush Retreat, LONGREACH
Saturday 6th August, 2022

Departing Brisbane Airport at 9.10 am, we arrive on a Qantas flight at 11.10 am in Barcaldine, “The Garden City of the West”, central to “the shearers’ war” of the 1890s. Immerse yourself in the history and mythology, visiting the Australian Workers Heritage Centre, the Tree of Knowledge and the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party. We depart by road in our 4WD Coaster Bus to Turraburra, also known as Gracevale Station, and visit traditional Aboriginal sites on a gallery walk interpreted by Aboriginal custodians who also explain native foods and medicines and illustrate traditional land management practices. We also travel a good portion of the Sculpture Trail, the longest in the world, viewing the works of a local sculptor, Milynda Rogers(ScrapmetalSheila). We arrive in Longreach to devour a Stockman’s campfire dinner and hear stories of the pioneers. 

Sleep in comfortable king size double beds in Outback Western themed, homestead style accommodation at Longreach’s best accommodation – Saltbush Retreat 

Day 2 @ North Gregory Hotel or Rangelands Outback Camp,  WINTON
Sunday 7th August, 2022

In Longreach at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame experience the stories and skills that define what it means to be a stockman. Understand their connection to the land and the livestock they care for. Experience the action of a live muster and witness the bond between man and animal working together. Hear songs from the outback that tell the story of a day in the life of a stockman. After lunching amongst the aviation themed settings of the award winning McGinness’ Restaurant we check out the Qantas Founders Museum, where the story of Qantas is told through interpretive displays, interactive exhibits and an impressive array of original and replica aircraft.   

We depart in our bus for the town of Winton to its stunning sunset and an entertaining Banjo Patterson themed bush poet at the historic and art deco styled North Gregory Hotel.  Next door is located the Royal Open Air Theatre Built in 1918, It is one of only two remaining open-air picture theatres left in Australia. 

Sleep in the comfort of Winton’s historic art deco styled North Gregory Hotel or 

choose to upgrade to a luxury glamping tent at Rangelands Outback Camp located atop a jump-up, or mesa, on Rangelands Station, a working cattle property 10km north of Winton.

Day 3 @ North Gregory Hotel, WINTON
Monday 8th August, 2022

At dawn the bird watchers amongst the group can travel around the Long Waterhole, Pelican Waterhole and the towns sewage treatment ponds and cooling dams to observe a range of birds. After breakfast wander around the town at leisure visiting the Waltzing Matilda Centre and Qantilda Museum, the eccentric Arno’s wall and Willie Mar Chinese Market-Garden Heritage Site, the Corfield & Fitzmaurice Store, a number of opal dealers, a musical fence and a cemetery walk honoring the contributions of Winton’s townsfolk. For motoring enthusiasts, Winton’s Diamantina Heritage Truck and Machinery Museum brings to life the wheeled giants of a bygone era. View the Jolly Swagman statue sculptured in 1959 by renowned artist, Daphne Mayo.

Visit The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum which is home to the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the world. The museum is split into three facilities, a fossil laboratory, collection room and the dinosaur canyon. In the evening. After the tour it’s time to unwind, grab a drink, enjoy some nibbles and watch the sun go down over the flat country. After the Outback sunset in the evening, settle in for a typical Aussie Outback BBQ feast under the stars while soaking up the amazing Outback lifestyle and the big night sky.

Sleep in the comfort of Winton’s historic art deco styled North Gregory Hotel.

Day 4 @ North Gregory Hotel, WINTON
Tuesday 9th August, 2022

On an early morning exploration of Bladensburg National Park and its original 120 year old homestead complex we learn of the infamous Skull Hole and the disastrous impact that European settlement had on local First Nations people. Bladensburg was one of the original stations in the Winton district, grazing thousands of sheep and up to 1000 cattle. Find out who Scrammy was and share his view over this spectacular park on Scrammy Drive. Driving further south we ramble around historic Opalton with an experienced opal miner. Opal was first discovered here by George Cragg in 1888 and Opalton became known for the enormous quantity and quality of its opal. One of the oldest opal fields in Queensland, between 500 and 600 miners worked the area in the mid 1890s. The Mayne River Hotel ruins date back to the 1880s when the Diamantina Stock Route provided one of the main cattle accesses to the Birdsville Track. 

