The Great Australian Loop 2019 Generous discounts apply for multiple sector bookings. Please contact us to discuss these options. If you book early– Airfares may be cheaper. Your discount on multiple sectors may pay for your airfares! Sector 1: Dubbo ~ Alice Springs Including, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Marla. Erldunda, Yulara, Uluru Sunset Tour, Aussie BBQ under the stars at Uluru, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs Sector 2: Alice Springs ~ Darwin Including, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin Sector 3: Darwin ~ Broome Including, Darwin, Katherine, Lake Argyle, Kununurra, Argyle Diamond Mine, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale, Geikie Gorge, Broome. Sector 4: Broome ~ Perth Including, Port Headland, Tom Price, Karijini National Park, Karratha, Exmouth, Coral Bay, Carnarvon, Hamelin Pool, Denham, Monkey Mia, Kalbarri, Jungle Bird Park, Geraldton, Cervantes, Perth. Sector 5: Perth ~ Dubbo Including, Perth, Rottnest Island, Fremantle, Busselton, Pemberton, Valley of the Giants, Albany, Esperance, Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Boulder, Balladonia, Eucla, Nullarbor, Ceduna, Port Pirie, Mildura, Narrandera, Dubbo. We look forward to welcoming you aboard this trip of a lifetime! *Itinerary correct at time of printing. May be subject to change for any unforeseen circumstances. Sector 1: Dubbo ~ Alice Springs Sunday 28th July ~ Tuesday 6th August 2019 $4500 per person twin share $4990 single supplement Deposit: $200 per person required on booking Final Payment: Friday 28th June 2019 Day 1: Sunday 28 July 2019 D in 1947. This area includes the Nurrungar Test Area and Dubbo ~ Broken Hill is described by the RAAF as the largest land-based test An early start is a good start! We depart this morning as range in the western world. This complex is a major we head off on our adventure of Australia. Travelling Australian military and civil aerospace facility located along the Mitchell and Barrier Highways, we see the in South Australia. It is operated by the Royal Australian vast and diverse outback landscape. We travel Air Force (RAAF), a division of the Australian Defence through the iconic town of Cobar and its mining Force. The complex includes both the land area, and centre, then on through the MacCullochs Ranges, to the airspace that is restricted and controlled by the the one time large inland port on the Darling River, RAAF for safety and security reasons. The WRC is a Wilcannia, and then onto Broken Hill for our overnight highly specialised ADF test and evaluation capability accommodation. operated by the RAAF for the purpose of testing war material. Here you will have time to visit the museum Day 2: Monday 29 July 2019 BD and do a spot of shopping if you wish – get some Broken Hill ~ Port Augusta souvenirs for the grandkids! Next up, we move on to After breakfast, we take a brief drive around Broken Coober Pedy, South Australia's Opal Centre. Coober Hill, on our way to the South Australian Border. Pedy was originally known as the Stuart Range Opal Continuing on through the little villages of Cockburn, Field, named after John McDouall Stuart who, in 1858 Mingary, Olary, Manna Hill and through Yunta to was the first European explorer to visit the area. In 1920, Peterborough. Today's lunch stop is a little different, at a new name was needed so a post office could be a converted country cinema, which now houses a established, Stuart Range being unsuitable owing to small museum, filled with local historic treasures (lunch the similarity to Stewart Range in Western Australia. At own expense) before visiting the Steamtown Heritage a Progress Committee meeting, the opal miners chose Rail Centre. We continue on through Orroroo, which Coober Pedy, an Aboriginal term meaning 'white man has fantastic steel sculptures in the main street. We in a hole'. Tonight we venture underground for our head further west through Horrocks Pass and into Port accommodation. (Please let us know if you would Augusta at the top of Spencer Gulf where our prefer a room above ground at time of booking- rooms accommodation will be for the night. may be limited) Day 4: Wednesday 31 July 2019 BD Coober Pedy ~ Erldunda We are Northern Territory bound today, but first we make a stop to the Catacomb Church in Coober Pedy. Originally built in 1977, this unique church is cut out of the sandstone in the shape of a cross, and is adorned in a simple and natural way, which is befitting to the outback opal fields. The Cross, lectern and communion table are all fashioned from local mulga wood and an old miner's winch. Leaving Coober Pedy, we pass through Cadney Homestead and Marla. Marla is where the Oodnadatta Track meets up with Day 3: Tuesday 30 July 2019 BD the Stuart Highway, and also has the famous Ghan Port Augusta ~ Coober Pedy Train pass through