South Australia Spring Adventure

After breakfast we head to the National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide where we learn about the history of the Australian Railways. It is the largest railway museum in the country with over 100 trains on display, mainly from the South Australian and Commonwealth Railways which includes rolling stock from the Silverton Tramway in Broken Hill and the Victorian Railways. The museum has a large collection of historic buildings, some original to the site including the Port Dock Station Goods Shed, the Callington Shelter Shed and Booking Office – a typical building used at small country stations in the state, the Woodville Signal Cabin and the Eudunda Gang Shed. On the site, all three mainline gauges of Australia are represented: narrow, standard and broad gauge.

Enjoy lunch in Port Adelaide before heading to the northern bayside suburb of St Kilda to visit the Adelaide Tram Museum. Here, you’ll take a ride on their heritage trams from Adelaide and interstate as well as learn about the history behind Adelaide’s tram network. You will view their extensive fleet of preserved trams ranging from the horse-drawn era right through to the very last tram built in Adelaide in the 1950s. Until 1958, electric trams formed a network spanning most of Adelaide and were the city’s main method of public transport. The network closed down in the 1950s with the historic Glenelg tram line the only line to survive.

Return to Adelaide in the late afternoon where your evening is free. 

Overnight: Adina Apartment Hotel Treasury, Adelaide (B, L)

Farewell Adelaide after breakfast this morning and travel north by coach to Peterborough. We’ll make a few stops along the way to explore historic towns and homesteads, including the magnificent Martindale Hall, made famous by the iconic film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. This Georgian-style mansion is considered one of South Australia’s grandest stately homes, built in 1879 and sitting within a 45-acre pastoral property. It is now a museum for visitors, and we’ll take time to explore its charming character and continue to the town of Burra and visit the quaint Burra Railway Station, where there is also a large and interesting fossil of a giant marsupial on display. Enjoy some free time to have lunch and explore the town.

Then on to the Burra Copper Mine and take a photo stop at the ‘Midnight Oil House’, an old homestead a short drive north of Burra, made famous by being on the cover of the 1987 Diesel and Dust album by Midnight Oil.

On arrival in Peterborough, check into our hotel and freshen up, and enjoy dinner at the hotel. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy an entertaining Sound and Light show at the Steamtown Heritage Rail Museum, which tells the story of the heritage trains of this area and the history of the museum.

Overnight: Roundhouse Motel, Peterborough (B, D)

This morning, you’ll transfer to the Steamtown Heritage Rail Museum for a guided tour. Here, you’ll find Australia’s only operational triple gauge turntable, a wide range of historic rolling stock including heroic steam trains, powerful diesel locomotives and unique passenger and freight trains – all exhibited in original settings in the heritage listed roundhouse and original work sheds.

Moving on, we’ll travel north to the town of Hawker, pausing to visit the old train station. The Hawker railway station was completed in 1885 and the original Ghan train to Marree, and later to Alice Springs, passed through Hawker until 1956. The station finally closed and fell into disrepair until in 1989 when the station was restored to become the Old Ghan Restaurant and Gallery, which is where you’ll enjoy lunch.

Arrive at Wilpena Pound in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park – home to the Adnyamathanha people for thousands of years. On arrival at this incredible natural wonder, we’ll have some time to relax, and soak up the peaceful ambience. Early in the evening, we head up to watch the sunset from the vantage point of Stokes Hill with canapés and a beer or glass of wine. We’ll return to our resort later on and enjoy dinner together.

Overnight: Wilpena Pound Resort, Flinders Ranges (B, L, D)

This morning you will travel via 4WDs through the spectacular Bunyeroo and Brachina Gorges and explore more than 800 million years of geological history. Marvel at the rugged beauty of the gorges, search for Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies and enjoy sweeping views of Bunyeroo Valley and the eastern wall of Wilpena Pound.

Return to the resort for lunch and visit the old Wilpena Station (Hill’s Homestead), one of the most scenically spectacular pastoral settlements in South Australia. The Flinders Ranges National Park encompasses some of the most spectacular scenery in South Australia and has been made famous by numerous films and the epic paintings of Sir Hans Heysen.

While at your resort, you may decide to spend the afternoon lazing by the pool or enjoying other activities, such as taking a scenic flight (at your own cost) over the incredible Wilpena Pound. Later, enjoy dinner together at the resort.

Overnight: Wilpena Pound Resort, Flinders Ranges (B, L, D)

After breakfast, we’ll travel north up through the impressive landscapes and natural wonders of the Flinders Ranges to Blinman to visit the historic Copper Mine and the hilly desert countryside. Enjoy lunch at Blinman and head to the Gateway to the Flinders Ranges at Port Augusta where you’ll enjoy a self-guided tour of the Wadlata Outback Centre which offers unique exhibits offering a journey through the history of the Outback. Journey back to when the dinosaurs first roamed this land in the Flinders Ranges and Outback’s multi-award-winning Tunnel of Time.

