Itinerary: Broken Hill to Mildura including Outback National Parks and Opal Fields

Please Note:  From 1 April 2005 on Day 1, instead of Mutawintji National Park you will now be able to visit to 

Day 1 (Thursday/Sunday) Broken Hill - Outback Sheep Station - White Cliffs Opal Field (L/D).  
Leaving Broken Hill, travel north for 120 kilometres to a working outback sheep station.  This family owned property is unique as it incorporates a private natural sanctuary for fauna and flora as well as an abundance of Aboriginal rock art.  Your guide will show you some wonderful things, including plenty of wildlife like big red kangaroos, emus, eagles and much more.  Next  look for a nice place to have lunch, before continuing the journey on remote station roads, through ever changing countryside, to the remote White Cliffs Opal Field.  Dinner and accommodation will be in the famous underground Motel - a very unique experience!

Day 2  White Cliffs Opal Field (B/L/D).   
After breakfast in the dining room, tour around the White Cliffs Opal Field. You will have the opportunity to learn how this unique community lives, visit underground houses, purchase some of the local opal products, maybe even inspect an opal mine. See the Old Field where over 50,000 holes have been dug since the beginning of last century.  Return to Broken Hill for dinner and overnight at the first class Royal Exchange Hotel. 

Day 3 Menindee (B/L/D).    Leave Broken Hill and travel to Kinchega National Park, taking the scenic river drive along the mighty Darling where native bird and animal life abounds among the spectacular river red gums. After lunch  visit Menindee, the last stop for Burke and Wills on their fateful journey north. Menindee has a water area seven times greater than Sydney Harbour; a real oasis and haven for wildlife. Dinner and overnight in Menindee at the Burke and Wills Motel.

Day 4 Mungo National Park - Mildura (B/L).  
Leaving Menindee, cross the mighty Darling River, heading downstream to the idyllic old river port town of Pooncarie. 
Continue through isolated sheep stations until you reach Mungo National Park, a World Heritage Area. Significant archaeological discoveries have been made here. You will enjoy a nice lunch in a peaceful setting, before starting to explore this spectacular region, with highlights such as The Walls of China, carved out of the ancient lake's shores through thousands of years of erosion. Pictured here (© Bill Lawrence) are the remarkable remains of a fossilized animal skeleton with its paw protruding from the sandstone, still bearing recognizable fur.  
Leaving Mungo you eventually cross the state border into Victoria and travel on to Mildura, your point of departure. Mildura is a pleasant, modern town with wide, spacious streets and is the capital of the vast Riverina fruit growing region. 
(Or return to Broken Hill  the next day to make this a 4 night/5 day trip - see Price Panel.)