Outback Adventure Tour

The Corner Country Explorer Tour has a focus on Aboriginal culture, history, nature and outback landscapes. Along the way we be more active with hiking, a river cruise or canoeing (optional). There will be historic towns, monuments and pubs to explore. If you are lucky you might unearth a dinosaur fossil, gemstone, or nugget of gold. We will look for kangaroos, emus and the majestic wedge tail eagle. Or just sit back, relax and dissolve yourself into those big outback Australian horizons.

Everywhere you travel you will experience great hospitality at Outback Beds locations. Stay with the people that live and work in the Outback, enjoy home cooked meals and view sunsets that are larger than life. Stay in unique accommodation ranging from luxurious house boats to oasis-like homesteads, historic buildings, or renovated farm worker’s quarters. You can even sleep outside under the stars in front of a camp fire.

Like all our tours you can extend this tour to travel at a slower pace, spend more time doing the things that interested you, or visit somewhere you have always wanted to go.

Look for our suggested tour extensions at the end of the tour itinerary page.

FACTS

Where: Broken Hill, Bourke, Thargomindah, Quilpie, Tibooburra

When: On demand.

Duration: 9 days and 8 nights.

Tour Size: Up to 7 plus tour leader.

Fitness Level: Reasonable level of fitness required. Some hiking and travel over rough roads.

Best Season: Mid autumn through to mid spring.

Note

This tour can also depart from Adelaide or Mildura and conclude at these cities (add an extra day and night and additional cost). We will travel from Adelaide or Mildura after lunch the day before the itinerary starts. Some days cover long distances. This tour can be extended to incorporate rest days or shorter travel distances.

Starting at the national heritage listed city of Broken Hill this iconic route takes you on a true outback adventure. You will drive through historic towns and villages and detour into fascinating national parks. You will be really embracing the spirit of adventure by going to places that few people have travelled or explored. Get in touch with Indigenous culture and marvel at how and why European settlement came this far out a century and a half ago.

Day 1

BROKEN HILL

Depart at 10 am for a day of exploring the highlights of this intriguing heritage listed city. We will pick the itinerary on the day but it may include exploring Day Dream Mine (an old silver mine set in a fabulous landscape); a visit to Silverton and a walk the heritage trail to enjoy unparalleled views as far as the Flinders Ranges; the Living Desert and Sculpture Symposium, the Regional Art Gallery; or the Geocentre to learn about Broken Hill’s rich mining heritage.

Lunch at the Silverton pub (the hotel featured on many beer commercials that are set in the outback) and the evening will be back at Broken Hill at the beautifully restored Imperial Hotel.

Day 1

Day 2

BROKEN HILL TO PACKSADDLE

First we will travel to Mutawintji National Park and take a Mutawintji Heritage Tour operated by the Mutawintji Local Aboriginal Land Council. A local Aboriginal guide will share with you the Dreamtime stories, cultural values, cultural heritage, history, and beautiful scenery of the Bynguano Ranges. The Aboriginal guide will take you into the restricted sacred historic site which has ochre hand stencils and rock engravings. If we have time, and the energy, we can include a walk through some stunning canyons.

At the end of the day we will drive to our accommodation and dinner at Packsaddle.

Day 2

Day 3

PACKSADDLE TO TIBOOBURRA

Today will be a shorter travelling day. First stop Malparinka, now almost a ghost town it was once a buzz after gold was discovered in the 1890s. After a quick look around we will travel the short distance to Tibooburra for lunch and an easy afternoon. A visit to the Keeping Place Museum is interesting and worth a look. For 25,000 years this region was home to the Wangkumara and Maljangapa Aboriginal people, whose middens, quarries, camp, ceremonial sites and tool 'workshops' are scattered throughout the area. Later we can hike the Granites Walk or take a quick look at the nearby national park.

Dinner and accommodation will be at the Family Hotel. There is no better thing to do on a balmy evening than to sit on the terrace of the Family Hotel and watch the world go by.

The Family has become famous as the outback pub with murals on the walls. During the 1960s Australian artists Clifton Pugh, Russell Drysdale and others spent several weeks painting in the outback. Using the Family Hotel as a base, and the outback as their inspiration, they added their own style of art to the hotel walls.

Day 3

Day 4

TIBOOBURRA TO EROMANGA

As we drive to our lunch stop at the historic Noccundra Pub, we can bear in mind that the sandstone used to construct the Noccundra pub was transported by camel from Malparinka that we visited the day before. Serving beer since 1882, the heritage listed sandstone hotel is the only surviving building in the township of Noccundra. We are likely to more than double the town’s population of 3.

Our next stop Eromanga is the most inland town in Australia. No other town is further from the coast. We will visit the Eromanga Natural History Museum home to Australia’s largest dinosaur ‘Cooper’. Cooper is a Titanosaur that grew to 30 metres long and 6.5 metres high. Enjoy the acclaimed Australian Dinosaur Giants Tour and learn to prep real fossilised dinosaur bones.

Our night tonight will be spent either at the dinosaur complex’s new accommodation or at Moble Homestead near Quilpie.

Day 4

Day 5

MOBLE HOMESTEAD

Welcome to Moble Homestead, the home of fourth generation pastoralists, Brian and Kylie Rutledge. Moble affords a range of landscapes to inspire the artist and the bird watcher, including serene waterholes along its many creek systems and the rugged beauty of the Grey Range. The Rutledge family are proud wool producers and keen environmentalists, passionate about their country and its sustainability.

Today is a rest day. We will spend a day relaxing in the beautiful gardens of Moble. Towards evening we will hike to the summit of the Grey Range for sweeping views over the country side and enjoy sundowners on the ridge and watch the colours change across the country as the sun sets.

