Day 1 Brisbane, Queensland

Day 2 Archerfield, Brisbane
Transfer for the day to Archerfield to meet your plane and our crew. A CFI will be on hand to perform the check rides, sign off for your Australian licensing, and conduct the tour briefing. Afterward, enjoy a tour around the region and a “welcome” dinner with your travel companions.

Day 3 Hunter Valley, NSW
Start our nearly 400 mile trek south to Cessnock, NSW.  On the way, enjoy the view of the beautiful white beaches along the Gold Coast, the length of the Gibraltar Ranges and the scattered National Parks that dot the countryside.  Enjoy a glass of wine from the hotel and rest up for tomorrow.  

Day 4 Hunter Valley
After breakfast, enjoy a regional trip around the Hunter Valley.  Described as “a day to remember” this tour takes you to the smaller boutique style wineries located in the Hunter Valley.  Meet with the vineyard owners and learn first hand how the grapes are grown, crushed and later bottled.  A visit to the local cheese and chocolate factories as well as an olive grove are scheduled for the morning.  Not a wine person?  No problem.  Alternate tours are available.

Day 5 Dubbo, NSW
The Western Plains Zoo, a 300 hectare (741 ace), open range zoo contains more than 1000 native and exotic animals which are separated from its human visitors by moats and ditches instead of huge electric fences.  Should you wish to skip the zoo, spend the day wandering around the city or learning to throw a boomerang.

Day 6 Broken Hill, NSW
Broken Hill is often called “The Silver City” as it holds the largest known silver, lead and zinc lodes in the world.  Tour an underground silver mine, and have your photo taken by the 375 mile fence known as the “Dingo Fence.”

Day 7 Coober Pedy
Welcome to the opal mining capital of Australia.  Our accommodation tonight is entirely different than anywhere you have probably ever slept before. The Desert Cave Hotel is the World’s only underground international hotel.  Visit a working opal mine and try your luck in the “noodling” pile.

Day 8 Yulara (Uluru/Ayers Rock)
Touch down in Yulara  early enough in the day to see Uluru as an orange-red mound. Tours are available to see the Rock close up or you can snap a shot as we fly over.  Dinner tonight is at sunset, with Uluru as your backdrop.

Day 9 Alice Springs
Land in the town lovingly called “The Alice” by locals. Transfer to the hotel and relax by the pool, the bar, or explore on your own. In the evening, the award winning “Spirit of the Night Sky” tour will take you on a journey through space and give you a new perspective on our place in the universe. The craters of the moon, rings of Saturn and neighboring galaxies will all be visible through high powered telescopes. With the isolation of Outback Australia, the star shows at night are so clear that it’s common to see the passing satellites.

Day 10 Birdsville
Located over 1600 km west of Brisbane in the vast Diamantina Shire, Birdsville sits on the edge of the Simpson Desert and operates like some kind of mysterious magnet to people who want to go to the most isolated place on the continent. A tiny settlement consisting of a pub and a few houses, Birdsville will give us an evening to recharge and meet a few of the locals.

Day 11 Charleville
Charleville is the Southern Queensland base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service as well as the School of Distance Education, (formerly called the School of the Air).  On the outskirts of town, is a 12 foot tall gun known as the Steiger Gun.  There is also a repopulation sanctuary for an animal once thought to be extinct in Australia, the Bilby.  If you missed the observatory in Alice Springs tonight you have another chance.

Day 12, 13 Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay has often been called the jewel in Queensland’s crown. It is also referred to as the Whale Watch Capital of the World. Hervey Bay offers a colorful concentration of lifestyles and its waters are home to turtles, dolphins and dugongs as well as humpback whales.  We will once again be in one spot for a day and a half.  Enjoy the afternoon wandering around the town and meeting the locals.  In the morning, a trip to the World Heritage listed Fraser Island is scheduled.  The rainbow sands will amaze you.

Day 14 Brisbane
It is only a short hop from Hervey Bay to Archerfield, but the flight follows the beautiful coastline from the Sunshine Coast all the way to Brisbane.  Despite the tour being officially over once we land, Australian Air Safaris would be happy to assist in arranging activities for you for the day. Transportation back to the hotel is already organized.