We enjoy a picnic lunch along the way to the site of the Dinosaur Stampede National Monument within the Lark Quarry Conservation Park. Observe where more than 3,300 footprints from a herd of at least 150 dinosaurs including carnivorous coelurosaurs about the size of chickens and slightly larger plant-eating ornithopods, were embedded 95 million years ago. The site is of world importance. We drive back to Winton passing through dramatic landscapes that provide memorable photographic opportunities.

Sleep in the comfort of Winton’s historic art deco styled North Gregory Hotel

Day 5 @ Australian Hotel, BOULIA
Wednesday 10th August, 2022 

Departing Winton for Boulia we drive across the Mitchell Grass Plains and view stunning mesa formations including the spectacular scenery at Cawnpore Lookout . We travel through The Diamantina River ring feature, a geological structure possibly caused by an impact event that is believed to have happened about 300 million years ago. Deviating across the plains, we meet the course of the Diamantina River and its lake system deep into the Diamantina National Park, viewing features including the Diamantina Gates from Janet’s Leap where we enjoy a picnic lunch. Water flows from the north and may be 60 kms wide during floods. The flood waters are restricted at the Diamantina Gates, the narrow channel easily seen from Janet’s Leap. To the south, water again floods a large area as it drains towards Birdsville, Goyders Lagoon and finally Lake Eyre. We travel onto Boulia “Capital of the Channel Country” and famous for the Min Min light, a ghostly luminescence which has intrigued travellers for more than a century.
Burke and Wills were the first European explorers to pass near here. One of Australia’s best known exploring tragedies’, you will learn a great deal about their exploits as we follow in their footsteps. 

A hearty dinner will be enjoyed along with a good nights rest in Boulia’s Australian Hotel.

Day 6 @ Desert Sands Motel, BEDOURIE
Thursday 11th August, 2022

An early morning viewing of a stand of rare 1000 year old Waddi Trees, thought to be a remnant of the ice age, could also result in observing a murmuration of Budgerigars! We visit the Stone House Museum, the preserved 1888 home of the pioneering Jones family, full of local history memorabilia, Aboriginal artefacts, space junk, and a fascinating collection of marine reptile fossils unearthed in the area. Then we travel south to Bedourie located on the eastern extremity of the Simpson Desert. Upon arrival we will have a refreshment at the historic Royal Hotel, one of the oldest original hotels in Outback Queensland. Relax in the warm waters of the artesian spa in which the water comes from the Bedourie Artesian Bore drilled in 1905. The “Great Artesian Basin” provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. It underlies 23% of the continent, is 3 km deep in places and is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world. Many huge cattle properties are found in Western Queensland. Only 14 properties make up the Diamantina Sire which is twice the size of Denmark. In the 1880s Bedourie was a major watering and rest stop for drovers moving cattle from the Northern Territory and north-west Queensland to the customs collection point in Birdsville.

Outback hospitality and comfort will be provided at the Simpson Desert Oasis Motel in Bedourie.

Day 7 @ Birdsville Lodge, BIRDSVILLE
Friday 12th August, 2022

From Bedourie the road to Birdsville has many historical stop off points that illustrate the impactful harshness of the terrain that the early settlers and explorers faced. Kings Creek Crossing and Cuttaburra Crossing present birdwatching opportunities and we’ll keep an eye out for Moon rocks and native waterholes. A meal will be enjoyed in the iconic Birdsville Hotel. A wander around this interesting town and along the banks of the Diamantina River will end on the Simpson Desert’s “Big Red” sand dune as the sun sets over this remote part of Australia, with your preferred beverage at the ready. Heavy rains in the catchment of the Diamantina, Georgina, Thomson and other rivers cause flooding over thousands of square kilometres of Channel Country creating one of the largest naturally irrigated areas in the world. 

Comfortable accommodation will be provided at Birdsville Lodge.

Day 8 @ Innamincka Hotel, INNAMINCKA
Saturday 13th August, 2022

Departing Birdsville we travel south east along the iconic Birdsville Track traversing the Sturt Stony Desert until we meet the Walkers Crossing Track at the Koonchera Dune, one of the largest on the Diamantina flood plain. It is believed a large number of Aborigines were massacred near Koonchers Waterhole. We meander through Australia’s most prolific oil and gas basin before arriving in South Australia’s remote outback town of Innamincka and learn of its hardy pioneers before enjoying a sunset nature cruise on Cooper Creek. The first European to reach the Innamincka area was Charles Sturt who, searching for the inland sea, passed through the area in 1845. Innamincka was the home of the Yandrumandha, Dieri and Yarrawarrka Aborigines. It was proclaimed a township in 1890 and until the turn of the century the small town prospered as a customs depot where state taxes were collected from increasing numbers of drovers who were moving cattle from Queensland into South Australia. A Royal Flying Doctor Base was established in 1928. It continued to operate until 1951 and an informative museum commemorates the services provided and is located in the original Australian Inland Mission building established by Reverend John Flynn.

