Australia By Private Plane – The Australia Outback Tour

Back of Beyond tour (10 Days) – Both 2011 – 7th June & 5th August

In keeping with the theme of these Australia sightseeing tours,  you visit some of Australia’s out of the way places, that offer a glimpse into the historic past and fantastic scenery, that captures the heart of most people who venture away from the city life of this country of extreme landscapes.

We invite you to see some of Australia’s most remote and iconic destinations in a unique tour to the ‘Back of Beyond’. This is Australia sightseeing at it’s best.

Board your private plane in Sydney and fly to Orange for a delightful winery lunch.  Visit the mining town of Broken Hill. Experience the beauty of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. Fly over the incredible site of Lake Eyre. Land on the runway in time for lunch at the Birdsville Hotel. Explore Longreach, home to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.  Fly to Winton enroute to Normanton, on the Gulf of Carpentaria.  Travel to Horn Island, then stand on mainland Australia’s northernmost point at Cape York and visit fascinating Thursday Island.  Visit historic Cooktown and conclude your Australia Outback tour in Cairns.

Back of Beyond Map of journey…

Australia Outback Sightseeing Package Itinerary

Day 1

Sydney – Orange – Broken Hill

Join our private plane this morning and fly west to Orange, a garden city on the slopes of Mt Canobolas. We enjoy a delightful lunch overlooking the vines at the Highland Heritage Vineyard before rejoining our aircraft to fly to Broken Hill.  This evening we stay at the restored Old Willyama Hotel & Motor Inn.  Enjoy our unique Welcome Dinner at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Base and hear about the work of the Flying Doctor.

Day 2

Broken Hill – Flinders Ranges

For 100 years the mineral wealth of Broken Hill ensured a booming community and the city’s history is reflected in Broken Hill’s magnificent buildings. This morning we explore the city. Delve into the working class struggles that made Broken Hill famous and go underground at one of the former mines. We will also visit a gallery featuring the work of the ‘Brushmen of the Bush’, a group of outback painters including Pro Hart and Jack Absalom. This afternoon we rejoin our Dash 8 for the short flight to Flinders Ranges in South Australia.  The beautifully rugged scenery envelops us as we drive through the Pichi Richi Ranges to Wilpena Pound Resort for a two night stay.

Day 3

Flinders Ranges

This morning we take an incredible 4WD trip through some of the most breathtaking scenery. Our spectacular tour over the rugged peaks of Arkaba Sheep Station offers stunning Outback views across the Elder Range, Moralana Valley and Wilpena Pound. This afternoon is free to relax and enjoy this magnificent locale; or take one of the scenic bushwalks from the resort.

Day 4

Flinders Ranges – Lake Eyre – Birdsville – Longreach

As we come to the middle of our Australia Outback tour, we depart aboard our private plane this morning and fly north to Lake Eyre, usually a vast saltpan but in recent years a spectacular inland sea. From the air we can also see the depiction of the Marree Man, a 4km tall stone etching of an Aboriginal warrior, only discovered in 1998.  We continue flying to reach the original ‘back of beyond’, Birdsville. We taxi down the airstrip, parking almost at the front verandah of the Birdsville Hotel for an outback lunch. We also enjoy a tour of Birdsville including its fascinating museum (containing relics from outback Australia), the racetrack, the Australian Inland Mission Hospital and other aspects of this frontier town. We fly on to historic Longreach, famous as one of the birthplaces of Qantas and location of the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. We stay for two nights at the Longreach Motor Inn.  This evening we take an evening dinner cruise on the Thompson River, beneath a vast sky carpeted with stars. This whole day is the central point of your outback sightseeing experience.

Day 5

Longreach

Today we explore Longreach including a visit to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre, where we receive a fascinating insight into outback life. This afternoon we go back in time to the ‘Dawn of Aviation’ and its pioneer beginnings at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. Enjoy drinks under the wing of a 747 and a unique dinner among the historic aircraft within the museum.

Day 6

Longreach – Winton – Normanton

This morning we take a short flight to Winton, where Banjo Patterson wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895. The history of this famous song is celebrated at the Waltzing Matilda Centre.  We continue on to Normanton, a major town in the Gulf region. We transfer from the airport to the town aboard the Gulflander, a historic rail motor along a rickety track.

Day 7

Normanton – Horn Island/Thursday Island

We fly across the Gulf and Cape York Peninsula to Horn Island.  We join a boat to cruise to Thursday Island, a remote Torres Strait Outpost. We visit the Gab Titui Cultural Centre, preserving the cultural heritage of the Torres Strait. There will also be free time to explore the town and take a tour around the island including the Torres Strait Museum and Green Hill Fort.  Accommodation for our time in Horn Island will be relatively basic.

Day 8

Cape York

Enjoy a relaxing boat trip across Torres Strait to the tip of Australia at Cape York. We land on the beach and take a short walk to the northernmost point of mainland Australia. The relics of the historic town of Somerset, built by the British to rival Singapore, are nearby.

Day 9

Horn Island – Cooktown

Tour the many relics of World War II and hear about the role played by Horn Island in the defence of Australia.  We then fly to historic Cooktown and visit the Chinese cemetery, the James Cook Museum and numerous historical remains including the statue of Captain Cook, who spent seven weeks here in 1770 after ‘The Endeavour’ was damaged on the reef. We stay at the pleasant Sovereign Resort Hotel. Relive the journey of your Australia outback tour at our Farewell Dinner this evening.

Day 10

Cooktown – Cairns

Join your Private Plane for the flight down the coast to Cairns. Please enquire for schedules and costs for flights from Cairns to your home town. Alternatively, stay on and enjoy Cairns, Port Douglas, Palm Cove or somewhere else in tropical Far North Queensland. Please enquire for details.

More Australia sightseeing tours

This tour journeys from south-east Australia to the north giving some stunning outback sightseeing opportunities for a 10 day tour, but if you are looking for something more take a look at the 14 day Bungle Bungles & Outback tour which cuts diagonally through the Australian outback (from south-east to north-west), not only adding Alice Springs and the magical Uluru (Ayers Rock) experience, but also Broome, Bungle Bungles, Litchfield National Park, Darwin and Cape York (among others).

Alternatively, if you’ve more time to spare there is the definitive Australia Sightseeing experience, the 19 day Complete Aussie Outback tour which is similar to the 14 day tour but goes in reverse from Cairns to sydney and adds in a slew of south coast desinations including Kangeroo Island, Warrnambool, Echuca and more.

Package Costs

• £7,560 ($US13,500 approx) – Single Supplement £750 ($US1,350 approx)