State: Victoria
Operator: KIRKHOPE AVIATION
Minimum Price: AUD $ 0

When time is limited, travel on a charter air tour to remote outback places of Australia. All tours depart from Melbourne. Small group tours ensure personal service. If you have your own group of friends, structure the holiday to your own individual interests or time frame. Travel South & Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania ,New South Wales and of course to Pungalina Station.

Day One: Melbourne - Innamincka Depart Melbourne at 8 am. for Innamincka via Broken Hill for fuel. While at Broken Hill airport take a short tour through the interesting Royal Flying Doctor Service . departing Broken Hill at 11am the flight is 1.5 hrs to Innamincka on the Cooper Creek. After lunch in the hotel either try your hand at canoeing the Cooper or take a more leisurely cruise down the same section of river to King's memorial...one of the members of the fatal Burke and Wills expedition. The Cooper Creek is full of birdlife, small turtles and is often a refreshing place for a swim. Returning to Innamincka in the late afternoon , have a look around the restored Inland Mission then maybe a drink in the bar before dinner at the hotel. ACCOM: INNAMINCKA ....cabins, hotel or B&B Day Two: Innamincka - Birdsville - Boulia - Pungalina Departing early after breakfast, fly 1 hour to Birdsville . Here we take a tour of the Working Museum which is famous for it's collection of old / antique outback memorabilia. Then morning tea at the pub before we depart for Boulia at 11am. This is another 70 minutes flight. At Boulia we refuel and take a short tour of the local dinosaur museum. Lunch at the hotel then depart for Pungalina via Mount Isa for fuel if necessary. The total flight is 2.5 hrs which means arriving at Pungalina at 5 pm. Pungalina is an outback wilderness safari camp which is situated on a 500,000 acre property. The camp accommodates only 10 people so this is a place where you are on your own. A vehicle takes us a short drive to the camp where we can have a refreshing swim and drink once we have "booked in". Dinner is at the camp. ACCOM: PUNGALINA SAFARI CAMP www.pungalinasafaris.com.au Day Three - Six: Pungalina Pungalina is 40 kms south of the coast and just west of the NT/QLD border. At this wilderness location there are many things to do and so we tailor the activities to the groups preference. A full day can be spent driving up towards the coast , occasionally having a swim, lunch at the lily covered billabong, driving along the edge of the Calvert river and viewing the many changes in the vegetation. On the property there are many sink holes and some that are accessible. Of particular note is the limestone cave. This is very hot but well worth visiting to see the stalactites and stalagmites. A refreshing swim after this activity in the Kaarn Creek is normally necessary. For the keen fisherman, the Calvert river offers amongst other types....the Barramundi and Sooti Grunters There are a number of fishing locations and a pleasant afternoon could also be spent boating and trolling the Calvert River. This is normally an important activity as a meal cooked underground and in paper bark by Owen back at the camp is compulsory. There are many walks particularly for the keen bird watcher and often a swim is possible. It is not uncommon to see Brolgas and Jabiru as well as many smaller birds. As Pungalina has many underground springs there is often safe water to swim . In fact at the camp is a permanent spring, not very deep, but within meters of your tent, and a refreshing dip with a cool drink happens often. Canoeing the Calvert River, the Crocodile Hole and or the lagoon are three more alternatives. The first is a 3 hr trip down shallow areas of the Calvert and over areas of simple rapids and is a very pleasant trip. The second is more leisurely where small freshwater crocodiles can be seen. The third is a large permanent lagoon with many birds including sea eagles. A must to do is to drive out to the Calvert Gorge one late afternoon for sunset drinks. This is a spectacular location with towering cliffs some 200 meters high. Once again the drive over the rugged country is fascinating in itself due to the varied vegetation. Another evening would be pre dinner drinks out at the local billabong watching the birdlife gather. Pungalina borders Robinson River , which is a local Aboriginal community. It may be possible to arrange a visit of the Aborigines to show the use of bush tucker and any artefacts they may have to sell. Accommodation at Pungalina is in twin share tents on a lovely grass common. Dinner is in the open air or a special dining tent next to the bubbling stream. There is a flushing toilet and two showers with plenty of hot water. ACCOM: PUNGALINA SAFARI CAMP... twin share tents Day Seven: Pungalina - Sweers Island Late morning we depart for Sweers Island. This takes under one hour and so we arrive in time for lunch in the outside bar/dining area. We book into our cabins and then take boats out onto the sea for some exciting afternoon fishing. That night dinner is in the open air Sweers Island "bar/dinning area" which is a fabulous contrast to the previous few days. For those not keen on fishing, an alternative is to do some great beach walks and there are also some safe areas for swimming. ACCOM: SWEERS ISLAND RESORT http://www.sweers.com.au/ Day Eight: Sweers Island - Lawn Hill Gorge - Avington Station This is the start of the homeward journey south. Depart the stunning beauty of Sweers Island at about 9 am to arrive at the most spectacular gorge in the Gulf country - Lawn Hill Gorge. Sheer red cliffs, unusual green water, luxurious tropical rainforest-like vegetation, surrounded by flat barren countryside. With waterfalls, natural bubbling spas, swimming, boating, and beautiful walks, it's a great place to relax. We drive 20 minutes to the gorge then paddle canoes up the creek to a great swimming area and take a short climb to view the gorge from the escarpment. We have lunch before paddling the canoes back and then depart at about 1pm to the relaxing Avington Station. This is a 3 hour flight and so we should arrive at 4.30pm. A tour on the Barcoo river for sunset drinks or a drive around the property in your own 4 wheel buggy to view all the different vegetation and wildlife are two of the options before a great meal with outback station hospitality. ACCOM AVINGTON STATION ....homestead http://www.avington.com.au/ Day Nine: Avington Station - Noccundra - White Cliffs - Melbourne After breakfast, we depart Avington at 9am for the 100 minute flight to Noccundra. Arriving at this outback hotel we refuel the aircraft and maybe have an early morning drink at the bar. Another 75 minutes and we arrive at White Cliffs. This is an interesting Opal mining town. We have a light lunch at PJ's Underground motel at 1pm , then a brief tour of "Jock's Place" and enjoy this excentric local before departing at 3.30 pm for Melbourne arriving home at about 7pm

Notes:

Special Departure Dates: On clients application
Trip Duration: 9 days
Departs from: Melbourne
Tour Ends: Melbourne
Departure Time: 7.00 a.m
Return Time: 7.00 p.m
All Prices: On clients application