Enjoy the comfort and bar room camaraderie of the Innamincka Hotel near the banks of the iconic Cooper Creek.

Day 9 @ Cooper’s Country Lodge, EROMANGA
Sunday 14th August, 2022

Departing Innamincka we visit Burke and Wills Dig Tree. In 1861, attempting to cross the continent from south to north, Burke and Wills reached the area. It was in this area that they suffered and died. It was at the ‘Dig’ tree where supplies were left for the explorers who were returning from their journey to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is one of the tragedies of the ill-fated expedition that the camp at the ‘Dig’ tree was abandoned by William Brahe only 7 hours before the arrival of Burke and Wills. Both Burke and Wills died and the one survivor from the expedition, John King, was found close to death near the Innamincka waterhole. We travel across the Strzelecki Desert visiting the vey quaint Noccundra Hotel for lunch. The historic hotel in far southwest Queensland survives as an important link with the establishment of pastoral settlement in this area. We arrive at Eromanga, Queensland’s furthest town from the sea. At the Eromanga Natural History Museum we are immersed in the discovering, conserving and showcasing of the fossil, natural and cultural heritage of the upper Murray/Darling and Lake Eyre/Cooper basins. The incredible diversity of Outback Australia’s natural history is on display –  from the tiniest fossils the size of a sugar grain to the mightiest dinosaurs Australia has ever seen. 

We stay onsite and dine with the dinosaurs enjoying 4 star facilities and services at the Cooper’s Country Lodge.

Day 10 @ Hotel Corones, CHARLEVILLE
Monday 15th August, 2022

From Eromanga we travel to Quilpie and visit St Finbarrs church, with its incredible opal altar, before arriving in Charleville and checking in for our stay at the historic and charming Hotel Corones – further enhanced with a guided tour. In its heyday it was the hub of Charleville society, where life was a swirl of cocktail parties, balls and toasts to the king. We explore the charms of the town including a tour of the Charleville Date Farm. Learn how dates grow, and how reclaimed water came to be used for this environmentally friendly project. And best of all – find out how incredibly healthy dates are for you. After dinner we stargaze at the Big Sky Observatory Experience in the Charleville Cosmos Centre. 

 Our last night together will be enjoyed in the charming and historic Hotel Corones

Day 11 – Day of Departure
Tuesday 16th August, 2022

This morning we meet, up close, a Bilby – one of our cutest and most endangered marsupials. Tour the nocturnal house (where we alter the timing so that the bilby’s night is during our day) and see some super cute bilbies during their night-time activities. After an engaging talk by one of our keepers you will understand more about the plight of this delightful eco-engineer and exactly why they are worth saving from extinction. The Save the Bilby Fund has been working hard on the breeding facility here in Charleville and have produced over 50 babies in the last couple of years. There is more to ‘why save bilbies’ than the fact that they look amazing, they have adorable ears and beautiful silky soft fur. Firstly, bilby ancestors have been found as fossilised remains dating back 15 million years – which make them a very special species. They have been an intrinsic part of the landscape across 70% of the Australian mainland for all that time. From the time Europeans arrived, bilbies stretched from the Great Dividing range in the east to the Gascoyne coast in the west. Yet in the last 100 years they have been pushed to the brink of extinction as a direct result of colonisation, change of land use, population growth, and introduced non-native species. This morning we will also uncover a WWII top secret – the little known USAAF Base, that housed 3,500 US Servicemen and 160 aircraft. Following your final morning of activities you will be transported to Charleville Airport for a 2.10 pm departure, arriving in Brisbane at 3.55 pm.