Day 5

Day 6

QUILPIE TO THARGOMINDAH

After breakfast we will head down to Kilcowera Station passing through Toompine (the pub without a town) and Thargomindah. At Kilcowera we will join owners Toni and Greg on a personalised farm tour. Kilcoweras' eastern boundary is shared with Currawinya National Park. Greg and Toni have exclusive access to the western side of the 3000 hectare, saline, Lake Wyara. Explore the many gorges, small caves, creeks and waterholes that you will find on your way. Do a little bird watching and wildlife spotting while having lunch or smoko by a peaceful waterhole. If we are arriving on the right day we can join Toni or Greg on their weekly Zenonie Station water run. You will be checking the stock, the fences, the troughs, the level of the water in the tanks and keeping an eye out for anything unusual such as dingo tracks. If you want to know more about station life this is the way to learn what goes on all year around.

We will spend the night at Kilcowera Station with Toni and Greg. Kilcowera Station is a large organically run cattle property 1200 kilometres west of Brisbane on the Dowling Track.

Day 6

Day 7

THARGOMINDAH TO BOURKE

Driving from Kilcowera to Bourke we have to stop at the Royal Mail Hotel in Hungerford to open the gate through The Wild Dog Barrier Fence (or Dingo Fence) and pass between Queensland and New South Wales states. Hungerford has more memories than action but it is part of a world forgotten as transport links rapidly improve. The Dingo Fence was constructed as a means of controlling rabbit infestations in the 1880’s and later it was aimed at controlling the movement of dingoes, wild dogs and rabbits. Until 1980, the fence was 8,614 km long, but was then shortened to 5,614 km.

We will take a break from diving with a picnic lunch and stretch our legs on the paddle boat PV Jandra on a short cruise on the Darling River before heading to the Back O’ Bourke Exhibition Centre. The Centre gives the visitor a window to the past lives of those that lived, worked and played at the Back O' Bourke. The Centre is also the starting point for our Bourke Aboriginal Cultural Tour which will involve a leisurely walk along the Darling River with Aboriginal brothers Jason and Joseph Dixon. In the cooler months there is also an entertaining stockman style show with horses, working dogs and sheep.

The night will be spent with Bill and Denise at Food and Huts by Mt Oxley. Rising from a perfectly flat landscape, Mt Oxley has outstanding 360 degree views, and showcases the abundance of wildlife, including Wedge-Tailed Eagles and Euros who inhabit the mountain. Photographers, birdwatchers and bushwalkers all enjoy Mt Oxley. We will BBQ taking in the sunset and views at the top of the Mt Oxley. Denise and Bill refer to their rustic accommodation as "Authentic Shearer's Hut ... with a bit of sprucing up."

Day 7

Day 8

BOURKE TO LOUTH

Leaving Bourke we head for Gundabooka National Park and hike in the ancient Aboriginal Rock art caves. The park, featuring woodlands, floodplains, sandhills and the rugged Mount Gunderbooka that rises 500m above the park, is of great significance to the local Ngemba Aboriginal people.

Lunch is at Shindy’s Inn Louth on the banks of the Darling River before we travel on to Trilby Station. Staying with Liz and Garry Murray on their historic 6th generation, 320,000 acre sheep and goat station on the banks of the Darling River is described by many as their ultimate Outback NSW experience. Liz and Gary have raised their four children at Trilby, are passionate about their outback way of life and enjoy sharing their experiences and lifestyle with visitors to the station. Recapture the spirit of the wide, open spaces as we take a peek at the station with their 'mud map' tours, or totally relax on the riverbank under the shade of the massive river red gums or paddle a canoe on this great river.

Day 8

Day 9

LOUTH TO BROKEN HILL

About 70km downstream from Trilby Station, is the small village of Tilpa. Originally a busy port servicing the river trade and local agriculture. Tilpa served as a river crossing for stock and a port for the wool clip being transported down to Adelaide. Quirky?

Tilpa has the shortest heritage trail in Australia comprising just two signs on either side of the main road and the Tilpa cemetery is the only one in Australia with no one in it! Tilpa is famous for its classic outback pub. Lunch is at the pub after which we drive on to Broken Hill and the completion of the tour.

Day 9

WANT TO EXTEND YOUR STAY IN THE OUTBACK?

WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND ADDING AT LEAST ONE OF THESE GREAT OPTIONS:

Want to travel at a slower pace? incorporate a rest day? or spend more days doing your favourite activities? or perhaps shorter days involving less driving? Here are some suggestions but there are endless opportunities. Lets us know your timeframes and interests and we can design a tour just for you.

Additional 2 days (1 night)

Continue travelling down the Darling River to Menindee and then back to Broken Hill.

A stay at Nelia Gaari gives you the opportunity to sleep under the stars in a swag in front of a campfire (alternate indoor accommodation is also available).
The following morning travel on to Menindee which is home to incredible bird life at the Menindee Lakes. Take a Lake Cruise for bird watching. Picnic lunch will be at Kinchega National Park including a visit to the historic wool shed. before travelling on to Broken Hill.

Additional 3 days (2 nights)

(See our Food and Wine Tour for more details).

Leaving Trilby Station we will travel on to Nelia Gaari for a night where you can sleep under the stars in a swag in front of a fire (or in cottages). Early next morning we will travel for the World Heritage Willandra Lakes and visit Mungo National Park stopping on the way at Pooncarie for lunch at the old wharf on the Darling River. At Mungo we will walk with an experienced National Parks Aboriginal Discovery guide back in time on the famous Walls of China. These sites have immense cultural significance. You’ll be welcomed to Country and learn about the 40,000-plus years of Aboriginal cultural history of Lake Mungo and the Traditional Owners. You’ll also hear about about the Willandra Lakes. The night will be at beautiful Lake Paika.