Day 1: Lilydale - White Cliffs - Windorah

Early departure from Lilydale to have lunch and a tour of this unusual town where the locals live for the thrill of discovering opals. The tour includes a visit to the solar power station, going underground in a mine before an afternoon flight to 80 person town of Windorah. Windorah was established in the 1880s when a bullock team carting supplies became hopelessly bogged in Coopers Creek. People needing supplies travelled there to get them, and the shanty town was eventually named Windorah - aborginal name for "place of large fish".

Day 2: Windorah - Mount Isa - Adel's Grove

Day 3: Adel's Grove - Lawn Hill Gorge - Sweer's Island

After spending the morning on a guided tour the Lawn Hill Gorge National Park park, we fly across to Sweer's Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Sweers Island is one of those very special places which operates at a very different pace of life. It has miles of golden beaches, blue waters, a wealth of history, and a huge variety of bird life. Although it is a fisherman's paradise, it offers enjoyment for everyone including bush walking, bird watching and swimming off the pristine beaches.

Right - About as busy as it ever gets on the Sweers Island beach!

Sweer's History: Sweers Island has an amazing history. The first European to sight the island was probably Abel Tasman in 1644, who thought the island was a headland and named the channel between Sweers and Bentinck: “Maet Suykers River” .
When Mathew Flinders sighted the island in 1802, he found that no river existed so he named the island “Sweers Island” after another member of the Council. Flinders spent almost a fortnight here reparing his leaky ship, collecting plant specimans and taking on provisions. The next visitor was Stokes in Charles Darwin's ship, “Beagle”, in 1841. He also dug a well which is still in use by the resort to this day.
Right - The first man to circumnavigate Australia, Mathew Flinders.

After refuelling at Burketown, we fly to Undara to see the famous lava tubes. We spend the afternoon settling in to the luxurious Lava Lodge before going on short bushwalks to see some of the wildlife that abounds in the area. Undara is a photographer's dream with spectacular sunrises and sunsets, majestic natural scenery, and over 120 species of birds to delight bird-watchers. We spend the next day on a full-day tour of the caves which provide a moist, rich environment where rainforest plants and animals now thrive.

About Undara: The Lava Tubes were formed some 190,000 years ago when a major volcano erupted and its molten lava flowing down a dry river bed. As the top layer quickly cooled and crusted, the fiery magma below continued to flow through the tubes. As the eruption slowed and then stopped, the lava drained out of the tubes leaving a series of long, hollow tunnels. One of the lava flows from Undara extends 160 kilometres (or 100 miles) making it the longest lava flow from a single volcano on our planet.

Above - In sections the roof of the Lava Tubes has collapsed

A morning flight takes us to the gold-mining town of Charters Towers, which was once the second largest city in Queensland. Prospectors flooded into the area when gold was discovered in 1871 but by 1899 the field had peaked with over 6,000,000 ounces of gold found. Today there is little mining but this attractive town still boasts a large number of beautiful and historic building including its very own Stock Exchange. We will see the new "Ghosts of Gold” interactive audio-visual show and stay in one of the fine, old hotels.
Right - The picturesque City Council building

We get going early to fly to the Carnarvon Wilderness Lodge, on the edge of Carnarvon Gorge National Park. The park is widely acknowledged to have some of the best walking tracks in Australia and are generally flat and well maintained with the exception of 'lookout' or 'high country' walks. For example, you can saunter to Baloon Cave a short 500m stroll, or take the day and visit some of the many unique side gorges.

There is an abundance of flora and fauna to see and the Wilderness Lodge will organise a packed lunch and backpack for us to take on longer excursions. Walks can be done on your own or you can take a fully guided walk with the rest of our group. You can even go on a night guided walk!

Left & above - two photos of the gorge
Below - One of the local residents

The Warrumbungles are on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, near Coonabarabran. The mountain range was originally formed by vocanoes 14 million years ago but erosion has left exotic rock formations such as, Crater Bluff, Needle Mountain, Belougery Spire, Tondurin Spire and the Breadknife. There are easy and hard walks here to suit everyone with over 160 species of birds to be seen.

We stay at the quiet country town of Coonabarabran, which is also conveniently close to Australia's largest optical telescope at the Siding Spring observatory. Built in the 1970s, it remains one of the most powerful in the southern hemisphere and is a fascinating place to visit - even for those not astronomically-minded!

On our last day, we depart early afternoon for a cruise over the NSW and Victorian countryside to return by mid afternoon.

All our flying is done in our Piper Navajo with two very experienced pilots as well as our friendly tour guide. They have all been to these places many times and know what the "must see" special attractions are.