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Home , Charles Sturt, Cunnamulla, Dingo Fence, Noccundra

Sinclair Tour and Travel – 5494 5083 Corner Country Tour Departs Tuesday 21st May 9 days $3,299 per person twin share. Single $450

Tour Inclusions. Door to door transfers Town of St George Lunch/tour Historic Leahy House Lunch Hotel Tibooburra and Cameron’s Corner Lunch at famous Cameron’s Corner Store Towns of White Cliffs and Wilcannia Living Desert & Sculptures Mint and Art Gallery – The Big Picture Towns of Wentworth and Mildura Mungo National Park Murray Salt Flight from Mildura/Melbourne/Sunshine Coast

Day One Tuesday 21st May.

After pick up from door as usual, your Corner Country Adventure begins. Our morning tea stop will be Kilcoy and we’ll travel through towns like Yarraman before our lunch stop (own expense) in Dalby. Dinner in our Hotel tonight. St George is on the banks of the mighty Balonne River – our overnight destination. St George has a district population of 3,800 people. Beautiful country gardens, streetscapes and a river walkway are features of the town.

The riverside walk can be entered from The Terrace (St Georges Terrace) via cement footpaths. The times of sunrise and sunset are particularly nice to enjoy the atmosphere of the river gums, landscaping and birdlife. (D) Riverlands Motel – St George. (07) 4625 1229 Day Two. Wednesday 22nd May

After a delicious breakfast at our Hotel, we’ll travel on to Cunnamulla - where the handshake's stronger and the smile lasts longer! In the heart of Cunnamulla you will be greeted by a colourful showing of roses, petunias and a lush green park. Cunnamulla offers a break from the hectic pace of everyday life. After a long trip, it’s a place to take the time to enjoy the slower pace of the Outback. Cunnamulla is the name everyone has heard and it conjures up nostalgic images of stockmen, shearing and days when everyone had time for a yarn. In pride of place in the town centre is a bronze statue of the 'Cunnamulla Fella' immortalising the larrikin in all Australians, he sits on his swag enjoying the moment. You’ll enjoy a lovely lunch today (included) in Cunnamulla at the Club Boutique Hotel and meet up with a local from Out The Back for a guided tour of this town.

Then we continue our adventure to Thargomindah. Dinner at our Motel tonight. (B)(L)(D)

Oasis Motel Thargomindah. (07) 4655 3155

Day Three. Thursday 23rd May.

After another hearty breakfast at our Hotel in “Thargo”, you’ll be treated to a guided tour of the area including a look at the old hydro plant and (time permitting) Leahy Historic House. Leahy Historic House was built in 1885 by John Leahy from local mud bricks. In 1912 well- known pastoralist Sidney Kidman bought the house for his travelling manager. Today the house is owned by the historical society and open for the public, It is worth a visit to see the memorabilia. Thargomindah's main claim to fame is that it was the first town in Australia, and next to London and Paris, the third in the world, with electrical street lights generated by hydro power. It must be a special place that is mentioned with Paris and London in one sentence! In the late 19th century the town was a Cobb & Co. station. From here coaches serviced settlements like Hungerford, Wompah and Toompine. You can still see the stone crossing in the Bulloo River.

Then a visit to the historic for a welcome beer and lunch (included) and maybe we’ll be lucky enough to see a plane outside the pub! The historic Noccundra Hotel was established in 1882 and is still licensed. This hotel is the only occupied building in the town and is well worth a visit. It is also the site of a memorial to the ill-fated Hume expedition, the explorer having died of thirst west of the present town while searching for survivors of the lost Leichhardt expedition. We’ll overnight in Tibooburra and Dinner will be at our Hotel tonight. (B)(L)(D)

Granites Motel Tibooburra (08) 8091 3305

Day Four. Friday 24th May. Tibooburra is the gateway to the with rolling red sand dunes and part of Corner Country in north-western where three state boundaries meet. (New South Wales, and ). We’ll tour Tibooburra today and visit The Family Hotel, where paintings by Australian artists such as Russell Drysdale and Clifton Pugh adorn the walls. After rain, the country around Tibooburra bursts into life with wildflowers blooming in vast numbers across the plains. Named after explorer Charles Sturt, who passed through Tibooburra in 1845, Sturt National Park is close to town and covers 344,000 hectares, making it one of NSW's largest nature conservation reserves. We’ll have lunch today at the Cameron’s Corner Store. Cameron Corner was surveyed in 1880 by James Cameron. It is one of the most remote locations in Outback New South Wales.

