Corner Country to the Simpson Desert - 16 Days

We welcome you to your Corner Country adventure, meeting your experienced Tour Directors before a short city tour of Adelaide. Afterwards, we check in to our accommodation in leafy North Adelaide.

We leave the city behind, travelling through the Barossa Valley wine region to join the Sturt Highway, a major route spanning three states. We stop for a picnic lunch on the banks of the Murray River at Renmark, before continuing east through Mildura and on to Mungo National Park, our base for the next two nights.

Today we explore Mungo National Park, World Heritage-listed in 1981 for its rich Aboriginal heritage - remains of some of the earliest known inhabitants of the Australian continent have been found here, dated at more than 60,000 years old.We join a 2-hour Indigenous-guided tour of the Mungo Lunette, known as the Walls of China, a site of deep cultural significance, learning about more than 40,000 years of Aboriginal history and the surrounding Willandra Lakes.

Leaving Mungo, we travel through the small outback town of Pooncarie en route to Menindee, set on the Darling River and home to the vast Menindee Lakes. We continue on to the outback city of Broken Hill, known for its mining history and vibrant arts scene, our base for the next two nights.

We start the day with a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Centre, a working base showcasing one of Australia's most important outback lifelines, with a tour explaining more about this extensive aeromedical organisation.Afterwards, we explore Broken Hill's mining history at the Mining and Minerals Museum, before heading to Silverton, a quirky outpost known for its film history, including Mad Max II and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Back in town, we visit the Sulphide Street Railway Museum and wander the Living Desert Reserve, where sandstone sculptures rise from the surrounding earth.

We visit the Line of Lode Miners Memorial, perched atop a mullock heap with sweeping views over Broken Hill and a tribute to the more than 800 miners who lost their lives underground. From here, the Silver City Highway takes us north to Milparinka, a former gold rush town now home to beautifully restored buildings including the old courthouse and police barracks.We continue west to Depot Glen, a remote waterhole where explorer Charles Sturt and his party were stranded for months in 1845. By day's end, we reach Tibooburra, a true frontier town deep in the Corner Country.

We venture deep into Sturt National Park on the way to Cameron Corner, where three Australian states meet. After lunch at a local store, we cross the Strzelecki Track into South Australia and on to Innamincka, set on the banks of Cooper Creek, our base for the next two nights.

We cross into Queensland to visit the Dig Tree on the banks of Cooper Creek, where explorers Burke and Wills returned from their expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria, only to find their support party had left just nine hours earlier.Back in town, a local ranger shares more about the area's history before we visit Kings Marker and Burke's Grave. We cross the border for a second time today, back into South Australia, returning to our accommodation for sunset drinks around the fire ahead of dinner.

We farewell South Australia, turning east towards outback Queensland. Crossing Cooper Creek, we enter Channel Country, a vast network of interconnected channels and floodplains formed by rivers including the Cooper Creek, Diamantina and Georgina, part of the Lake Eyre Basin and one of the largest internal drainage systems in the world - mostly flat and arid, but transformed into wetland during floods.Passing through Eromanga, we arrive in the late afternoon at a fifth-generation, family-owned sheep and cattle station spanning 130,000 acres, our exclusive base for the next two nights. In the afternoon, we take in the outback landscape on a sunset tour of the sandhills, with cheese and drinks, before returning for dinner under the stars around the campfire.

This morning brings an insider's look at station life on a guided tour, with morning tea and a light lunch served in the shearing shed. In the afternoon, we visit the Eromanga Natural History Museum for a guided Dinosaur Giants tour, seeing Australotitan cooperensis, Australia's largest known dinosaur.We finish the evening with sunset drinks and a degustation dinner at the museum, before returning to the station for our final night.

Today is a big travel day through the striking terrain of Channel Country. We pass through Windorah and Tanbar on our way west to the iconic town of Birdsville, arriving in the late afternoon. Birdsville is known for its remote setting, the annual Birdsville Races, the Big Red Bash music festival, and its landmark pub, our base for the next two nights.

We explore the town and visit the Wirrarri Visitor Centre, home to an extensive gallery of work by local artists. We also visit Big Red, a sand dune rising more than 40 metres from the Simpson Desert - about as remote and outback as it gets, before returning to our classic pub accommodation for the night.

We continue north through Queensland's Channel Country, passing evidence of ancient floodplains within this arid landscape. Passing through Bedourie, we continue to Boulia, known as the capital of the Channel Country, where we visit the Min Min Encounter Visitor Centre for a unique theatrical retelling of the story of the Min Min Light.

We make an early start west towards the Northern Territory border, following the Plenty Highway through Harts Range and Gemtree into Alice Springs, the heart of the Red Centre, our base for the next two nights.

We explore some of Alice Springs' key landmarks, including the Desert Park, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum, and the Old Telegraph Station. This evening, we enjoy an outback barbecue experience, complete with local cuisine and entertainment under the stars.

We share stories over a final breakfast before transferring to the airport or your accommodation, bringing the tour to a close.