• The Cosmos unveiled in Charleville
• Meet a Bilby up close – rare & cute
• WWII Top Secret Destination tour
• Charleville Date Farm
• Quilpie church’s opal laid alter
• Eromanga – Furthest Town from Sea
• “Cooper” – a Titanosaur, Australia’s largest dinosaur
• Megafauna fossils — Diprotodon
• Historic Noccundra Hotel
• The Channel country
• Remote gas and oil fields
• The Explorers—Burke & Wills Dig Tree
• Innamincka Outpost—South Australia
• Historic Outback nursing hospital
• Cooper Creek nature cruise
• Sturt Stony Desert
• The iconic Birdsville Hotel
• Simpson Desert National Park
• “Big Red” Sand Dune
• 1,000 year old Wadi Trees
• Mitchell Grass Plains
• Diamantina River and National Park
• Lark Quarry Dinosaur Stampede
• Winton—Waltzing Matilda Museum
• Willie Mar Chinese Market Garden Heritage Site & eccentric Arno’s Wall
• Bladensburg National Park
• Shearers Strike 1891-94 Memorial
• Stockmans campfire dinner
• Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame
• Qantas Founders Museum
• Australian Workers Heritage Museum
• Barcaldine’s Tree of Knowledge
• Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail
• Turraburra indigenous rock art & traditional land management practices
• Bird-watching throughout entire tour

From $7,570 per person sharing.

Includes ALL meals, accommodation, guides and entry fees to all activities; ALL land and river transport.

Single supplement of $845.

Excludes cost of flights – this should cost about $450 pp

Minimum of 14 and maximum of 18 participants.

15% Deposit required on booking.

Final Balance of Tour Cost due no later than 40 days prior to departure – Due by Friday 24th June, 2022.

Administration Fee : Upon cancellation by either parties up until the date that the tour becomes guaranteed, an administration fee of $200 will be retained.

Tour Guaranteed Date :  The tour becomes guaranteed by Friday 24^th June 2022 – approximately 40 days prior to the tour departure date.

Final Balance of Tour Cost Payment : To be paid no later than 30 days prior to departure – Due by Tuesday 4^th of July 2022 or before.

Tour Guarantee

Journey’s Worldwide will in good faith guarantee a tour to proceed when it reaches the minimum number of participants to operate the tour. When a tour becomes guaranteed, the decision being made at the latest, approximately 40 days prior to departure or an otherwise negotiated date. It is subject to all participants having paid the required deposit within the required time frame.

Covid 19 Cancellation Policy

If less than 3 days (72 hours) before your tour starts you are unable to travel as a result of Government travel restrictions, Journey’s Worldwide will assist to organise legal alternative transport into Queensland, or a date change, provide you with a credit or process a refund for your booking, less any non-recoverable costs.

Journeys Worldwide will provide you with an accurate schedule of any non-recoverable costs at the point of the tour becoming guaranteed and prior to you complying with the request for the payment of the Tour cost balance.

Cancellation due to a Force Majeure Event

Where a tour is cancelled by Journeys Worldwide due to a force majeure event other than Covid 19, you are entitled to a credit voucher (or at our discretion, we may offer you a refund, less any non-recoverable costs, but we are not obliged to do so). Where a tour is cancelled by us other than due to a force majeure event, in the case where an equivalent tour is offered, we will offer you the opportunity to rebook on that tour with no additional fees for that rebooking, or if you do not wish to rebook, then you are entitled to a credit voucher (or at our discretion, we may offer you a refund instead). Where we cannot offer you a suitable equivalent tour, we will provide a refund, less any non-recoverable costs (unless you decide to take a credit voucher instead).

NOTE: Travellers are encouraged to secure travel insurance from the time a tour is guaranteed.

Conduct on Tour

Journeys Worldwide reserves the right to accept or reject any person as a travel tour participant and to expel from the travel tour any participant whose conduct is deemed incompatible with the interest and safety of the travel tour group.

Disclosures

The Tour package price is subject to change at any time prior to final payment if there are unexpectedly significant increases in the costs of package components or any major deterioration in the exchange rate. This is a highly unlikely occurrence.

OPTIONAL Luxury Glamping Accommodation – Rangelands Outback Camp – Day Two – Sunday 7^th August. Supplement of $545 per person – twin share
   spacious tents with outback view shower
   a selection of fine wines, beer & top shelf spirits are all-inclusive when dining at Rangelands;
   Welcome signature sunset drinks & canapes on the deck on arrival;
   Guided tour of the “Rangeland Rifts” on the mountain where “time” has created amazing rock & cave formations over millions of years, making this a photographer’s wonderland.

Journeys Worldwide general Terms and Conditions can also be found here.