Outback Queensland by Plane to Longreach

Enjoy breakfast in the hotel and then assemble for our departure to the airport to catch our flight to Longreach.  

Named after the “long reach” of the Thomson River, the town had only been gazetted for five years when the railway arrived in 1892. Longreach is situated right on the Tropic of Capricorn and has a population of just over 3,000, boosted by travellers who come to see the great museums, notably the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Museum. 

In the light of the late afternoon we will enjoy a  journey through the spectacular changing colours of the floodplain, on a heritage 2000 class rail motor. Our friends at Outback Aussie Tours will take us on a Silver Tails Sunset rail experience where you watch the sunset while savouring a selection of drinks and canapés as you relax and soak-up the Romance of Rail. Travel to the banks of the Thomson River where you will enjoy a traditional outback dinner and show, before heading back to our hotel for the night. 

Overnight:  Longreach Motor Inn, Longreach (B, D)

After breakfast, we take the short stroll to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Australia’s premier outback heritage institution where you can explore the museum showcasing an eclectic mix of objects – touchscreens, open displays, photographs, artworks and audio-visual presentations. A fun filled live show follows before we head across the road to the Qantas Founders Museum, where we’ll also have lunch.

The Qantas Founders Museum tells the story of the four key figures who founded Qantas and highlights what life was like in Queensland in the 1920s. The history of our iconic airline unfolds as you experience a 1½-hour Jet Tour, a behind-the-scenes look at both a 747, 707 and more.

In the afternoon, we board our private coach from the highly regarded Red Dirt Tours to take us the 180 kilometres to Winton and check into our heritage hotel in the heart of town. This evening you’ll enjoy dinner in the hotel’s authentic retro dining room.

Overnight: North Gregory Hotel, Winton (B, L, D)

This morning after breakfast at the hotel we begin the exploration of Australia’s rich Dinosaur legacy. Red Dirt Tours is on hand once again to take us on a guided tour of the wild country to the west of Winton, leading us across the outback to the exceptional Lark Quarry National Monument. It was here that the world’s best-preserved fossil, and proof of a Dinosaur stampede was discovered by the local station manager in the 1960’s. Your time here includes a guided tour and a film. Back in Winton, you’ll have time for lunch at leisure before our driver picks you up for the drive out to visit the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Here you’ll have plenty of time to wander the displays and our private guide will show us around and host the walk through Dino Canyon.  To cap off the day we enjoy an early dinner at Age of Dinosaurs and visit the Observatory – a great addition to the Outback story. 

Overnight: North Gregory Hotel or Boulder Opal Motor Inn, Winton (B, D)

The morning is yours to continue exploring the town and its attractions or to just relax until it’s time to depart. You could explore the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the first museum in the world dedicated to a song. Our Greyhound coach will then travel the journey across the wide, rugged outback, passing through Kynuna and Cloncurry to Mount Isa.

After checking into our hotel we don’t have far to travel to enjoy dinner—the private dining room in the hotel’s restaurant is the best place to go! 

Overnight: Ibis Verona, Mount Isa (B, L, D)

With a full day to explore, we start with a compact town tour travelling past the vast mine complex to the lookout and the historic Underground Hospital. In the afternoon, visit the lsa Experience and Riversleigh Fossil Centre. This is a multimedia gallery presenting the prehistoric, indigenous, cultural and mining heritage of the Mount lsa region. The gallery displays a mixture of artefacts, photographs, specimens and models as well as audio and video accounts of Mount lsa’s fascinating history. You then have some free time before we gather again in the afternoon and head out of town to visit Lake Moondarra for sunset drinks and canapes. After returning to our hotel, your evening is free.

Overnight: Ibis Verona, Mount Isa (B)

This morning, we board our flight from Mount lsa to Normanton via Doomadgee and Mornington island, hopping from one settlement to the other and flying low enough to enjoy the spectacular views of the Gulf. On arrival in Normanton we’ll head straight to lunch at the local pub, before transferring by coach to Karumba, where we’ll settle into our accommodation for the next two nights. Dinner this evening is at the popular Sunset Tavern across the road, where you’ll have’ front row seats’ to watch the spectacular sunset over the Gulf while enjoying dinner.  

Overnight: Ash’s Holiday Units Karumba, (B, L, D)

This morning after a hearty breakfast, for those who are interested, our friends at Karumba tours will host a bird watching boat tour along the river and estuaries, including a history of the town from the aspect of the river as the gateway to the Gulf. The rest of the morning is at leisure for you to enjoy the town and take a break from the busy schedule to just relax. You also have the option to visit the Barramundi discovery centre which your tour leader can facilitate.

We then gather in the late afternoon to join the Luxury Sand Island Sunset Dinner Cruise. Our little boat takes off from Karumba out into the Gulf waters. Watch the sky and sea turn to fire while relaxing on Sun Island (tide and weather permitting), an intriguing and completely flat sand cay. We enjoy a light dinner of banana prawns, a specialty fish dish, tropical fruit platters and ice-cold drinks. 

