Longreach & Outback QLD Spectacular

Be greeted by your Tour Directors before we leave Brisbane, enroute to Toowoomba, situated on the crest of the Great Dividing Range.

Toowoomba is Queensland's Garden City, a vibrant blend of natural beauty and heritage charm. It is also the largest non-capital inland city in Australia with a population of approximately 150,000. It is well known for its many beautiful parks and gardens which benefit from the town's rich volcanic soils. This afternoon, we enjoy a tour of this beautiful regional city, including a visit to the Cobb & Co Museum followed by a visit to Queens Park Gardens.

A morning tour of the city, including Empire Theatre, sets the scene for the day. Leaving Toowoomba, we cross the rich and fertile plains of the Darling Downs before visiting Dalby. Passing through Chinchilla and Miles, we arrive into Roma with time to take in a tour at the Big Rig Oil Patch, a journey through the early days of Australia's oil and gas industries.

We continue north into the Carnarvon National Park. There are numerous guided walks available in the park, depending on your level of fitness. Spot an elusive platypus on a gentle nature trail or, for the more seasoned walkers, head up the gorge to Moss Garden, where water seeping out of the limestone supports a lush carpet of mosses and ferns.

This afternoon, we depart Carnarvon Gorge and travel to Emerald.

The outback beckons as our adventure takes us towards Longreach, passing through Alpha, so named after the Alpha Pastoral Station established in 1863.

From here, we continue to Jericho and Barcaldine, which played a significant role in the Australian labour movement and the birth of the Australian Labor Party. In 1891, it was one of the focal points of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike, with the Eureka Flag flying over the strike camp. The landmark Tree of Knowledge, under which the strikers met, stood outside the railway station.

We arrive at Longreach this afternoon and there is ample free time before a leisurely dinner.

Our day begins with a tour of the Qantas Founders Museum, which houses a Boeing 747 and the airline's first 707. Walk through the aircraft and wander around this exceptional museum.

Later, we experience the iconic Stockman's Hall of Fame before visiting the School of Distance Education.

This afternoon, cruise along the Thomson River followed by dinner on the riverbank, accompanied by a talented musical entertainer performing live on Smithy's River Stage.

Setting out, we depart Longreach, stopping at the fascinating Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Dedicated to preserving Australia's fossil heritage for future generations, the museum features the most productive fossil preparation laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere. We then continue to Winton for our overnight stay.

Before leaving town, we enjoy a visit to Winton's Waltzing Matilda Centre. Rebuilt after the devastating 2015 fire, the centre features a world-class museum that tells the story of Waltzing Matilda, along with an art gallery and exhibition space.

We then continue northwest to Cloncurry, passing by the Walkabout Creek Hotel at McKinlay, which featured in the legendary film ‘Crocodile Dundee'. Travelling on to Gulf Country, Mt. Isa, is tonight's destination.

This morning, we enjoy a town tour before visiting ‘Outback at Isa', home to a vast array of tourism attractions. First, we'll take an underground tour of the Hard Times Mine. Then, we'll visit the unique Riversleigh Fossil Centre, which interprets the World Heritage-listed fossil sites at Riversleigh, along with an art gallery, the ‘Isa Experience' exhibit, and a fish hatchery project.

Later, we'll visit the Underground Hospital and Museum, before enjoying the rest of the afternoon at your leisure.

We depart Mt. Isa this morning, bound for Karumba. At Cloncurry, visit the John Flynn Place Museum, commemorating Flynn's establishment of the Aerial Medical Service in 1928, which brought vital care to remote homesteads and communities.

The display includes some interesting personal memorabilia and explanations of how the whole Flying Doctor system worked in the early days. Flynn's story is the triumph of an unceasing commitment against huge odds. The museum also records the remarkable work of Alfred Traeger, the man who invented the push pedal radio.

The Cloncurry River was named by the explorer Robert O'Hara Burke after his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry from County Galway in Ireland, and when the town was surveyed it took the name of the river. Travelling along the Burke Development Road towards Normanton with morning tea at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. We learn of the expedition in 1860-1861 before heading onto Normanton and into Karumba.

Joining one of the great characters of rail travel - The Gulflander' is a perfect start to our day. This historic little train takes us on a journey from Normanton to Critters Camp*. Later, we discover the secrets of the mighty barramundi at The Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre.

Tonight, we enjoy a special Sand Island sunset dinner cruise in the Gulf. We'll dine on local seafood while watching a sensational gulf sunset.

Please Note: Gulflander journey may change subject to operating hours.

Leaving the Gulf town of Karumba, the coach heads inland across the vast savannah plains of Queensland's outback. The journey offers endless horizons of golden grasslands, scattered with hardy eucalypts and the occasional kangaroo bounding in the distance.

As we travel through remote cattle country, the landscape gradually shifts to rugged sandstone escarpments and ancient riverbeds, signaling our approach to the spectacular Cobbold Gorge region. This hidden gem, carved over millennia, awaits with its striking narrow chasms and tranquil waterways - a dramatic contrast to the open plains we've just crossed.

Take part in a 3-hour Savannah-guided gorge tour, which includes a circular interpretive walk to the escarpment and incredible views of the gorge as you cross the glass bridge, followed by a gorge cruise in custom-made almost-silent electric boats. The gorge stretches for approximately 6 kilometres and consists of a series of waterholes bound by spectacular rocky cliffs.

After lunch on a guided station tour, experience a working cattle station and enjoy ‘smoko' along the way. We then return to our accommodation for our last night at Cobbold Village.

Departing Cobbold Gorge, we make our way to Undara Volcanic National Park, which protects the longest lava tube cave system in the world. A local Savannah Guide will take us on a tour through part of the lava tube cave system.

Tonight, enjoy dinner in the outdoor-style restaurant as an outback sunset fades into a clear starlit night.

Departing Undara we begin the final leg of our journey to Cairns. On the way we pass through the scenic Atherton Tablelands and visit the stunning Millaa Millaa Falls. We arrive mid-afternoon.

Tonight, enjoy our final dinner together and celebrate our adventures through Outback Queensland.

Our Outback journey concludes this morning with transfers to the airport.