Australia Pacific Touring Historical Outback Trail

Tour Code: CQ15

Uncover a wealth of natural beauty in Queensland's most stunning national parks Lamington, Carnarvon Gorge and Lawn Hill; and relax watching the sun set over the Gulf of Carpentaria on this true Australian journey of discovery.

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrive Sydney, Tamworth, Armidale
Be met at the airport and depart Sydney for Tamworth, Australia's country music capital. Continue to Armidale, high in the Northern Tablelands. Check in to your hotel then enjoy a Welcome Dinner and Drinks this evening.
Stay: Country Comfort Armidale
Daily Meal Included: Dinner

Day 2. Lamington National Park
Set out for the mountainous rainforest of World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park, home to a diverse range of wildlife. Check into your resort and tonight, perhaps join a glow worm-tour.
Stay: Lamington National Park, O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat, a haven within the rainforest
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 3. Lamington National Park, Toowoomba
Perhaps rise early this morning to join an optional birdwatching walk. After breakfast, tour beautiful Lamington National Park with a guide. Travel to the top of Morans Falls and learn about the history of the park. Be guided through the rainforest to view the falls, then head to a lookout with views of the Lost World. Here your guide will boil the billy as you sample damper and syrup. Continue to Balancing Rock then head to the Gold Coast hinterland for lunch and a wine-tasting at Canungra Valley Winery. On arrival in Toowoomba, enjoy drinks at the Heritage-listed Empire Theatre.
Stay: Toowoomba, Comfort Inn Grammar View
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4. Roma, Carnarvon Gorge
Travel via Dalby, in Australia's richest grain and cotton growing area, and the provincial town of Roma to Injune, a cattle and timber town located at the southern end of Carnarvon National Park. The park covers some 28,000 hectares of wilderness, ranging from creeks and fern-lined gorges to sandstone walls covered in ancient Aboriginal art. Tonight stay on the fringe of Carnarvon Gorge, known for its towering cliffs. With two nights here, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the incredible scenery this stunning national park has to offer.
Stay: Two Night Stay: Carnarvon National Park, Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge, in tented safari cabins with private facilities
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 5. Carnarvon National Park
Participate in various guided walks around Carnarvon National Park. Take in the sights, sounds and scents of the bush. Visit Moss Garden, set amid porous sandstone and shale walls, where a continuous flow of crystal-clear water fosters the growth of lush ferns and mosses (a reasonable level of fitness is required to reach this location). With time at leisure after lunch, perhaps take further walks through the park.
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 6. Rubyvale, Gem Fossicking, Emerald
Travel to Rubyvale, set amid the Sapphire Gemfields. Tour the Miners Heritage Walk-in Mine and gain an insight into the process of sapphire mining. Try your luck fossicking for gems at a nearby fossicking area then head to Emerald.
Stay: Emerald, Maraboon Motor Inn
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 7. Emerald, Longreach, Cattlemens Dinner and Show
Today depart Emerald for nearby Lake Maraboon then continue to Barcaldine, a small town that had a significant impact on our political history - it was here that the Labor Party began. This afternoon, visit the Australian Workers Heritage Centre, which pays tribute to the nation's working men and women. Then continue the journey to Longreach. Tonight enjoy dinner and a show at the Cattlemen's Bar and Grill.
Stay: Longreach, Albert Park Motor Inn
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 8. Longreach, Qantas Founders Outback Museum, Stockman's Hall of Fame, Winton
This morning visit the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, the only place in the world where you can tour the fully-equipped 747 jumbo jet and the Boeing 707. Learn about the history of Australian aviation, then visit the Stockman's Hall of Fame to delve into Australia's bush history. Continue to Winton, where Qantas first found its ?wings? and the bush poet Banjo Paterson wrote the world-famous anthem, Waltzing Matilda.
Stay: Two Nights: Winton, Boulder Opal Motel
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 9. Lark Quarry, Waltzing Matilda Centre, Royal Theatre
Travel to the site of Lark Quarry to view dinosaur footprints. This is the only site in the world where fossilised tracks from a stampede, thought to have happened 95 million years ago, can be seen (Lark Quarry is inaccessible in the wet). Visit the Waltzing Matilda Centre and tour the Outback Regional Art Gallery. Enjoy a movie tonight at the Royal Theatre, one of Australia?s last remaining open-air theatres.
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 10. Mt Isa
Stop today to see the Combo Waterhole, thought to be the billabong that inspired ?Waltzing Matilda?. Visit the Blue Heeler Hotel at Kynuna, then continue to the pub at MacKinlay, better known as the Walkabout Creek Hotel in ?Crocodile Dundee?. On arrival in Mt Isa, embark on a surface tour of the Mt Isa Mines.
Stay: Mt Isa, All Seasons Verona Hotel
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 11. Mt Isa, Cloncurry, Lawn Hill National Park
Travel to Cloncurry and visit the Royal Flying Doctor Museum, then head north along the Burke and Wills Development Road. Head off-road through Gregory Downs and into the wilderness of Lawn Hill National Park.
Stay: Two Nights: Adels Grove, Lawn Hill National Park, in tented cabins with shared facilities
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 12. Riversleigh Fossil Fields, Lawn Hill Gorge
With our local Gulf Savannah guide, explore the World Heritage-listed Riversleigh Fossil Fields, where some fossils date back around 25 million years. After lunch, relax at Lawn Hill Gorge. Perhaps go on one of the many walks or hire a canoe (own expense) to explore the waterway.
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 13. Adels Grove, Karumba
Head to Karumba via Leichardt Falls and Camp 119, the most northerly camp of the ill fated Burke and Wills Expedition. This evening, enjoy some local prawns and a glass of wine on the beach as the sun sets over the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Stay: Karumba Lodge Hotel
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 14. Karumba, Gulflander Train Journey, Georgetown
At Normanton board the Gulflander Train and travel to Critters Camp. Then continue by coach to the old goldmining town of Croydon for a walking tour.
Stay: Georgetown, Latara Resort Motel
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 15. Georgetown, Undara Lava Tubes, Cairns
With a local guide, tour the 190,000 year-old Undara Lava Tubes. On a tour through one section of the ancient tubes, a local guide will provide fascinating insight into the history and geology of these formations. Your tour ends on arrival in Cairns at around 5.30pm, with a transfer to the airport.
Daily Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch

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