The Dog Fence ( FENCE) stretches through the remote, isolated country of the Australian outback. It divides the cattle grazing districts on the northern side from sheep grazing districts on the southern side. It borders the grazing properties into New South Wales where it takes in the Paroo River, then it goes north and east across Queensland to the . The Dog Fence is maintained today, to keep the dingo, Australia’s wild native dog, from killing grazing animals, mainly sheep. Dinner at our Hotel again tonight. (B) (L) (D) Granites Motel Tibooburra (08) 8091 3477 Day Five. Saturday 25th May

We leave Tibooburra after breakfast and head to the Underground town of White Cliffs, an opal-mining town in which residents mainly live underground to escape the heat. It's 98 km from Wilcannia in Outback NSW and set in a bizarre moonscape-like landscape comprising thousands of hillocks of earth dug and discarded in the quest for opals. When visiting the White Cliffs area, we’ll stay in unique cave accommodation for an authentic outback experience.

A local will guide us through this interesting town which has a last-frontier kind of appeal. Locals have many stories to tell of wealth won and lost. The miners work, live and breathe their unconventional underground existence. Opals were discovered in the White Cliffs area as early as 1884. The town's first store and hotel opened in 1892, and miners soon arrived to dig their fortunes out of the ground. Make sure you buy an opal keepsake from one of the world's most unusual towns. Dinner at our underground Motel tonight. (B) (D) White Cliffs Underground Motel (08) 8091 6677 Day Six. Sunday 26th May.

After another scrumptious breakfast, we’ll head to Wilcannia which was the third largest inland port in the country during the great river boat era of the mid-19th century. There are some beautiful stone buildings in Wilcannia, built in the 1800’s and we’ll see many of them during our drive around the town.

Then we’re off to Broken Hill – truly a living Museum. 'The Silver City', as it is sometimes called, is and always has been inextricably associated with the silver, lead and zinc mining. Many of the streets are named after metals, minerals and compounds, or after mine managers, leading citizens and civic leaders. The town is also the centre of the 16-million hectare West Darling pastoral industry which has 1.75 million wool-producing merino sheep, protected by a 600-km dog-proof fence. Broken Hill is literally an oasis in the desert, a place of green parks and gardens. It can get very hot in summer but it is rare for the daily maximum to exceed 38° C for more than 8 or 9 days a year. We’ll have an early lunch Broken Hill before visiting the Living Dessert and Sculptures.

The Sculptures comprise 12 sandstone artworks which highlight the skyline, all with a story to tell. Located on a majestic hilltop within the centre of the reserve, the sculptures were completed in 1993 by artists from around the world.

The Flora and Fauna Sanctuary comprises an area of 180 hectares bordered by an electric predator-proof fence. This sanctuary has been planned and designed carefully to provide visitors with a unique insight into flora, fauna and Aboriginal culture of western New South Wales. This is truly a sanctuary with a difference; the one and a half kilometre cultural trail within the sanctuary takes you on a journey through the Arboretum and Sturt Pea Wildflower display, Aboriginal attractions display past culture and recent contemporary story pole artwork.

Dinner at our motel tonight. (B) (D) Hilltop Hotel Broken Hill (08) 8088 2999

Day Seven. Monday 27th May.

After brekky, we’ll discover more of Broken Hill.

You’ll love the Silver City Mint and Art Gallery where we can watch a local silversmith smelt, cast and manufacture local silver jewelry, which is available for purchase. You’ll also see “The Big Picture” . Many artists can be paralyzed by that moment when they stare at a blank canvas - imagine the overwhelming feeling of facing a blank canvas measuring almost 100 metres long & 12 metres at its highest point! Ando had a vision & was able to take that first brush stroke and a million more to finish the 100,000 saltbush, 20,000 trees, 20,000 small stones, 1000 large stones, 3000 clouds, 1500 hills and the 12 sculptures which comprise The Big Picture, the World's Largest Acrylic Painting on Canvas by a single artist. Opened to the public in 2001, Ando's Big Picture quickly became Broken Hill's number one tourist attraction! All those who have seen it understand why, because they have experienced the sensation of 'walking into a painting' while having the impression of being in the actual Outback.

