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Experience the rugged beauty of the Australian outback in the comfort of one of QR’s Outback services on your way to Charleville, Longreach or Mount Isa.

THIS IS THE REAL OUTBACK  - Queensland’s Outback, a myriad of landscapes, wonderful heritage and characters aplenty. It’s the wide open spaces that first attract and then when checking out the other ‘must see’ attractions, one soon appreciates why this part of the world demands so much more of your time. Travel into a country where dinosaurs roamed and a sea once covered the land. 

Dinosaur remains and fossils await the intrepid traveller, as do other unexplained mysteries, such as the Min Min Light at Boulia or take a guided tour of the night skies at the Charleville Skywatch. It’s the absolute variety which astounds, from vast properties that produce organic beef, through to a land which offers some of the best opal fields in the world. 

This is the country where legends are made, and where outback heritage and prehistory is proudly on show. Attractions include the Riversleigh Fossil Centre, Kronosaurus Korner, Waltzing Matilda Centre, the Stockmans Hall of Fame, the Qantas Founders Museum, the Workers Heritage Centre, and the Blackall Historical Woolscour. From the Channel Country to Mount isa, Queenslands Outback certainly is Larger than Life.

Meet some Aussie characters along the way onboard the Spirit of the Outback with all its adventure and insight into the history and culture of early Australia or travel over the Great Dividing Range on The Westlander into the heart of South West Queensland, or make the fascinating journey from Townsville to Mount Isa on The Inlander through an array of historic mining towns.

With a range of tours available when you arrive at your destination, you can enjoy a quintessential Australian experience you will never forget.

Valid 01 Apr 07 - 31 Mar 08.
Prices are subject to change without notice.

Rich, red dust flows through the veins in Queensland’s south-west, home to big sky country and countless stars. The Royal Flying Doctor soars like a seagull over the region where the bilby is a local hero.

Historic homesteads hold big secrets and opals sit like pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. The mulga eventually concedes to Mitchell grasslands, before the journey home aboard a true outback icon.

At a Glance
• Overnight travel on The Westlander, Brisbane to Charleville
• Overnight travel on Spirit of the Outback, Longreach to Brisbane
• 5 nights accommodation
• Meals, touring, transfers and entrance fees as per itinerary
• Small personalised coach touring with Savannah Guides

Day 1: Your journey aboard The Westlander will take you across the Great Dividing Range and through the rich farmlands of the Darling Downs, before arriving in Charleville – gateway to the outback.

Day 2: Your Outback Aussie Tours host will take you on a tour of Charleville. See the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitors Centre and have lunch at the historic Corones Hotel. Dinner will be served early this evening at the Cosmos Centre, in time for the spectacular Twilight show. You’ll also meet the rare and endangered bilby. Overnight Charleville. (L, D)

Day 3: Immerse yourself in fascinating living history at the Myendetta Station. Head west to Colac Station in time for a lazy garden lunch, then onto Quilpie to visit the unique Opal Alter. Enjoy the country welcome at Ray Station - settled in 1874 by Patsy and Sarah Tully (nee Durack). After dinner, gather round the campfire for some tall outback tales. Overnight Ray Station. (B, L, D)

Day 4: After breakfast, enjoy a Tully-Durack Tour, take in the water run, visit the Four Mile and the boundary rider’s hut. See the Durack tree and the family cemetery. Tonight you’ll be treated to a three course dinner, and entertained with poetry and guitar. Overnight Ray Station. (B, L, D)

Day 5: Travelling out of ‘Kings in Grass Castles’ country, pass the original Thylungra homestead and journey the Lake Ayr Basin region: home to the mighty Cooper Creek and Australia’s largest inland river system. Enter into the Wild Boontamarra: beautiful flood plains, mulga lands and timeless red sand dunes, under a wide blue Channel Country. Stroll around the charming bush town of Windorah. At the Stonehenge Jump-up, look out over the vast open plains of the Mitchell Grasslands, before travelling onto Longreach.
Overnight Longreach. (B, L, D)

Day 6: Discover heroes and legends at The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, and step back in aviation history at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. Board the MV Longreach Explorer for a postcard-pretty sunset cruise on the Thomson River, before a final, fun-filled night in the Outback. Overnight Longreach. (B, L, D)

Day 7: Set off on your first class overnight journey to Brisbane aboard the iconic Spirit of the Outback.

