Our adventure begins at Brisbane Airport with our Virgin Australia Flight direct to Mount Isa (VA Flight VA1275 departs Brisbane at 1.25pm/Arrives at 4.15pm). Our coach will be waiting for us, and we will transfer our accommodation.

(Meal Inclusions: Welcome dinner)
IBIS styles Motel, Mount Isa Tel 07 4743 3024– 2 nights

Good morning travelers! We spend today getting to know the lively outback town of Mount Isa. Arriving at the Outback at Isa complex we head underground on the thrilling Hard Times Mine Tour, letting our guide light the way as we descend to the tunnels in the Alamac cage. Wearing protective clothing, including a miner’s cap and lamp, our guide will offer a real insight into a miner’s life underground. Back on topsoil you are treated to a ‘one-stop shop’ offering exciting and diverse activities, from the fascinating Laboratory Tours at the Riversleigh Fossil Centre to the inspiring gallery exhibits. After a wonderful day unveiling the secrets of Mount Isa we return to our hotel.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel)

Here in Mt Isa, there is a unique Underground Hospital and Museum – and that’s where we are heading first thing this morning to uncover the story behind Australia’s first and only underground hospital. The Beth Anderson Museum here has an impressive collection of antique medical equipment, rare historical items and colourful stories that offer a glimpse into Mount Isa’s earlier years. Lunch today is at Lake Moondara just 16ks from Mount Isa before our afternoon drive east to Cloncurry. Before checking into our accommodation, we visit John Flynn Place Museum and Art Gallery – a tribute to John Flynn and the Royal Flying Doctor Service which began in Cloncurry in May 1928.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel/picnic lunch)
Gidgee Inn Motel, Cloncurry Tel 07 47421599 – 1 night

As we travel south today, we stop at the tiny settlement of Mackinlay – population, about 20! We make a brief stop at the iconic Walkabout Creek Hotel – Crocodile Dundee’s! Then as we continue towards Winton, we pass through an area that was once home to dinosaurs – and is full of ground breaking scientific discoveries and archaeological digs. It was here in Winton, that Banjo Paterson wrote his famous poem about the swagman and jolly jumbuck and “Waltzing Matilda” was heard for the first time in the North Gregory Hotel. We visit the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the only museum in the world dedicated to a song. Then, on our way through to Longreach, we make a quick stop at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs. The centre hosts the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils and the largest fossil perpetration laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel/Light lunch in Winton)
Longreach Tourist Park Tel 07 46582667 – 3 nights

We commence our days touring with a brief sightseeing tour of Longreach and then make our way out to Nogo Station that was once part of Bowen Downs. Here, we board a doubledecker safari style coach for a spectacular tour of the vast plains where wedge-tailed eagles fly and local wildlife mingles with iconic cattle breeds, stockhorses and the famous merino sheep. We stop at a typical outback billabong where Captain’s Starlight’s camp has been recreated and see the ruins of his stockyards, which have been here over a century. Back at the homestead, soak in the station’s history as we explore some of the rooms and sense what life would have been like here in the pioneering past.

Learn about women of the homestead, see where Abigail creates her Abigail’s Outback Kitchen range and taste some of the treats at the country-style ‘smoko’ (morning tea)! On arrival back in town we take in the Harry Redford Old Time Tent Show. Laugh at the antics of Australia’s most famous cattle duffer, Harry Redford or “Captain Starlight” – a mix of poetic story and Australian humour to create live theatre, outback style! With time to wander along the main street of Longreach afterward, we have a relaxing afternoon and look through the Station Store for a few souvenirs. Tonight, we are heading out to Camden Park Station just a few minutes out of Longreach. Dan and the Walker family will be our hosts for a BBQ dinner in the woolshed at this fifth generation, family sheep and cattle property. It will be a fun night!

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast at Woolshed Restaurant/BBQ dinner at Camden Park Station)

Following breakfast, we have a short drive to the iconic Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame where we can have some free time to look through the museum prior to the Outback Stockman’s Show. The show encompasses the modern-day aspects of being a stockman, as well as telling the tales of the past. Next, we uncover some national treasures, as we will be visiting the QANTAS Founders Museum. The Museum tells the story of Qantas from the early days in Outback Queensland to present day. Displays focus on the founding figures of Qantas, life in Outback Queensland in the 1920s.Included in our visit is a tour of the Boeing 747, 707 and DC-3 aircraft and features such as the Lavatory Service Hatch, Traffic Collision Avoidance System, Flight Recorders (the Black Box) and many other systems, all explained in layman’s term. Our sunset dinner cruise on the Thompson River will round out a fantastic day. As the sun goes down, the river is a peaceful environment of reflections and colour – perfect for photos. We then step ashore, gather around the crackling fire for tales and bush poetry and watch Starlight’s Spectacular Sound & Light Picture Show, featuring the adventures of Captain Starlight (aka Harry Redford).

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast at Woolshed Restaurant/Starlight Dinner Cruise)

Departing Longreach this morning we head towards Barcaldine for a visit to the Australian Worker’s Heritage Centre, the only national attraction dedicated to celebrating the lives and proud heritage of ordinary working people. The displays tell the stories of the railway workers and blacksmiths, the farmers, nurses and teachers who shaped the nation. From Barcaldine, it’s onto Alpha for our lunch. Alpha, known as “The Gateway to the West”, is an interesting mix of historic and modern buildings, changed by fire, flood and progress over the years. It was established in 1884 to serve railway construction workers and is still an important station on the line to the Central West. Alpha, taken from the Greek word meaning – “the beginning” – is claimed by locals as the beginning of the west. This afternoon we arrive in Emerald where we have planned a visit to Centenary of Federation Mosaic Pathway which depicts 100 years of Emerald’s history with 21 intricately tiled designs. The detailed mosaics were created by 10 of Emerald’s local artists. We also see the 25-metre high Van Gogh Sunflower painting that is part of a concept by Cameron Cross to erect seven Sunflower sculptures in seven different countries, reproducing Van Gogh’s seven different Sunflower paintings.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel/Light lunch at Alpha)
Western Gateway Motel, Emerald Tel 07 49131025 – 1 night

We are now just 370 ks from Rockhampton on the East Coast. We travel there this morning, arriving in time for lunch at the Caves Country Pub. This afternoon we have an appointment at the Capricorn Caves and will be guided through to the easily accessible Cathedral Cave, while discovering the ancient geological history and special acoustics. What an interesting day we have had!

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel/Pub lunch)
Centrepoint Motor Inn, Rockhampton Tel 07 4927 8844 – 1 Night

The City of Gladstone is built around a natural deep-water port and because of this Gladstone was transformed with the start of a major industrial and community expansion which has continued to this day. We will see why Gladstone is often referred to as the Industrial Land of the Giants! It has the world’s largest alumina refinery, Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, Queensland’s biggest power station, Australia’s largest cement operation and the State’s largest multi-cargo port. Heading south we pop into the delightful village of Seventeen Seventy for a light lunch before continuing to Bundaberg for our final night on tour.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast & dinner in the motel/Light lunch at Seventeen Seventy)
Bundaberg International Motel Tel 07 41512365 – 1 Night

What a tour we have had. We will have a leisurely day travelling home today with a light lunch on the way. We will arrive back on the Sunshine Coast & Brisbane late afternoon.

(Meal inclusions: Breakfast in the motel/Light lunch)