twice a week. Crossing over the After breakfast this morning, we head towards South Australian/Northern Territory border, we pass Australia's Heart, travelling north along the Stuart Kulgera Road House and onto Erldunda for our Highway, passing a number of dry salt lakes, some of overnight stop. which have been used to set land speed records, and on to the locality of Pimba, where we turn off to the old Woomera Rocket range. Now known as the Woomera Range Complex, this ground space is known as the Woomera Prohibited Area and measures 122,188 square km's, and was first declared a prohibited area is preserved in the vintage buildings and equipment at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve. We arrive late afternoon for some free time before dinner at tonight's accommodation. Day 9: Monday 5 August 2019 BD Alice Springs This morning we visit a few of the local attractions Alice Springs has to offer. First up we head to the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve, which marks the original site of the first European settlement in Alice Springs. Established in 1871 to relay messages between Darwin and Adelaide and also linking with an underwater cable network to London. Consequently Day 5: Thursday 1 August 2019 BD Erldunda ~ Yulara creating the first real communication between Today we join the Lasseter Highway travelling through Australia and England. Next we are off to the Royal Mt Ebenezer and Curtin Springs. Keep a look out for Mt Flying Doctor Service Tourist Facility. In the early 1970's, Conner, or as the locals sometimes call it 'Fool-uru' as the tourist facility was built and opened in order to tell tourists often mistake it for Uluru. Mt Conner stands 300 the history of John Flynn, the RFDS and the experience meters high, and is a distinctive flat-topped sandstone of the early outback pioneers to visitors. This structure capped sand and rock mountain. This horseshoe- was located behind the original communications and shaped inselberg is one of the most distinctive formations in the region. We arrive in Yulara for an residential building. The vision for the original Tourist early lunch. This afternoon, why not take the Facility was to raise awareness and education of the opportunity to enjoy an optional (own expense) scenic public regarding the services of the RFDS and to raise flight over Uluru, where you can get a sense of its much needed funds to maintain the important aero- enormity and see the fissures and crevices worn into its medical service in the remote regions of outback ancient surface. An incredible sight to see from any Australia. This afternoon, we visit the Alice Springs angle, but Uluru from the air is unforgettable. Desert Park. As distinctive as the Australian desert itself, Day 6: Friday 2 August 2019 BD this truly unique experience will captivate, educate Yulara and astonish you by the life and beauty you discover This morning is an extra early morning for us. Get ready while here. Opened in 1997, the park covers 1,300 to tick some major things off the bucket list. Begin the hectares of land, with a core area of 54 hectares. The day by sitting back while we travel to Uluru-Kata Tjuta park presents and interprets the Australian desert National Park. You will then be amazed when we environment and its inhabitants while contributing to reach Talingguru Nyakunytjaku- which is the Uluru sunrise viewing area. The platform offers an incredible the conservation of Australia's desert flora and fauna. view through the dunes and stunning desert This afternoon you also have a few optional extras landscape, watch as the first rays of the sun set the (own expense) you might like to partake in, including Red Centre alight. We then head to Walpa Gorge, a the Road Transport Hall of Fame and – for the lush haven for plants and animals. We are led on a adventurous few - a wonderful opportunity to go on a walk through the gorge hearing lots of stories of local Camel Ride. Tonight, dinner will be served at our flora and fauna, and the geology of this amazing accommodation. formation. This afternoon, we join a tour around the base of Uluru visiting sacred sites. We enjoy the stunning sunset at Uluru before joining the Aussie BBQ under the stars for dinner. Day 7: Saturday 3 August 2019 BD Yulara ~ Kings Canyon Departing Yulara, we head back through Curtin Springs, and on into Kings Canyon, the walls of which are over 100 metres high, with Kings Creek at the bottom. The canyon abounds with waterholes and casts a sheltering shadow over dense palm forests and native animals from the harsh desert surround lending to an interesting array of flora and fauna. Tonight our accommodation is at Kings Canyon. Day 8: Sunday 4 August 2019 BD Kings Canyon ~ Alice Springs After breakfast this morning we head to Alice Springs, which sits halfway between Darwin and Adelaide, both 1,500km away.