You will then be shown around the rail sheds at Port Augusta’s Railway Station to get a sneak peak of General MacArthur’s train carriage and the Pichi Richi Railway Afghan Express heritage steam train that rattles up to Quorn. Over the last few years, Port Augusta’s Railway Station precinct has undergone a transformation to become a vibrant location for visitors. It now features the new Platform Gallery which has a vibrant selection of arts and crafts from local artists. To complement the gallery, the railway siding café, Mamma Lou’s has been rejuvenated to become a modern café and restaurant. There’s free time to enjoy late tea and scones at the railway restaurant before travelling to Quorn, our home for the next two nights. 

We’ll settle into the hotel, and later this evening, we’ll enjoy dinner which will be hosted next door at the Old Lodge, an atmospheric Victorian-era outback emporium.

Overnight: The Great Northern Lodge, Quorn (B, L, D)

After breakfast we head down to Quorn station to embark on a special excursion of vintage travel with Pichi Richi Railway on a privately chartered steam-hauled heritage train. Our special return trip to Woolshed Flat takes us along the Old Ghan line, and will feature plenty of stops, run pasts and time to savour the landscape.

En route, stop at Tickle Belly Hill for High Tea and stunning views of Mt. Brown which overlooks the iconic Pichi Richi Railway and famous trellis bridge. Afterwards, enjoy a gentle train journey back to Quorn, revealing more of the important story of the great nation building project that was the Trans-Continental Railway.

When the Trans-Australian Railway was completed between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie in WA in 1917, Quorn became an important town and was the junction for both the east to west and north to south railway services. As a result, many fine buildings were built as the town expanded. The town’s importance continued through World War II when over 500 people in the town were working for the railways and tens of thousands of troops passed through the town en route to Darwin and beyond. The standardisation of gauges, and the establishment of the standard gauge railway to Marree in central South Australia in 1956, saw the town’s importance decline.

Back in Quorn in the afternoon, there’s free time for lunch before taking part in a private tour of the active museum workshops before retiring to the Lodge and an evening at leisure.

In the evening, there’s the option to watch the Quorn Silo Light Show, a starlit audiovisual celebration of the Flinders Ranges and the Pichi Richi Railway with local stories and images projected onto the silos.

Overnight: The Great Northern Lodge, Quorn (B, L)

Bid Quorn goodbye this morning and take a revealing journey back to the capital along the Gulf coast.

We first pause at Port Germein, which is home to the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, reaching over 1.5km into the Spencer Gulf. Travelling on, we arrive at Port Pirie to hear stories of the town’s people and its numerous industries including smelting, railway, and shipping history, displayed in several fine late 19th and early 20th-century heritage buildings: the Old Customs House, the historic Railway Station, and the former Central Police Station. Tour the town on arrival and enjoy lunch at leisure.

Arrive in the town of Moonta to take a narrow gauge train ride on the local tourist railway that circles the historic landmarks of the former mining operations, including a tunnel, a reservoir and ore sorting floors, all built around the rich Copper deposits that were discovered in the town in the 1860’s.

We then continue south towards Adelaide. On arrival we’ll check into our hotel. This evening we will re-group for a special dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Overnight: Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury, Adelaide, (B, D)

This morning, head up into the hills to Mount Barker and the depot of the SteamRanger Heritage Railway organization.

Today is a very special day as the organization is celebrating the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Mount Barker – Strathalbyn Railway. On arrival, enjoy the festivities at the station and depart on the New Highlander double headed steam locomotive down the eastern escarpment of the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, passing through abandoned station sites which bear testimony to the importance of this branch line over a century ago.

Arrive in the historic township of Strathalbyn where Scottish migrants settled in the early 1800s, influencing the early architecture which is still on display today. Explore the town, with its antique shops and boutique cafes before travelling by road to Goolwa at the mouth of the Murray River.

It’s here where you’ll travel along the Encounter Bay coast on The Cockle Train, parts of which are on the oldest steel-railed railway in Australia which were constructed to provide a rail link between the Murray River and the wharfs at Port Elliot and Victor Harbor. Back in the early days of settlement, local residents would take a horse drawn train from Victor Harbour to Goolwa to collect Cockles from the beaches near the Murray River. As you travel along the most picturesque coastal scenery on the Fleurieu Peninsula, nothing separates you from the beach below and a perfect view of the Southern Ocean – in winter the home of Southern Right Whale.

Arrive at Victor Harbour, to enjoy some free time to wander the streets and enjoy lunch. Later, take a ride on one of the very few horse-drawn tram routes remaining in public transit service anywhere in the world – across the 630 metre causeway to Granite Island. These double-decker tramcars are each hauled by magnificent Clydesdale horses, on a broad gauge track.

Board our coach for the last leg to Adelaide via the scenic McLaren Vale wine growing region to Glenelg Beach where we’ll enjoy a farewell dinner on the beach. Later, return to your hotel via a ride on the historic Glenelg tram, the only public tram line to survive in the city.

Overnight: Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury, (B, D)

Our tour comes to an end after breakfast this morning. Transfer to the airport for flights home or onward for other journeys.