Overnight: Ash’s Holiday Units, Karumba (B, D)

After breakfast we roll back across the flood plains and grasslands to Normanton and board the legendary Gulflander. Also known as the Tin Hare, the old rail motor has traversed the line between Normanton and Croydon every Wednesday for over a century on a unique line known as, “the line from nowhere to nowhere”. Our driver and guard keep the commentary rolling and the whole experience is a slice of authentic Australian bush travel, complete with the odd stop to drop off mail or allow wandering livestock and native animals to cross our path. 

We arrive in time for lunch at the Club Hotel in Croydon and then our coach takes us to the remote out-station of Cobbold Gorge Resort, arriving just after sunset, where dinner is hosted on the deck of the restaurant. You are then free to have a nightcap at the bar or wander back to your cabin, marvel at the stars and enjoy the peace and quiet of this wild Savannah location.

Overnight: Cobbold Gorge Resort, Cobbold Gorge (B, L, D)

After a hearty bush breakfast, we’ll join a morning tour and boat cruise of Cobbold Gorge. Custom-made electric boats glide through the water below the spectacularly sculptured gorge walls in an almost eerie silence, ensuring minimal disturbance to wildlife – there’s every chance of seeing one of the resident freshwater crocodiles! The gentle bush walk takes you up to the edge of the gorge and then a smart glass bottomed bridge takes you across it revealing even more aspects of this ethereal place. 

After lunch we’ll board our all-terrain vehicle for a tour of Robin Hood Station (supposedly named because it adjoined the Sherwood mining lease), a 1284-square-kilometre cattle grazing property run by third-generation cattleman, Simon Terry and his wife Gaye. On your station tour you’ll visit the cattle yards, dams and outbuildings, hearing rare insights into the cattle grazing industry and relaxing over a traditional outback ‘smoko’. You can also take a helicopter joy flight (optional) to see this spectacular country from the air.

Overnight: Cobbold Gorge Resort, Cobbold Gorge (B, L, D)

After breakfast this morning, staff from Cobbold Gorge Tours will transfer us to Einasleigh where we enjoy lunch at the iconic Einasleigh Pub right beside the vast Copperfield Gorge. In the mid-afternoon, the train pulls into Mount Surprise where we transfer to Undara the Archway Explorer Tour of the fascinating lava tubes. The Lava Tubes are giant volcanic caverns—the oldest in Australia and the longest continuous tubes on Earth. Check-in to our accommodation at sunset, head back to Mount Surprise, and after a hearty dinner wander over to the character-filled pub or settle in for some entertainment around the campfire at the village.

Overnight: Mt Surprise Village, Mount Surprise (B, L, D)

The second leg of the Savannahlander journey to Cairns has us boarding early at Mount Surprise. The journey is full of rugged Outback scenery, and we’ll make a few stops: lunch at the Railway Hotel, Almaden; Dimbulah for afternoon tea; Barron Falls and the grand Barron Gorge; and finally, Cairns in the evening, where we’ll check into the centrally located Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort.  After all the food we’ve enjoyed along the way, dinner this evening is at leisure.

Overnight: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Cairns (B, L)

This morning we head north by air-conditioned coach to Mossman Gorge with a morning tea stop in Port Douglas along the way and some time to explore the famous Port Douglas markets. At the Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre, we enjoy a light lunch followed by a walk through the beautiful tropical rainforest in Mossman Gorge itself.  After lunch we return to Cairns via Kuranda, “The Village in the Rainforest”. The Skyrail Gondola is a special experience that takes us down to the coastal plain, flying over the canopy of the rainforest and marvelling at the wonderful views across the ranges and out over the Coral Sea. This evening is at leisure to explore the Cairns Esplanade, just around the corner from our hotel.   

Overnight: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Cairns (B, L)

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for a tour of the region of the rich Atherton Tablelands. We start by travelling south across the Sugar Cane fields then up the steep Gillies Highway to the lush forests and farming country of the tablelands. First stop is the excellent Mining Museum, after which we take the short run to meet the team at the outstanding Herberton Historic Railway Museum. Here we learn about the restoration work and history of the railways of the tablelands before sampling it ourselves with a steam run on the 1905 Peckett Steam Loco along the old line to the astounding Historic Village (steam may be substituted with their heritage diesel).  Australia’s timber, farming and mining history lives again at this authentic and award winning 100% family owned attraction. You’ll have time to explore the collection of more than 60 original buildings complete with shops, a functioning tearoom, antique motor vehicles, small engines, fashion, John Deere tractors and more.

We return on the mountain road via Mareeba to Cairns.

We should arrive with plenty of time to freshen up and rest before enjoying a delicious three-course farewell dinner on the colourful Cairns esplanade.

Overnight: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort, Cairns (B, L, D)

Breakfast is at your leisure in the hotel and then you are free to continue on your way to other awaiting adventures. Tour terminates. All out, all change. Please mind the gap! 

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