Day 8: Arrival in Brisbane.

Twin share per person from $2208.
Single supplement available.

Tour departs 19 Jun, 10 Jul, 4 Sep 07.
Subject to availability.

The rails shimmer under a western night sky, as your train travels west through the night. The south-west unfurls like a slide show, captured by the photographer’s lens at Stephanie Mills Gallery.

Meet the Cunnamulla Fella, the embodiment of outback myth and legend, as he waits patiently in the town centre. The tranquil Warrego River is perfect for cruising and the working outback stations add to the excitement and passion for this vast land.

At a Glance
• Return overnight travel on The Westlander
• 2 nights accommodation
• Meals, touring and transfers as per itinerary

Day 1: Depart Brisbane as you join The Westlander to Charleville. Overnight onboard The Westlander.

Day 2: Arrive Charleville and meet your coach transfer to Cunnamulla. Staying at Nardoo Station Outback Spa Resort, soak up the warm hospitality and enjoy a late night therapeutic spa in the artesian waters under a blanket of stars. Overnight Nardoo Station. (D)

Day 3: Tour this 110,000 acre sheep and cattle property. Travel to Hortonvale and visit a local cotton farm. Check in to your accommodation in Cunnamulla, with time for a river cruise or a paddle. Tonight, see the heart and beauty of the bush on show at the Stephanie Mills Gallery. Overnight Cunnamulla. (B, L, D)

Day 4: Enjoy a tour of Melrose Station grape farm, and tuck in to billy tea and damper at
Glencoe Station. Travel back to Charleville for your first class rail journey back to Brisbane. (B, L)

Day 5: Arrival in Brisbane.

Twin share per person from $1298.
Set departure dates apply.

Take a train journey west towards Nardoo Station where the artesian baths are the hottest day spa in town, where the only galahs are those in the gidgee. The 110,000 acre cattle and sheep property bottles the essence of outback life, and bubbling bore water eases aching muscles while relaxing under the stars.

Board The Westlander for your return first class adventure, crossing wide country lands of the west on the way to Charleville. A connecting coach takes you on to Nardoo Station – the working cattle and sheep station that appears like an oasis, 161 kilometres to the south of the historic town.

Get a true flavour of outback life, spending 2 nights in a cabin or jackeroo quarters accommodation. Enjoy country home cooking at breakfast and dinner each day, and try your hand at some station activities: feeding the animals, going yabbying, swimming and night spotlighting. This evening, sit back and watch the vivid pinks, purples and golds painted in the early evening skies, and count stars from the natural spa.

At a Glance
• Return overnight travel on The Westlander
• 2 nights accommodation with breakfast and dinner daily
• Station tours and activities

Twin share per person from $665.
Single supplement available.

As the train takes you west, towards a region of colourful caverns, lush vegetation and ghostly sandstone cliffs that stand like tall towers. The Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge hums with the sounds of the bush, and bird watchers are richly rewarded in this outback oasis ideal for relaxing, exploring and discovering.

Ride the rails aboard The Westlander on your first class journey to Roma.
Pick up your car hire from Budget, ready for 3 days of touring at your own pace.

Spend 2 nights in a Safari Cabin at Carnarvon Gorge Wilderness Lodge.
Absorb the majesty of spectacular Carnarvon Gorge – its easy walks and challenging climbs, tranquil pools and steep rock faces. Wander through secret side gorges, see stunning Aboriginal rock art, diverse and delicate moss gardens. Go bird watching and keep an eye out for local wildlife – kangaroos, wallabies, goannas and possums all live in harmony here.

At a Glance
• Overnight travel on The Westlander
• 2 nights accommodation
• 3 days car hire

Twin share per person from $579
Single supplement available.
Valid 1 Apr 07 to 15 Dec 07. Price based on one way rail travel.