Ando, born in Broken Hill, has an incredible portfolio of work that reflects his style of 'ando realism' - an amazing feel for composition, perception, reflection, depth, shadow & light. The viewer wants to walk into the landscape or touch the feathers of each bird. An incredible feat for an artist who has never had an art lesson in his life! A picture may say a thousand words, but Ando's paintings will leave you speechless!

Then we’ll drive to Mildura on the through towns like Wentworth where the Darling meets the Murray.

Dinner at our Hotel tonight. (B)(D) Comfort Inn Deakin Palms – Mildura (03) 5023 0218 Day Eight. Tuesday 28th May. Today we’ll enjoy a full day touring Mungo National Park. You can expect to see a variety of wildlife including lizards, birds of prey and parrots, including the Major Mitchell Cockatoo. Our guide will lead you on a fascinating walk onto the Walls of China, an area restricted to public access, where you will see ancient Aboriginal fireplaces, fossil remains and shell middens among many other wonders. The walk is approximately two kilometres return and is rated very easy. Here our guide will also explain the history of the Lake.

The Walls of China walk is a very easy slow & relaxed walk - we will walk at your pace. Our guide will lead you to the most scenic part of the walls where you can expect to see Eagles, Hawks, a variety of Lizards. This tour also includes a visit to the Zanci underground pantry. Morning tea and lunch is included on this full day tour. Dinner at our Motel tonight. (B)(L)(D)

Comfort Inn Deakin Palms – Mildura (03) 5023 0218 Day Nine. Wednesday 29th May. Sadly, this is our last breakfast together. How hard will it be to go back to tea and toast!! After brekky we’ll have a last look at the lovely town of Mildura, a popular tourist destination and a bustling regional city in an area well noted for its warm and stable weather. It features wide, tree-lined streets and is surrounded by vast numbers of wineries and fruit growing farms.

We’ll also visit salt, produced from ancient saline waters sourced from underground aquifers found in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin region. Prized for its champagne apricot colour and delicate flaky texture, Murray River Salt is the ultimate finishing salt as the delicate crystals melt quickly and evenly. Then Peter will take you to the airport for your flight home to the Sunshine Coast (via Melbourne). Here a representative of Sinclair Tour and Travel will greet you at the luggage carousel and take you back to your home. We do hope you enjoyed your tour with Sinclair Tour and Travel. Please tell your friends. That’s how our business grows. We look forward to travelling with you again really soon. (B)

INCLUDED IN TOUR

❖ Air conditioned bus fitted with coach seats for your comfort. ❖ Door to door airport transfers. ❖ Air travel from Mildura to the Sunshine Coast. ❖ Motel accommodation on a twin share basis. ❖ Breakfast (B), Lunch (L) and Dinner (D) as indicated. ❖ All entries as listed. ❖ Morning Teas. ❖ Name badge, luggage labels, water bottle & travel bag.

GENERAL INFORMATION

BOOKINGS Please phone 5494 5083 for bookings. A Tour Booking Form will be sent to you for completion and return with a deposit of $500.00 per person within 7 days to secure your booking. BALANCE PAYMENT Balance of payment is to be received at least 60 days prior to Tour Departure Date. For Tour Bookings made within 60 days of Tour Departure Date, full payment is required on booking. CHANGES TO ITINERARY Sinclair Tour and Travel reserves the right to alter any itinerary due to unforeseen circumstances beyond its control and to cancel any tour due to insufficient bookings. A full refund of fare will be made if tour is cancelled by Sinclair Tour and Travel CANCELLATION FEES

Number of days notice given Fee payable More than 60 days Nil 30 – 59 days 50% of tour Price. 15 – 30 days 75% of Tour Price 8 - 14 days 100% of Tour Price Less than 8 days 100% of Tour Price Day of Departure or during tour 100% of Tour Price

In addition to the above fee any moneys paid in respect of bookings with other tour operators, airfares, attractions, etc. on your behalf and which cannot be recouped will also be payable. A $50 administration fee (per person) will be charged on ALL cancellations regardless of the number of days’ notice given.

To cover cancellations due to illness or for loss of baggage we strongly encourage passengers to have travel insurance. We can arrange Travel insurance for you as we now sell Covermore Travel Insurance. Phone us today 5494 5083 for a brochure. Prices are very reasonable.