FROM THE CITY TO THE OUTBACK
Easy journeys to discover the beating heart of our wide brown land.
Sydney to Mungo National Park , NSW
The unearthly landscape of World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park is often compared to something from another planet, but its history is just as interesting. The remains of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man, the oldest Homo sapiens remains ever found on the Australian continent, were uncovered here, establishing Aboriginal culture as one of the oldest on Earth.
Despite its otherworldly persona, Mungo is easily accessed via a short 3.5-hour flight from Sydney to the city of Mildura. From here, you can join an organised tour, self-drive or take a scenic flight over the spectacular fossilised lake that deposits you at Mungo Lodge’s red-dirt runway (mungolodge.com.au).
Mungo’s centrepiece, the Walls of China, is another natural treasure worth exploring. Take an Aboriginal Discovery Tour from the visitor centre (visitmungo.com.au) to see the astonishing surprises that have come from these fragile sand and clay formations – from ancient fireplaces to the bones of long-extinct megafauna.
Back at eco-friendly Mungo Lodge, browse Indigenous artworks and enjoy a generous meal, before stargazing by campfire light.
Brisbane to Birdsville, Qld
It’s difficult to explain Birdsville’s significance to first-time visitors. Giving equal credit to the journey and the destination, this remote town – over 1500 kilometres inland from the city of Brisbane – is a physical embodiment of the Aussie bush spirit.
At its heart stands Australia’s most famous outback pub, Birdsville Hotel, a verandahskirted, weathered sandstone building that has been welcoming explorers for 130 years. Spend a night or two here, chatting with the locals and marvelling at the Australiana that binds its interior together – including a ceiling strewn with well-worn Akubras.
In September, 6000 pilgrims gather for the Birdsville Races (birdsvilleraces.com) and thousands flock in for the world’s most remote rock concert (Big Red Bash) in July, set below the Simpson Desert’s largest dune (bigredbash.com.au).
Whether you fly in directly from Brisbane, or tour the whole Diamantina and Corner Country (outbackaussietours.com.au), Birdsville will open your eyes and heart to the outback. 1
Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges, SA
A leisurely trip around the Flinders Ranges’ half-billion-year-old rocky peaks is the perfect maiden voyage for outback tenderfoots. Marvel at Ikara (Wilpena Pound), which looks like a meteor crater but is actually the remnants of a mountain range that once eclipsed the Himalayas. To fully comprehend the 17-kilometre-long by eightkilometre-wide formation, take a scenic flight over it (wilpenapound.com.au/do/flights) or hike through it on the four-day Arkaba Walk
(arkabawalk .com), spending the small hours cosying up in your very own ‘star bed’.
The Flinders, as it’s known, is full of quirky stays. Go glamping in a safari tent at Ikara (wilpenapound.com.au) or bed down in well-appointed eco-villas at Rawnsley Park (rawnsleypark .com.au).
Sample bush food with a twist at classic pub-turned-gourmet-oasis Prairie Hotel
(prairiehotel.com.au), where adventurous carnivores can try the Feral Mixed Grill (emu liver pâté or camel sausage) and sweettooths the quandong pie.
A three-day tour departing from Adelaide will give you a good introduction to the Flinders, but a week will leave you more time to explore vast Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre and the striking sandstone tablelands at The Breakaways, near Coober Pedy.
Darwin to Kakadu, NT
At nearly half the size of Switzerland, Kakadu is Australia’s largest national park, but its delights lie in the small details. Culturally rich and biodiverse, it’s all about getting out there among its spectacular escarpments and lotus-lilied wetlands, just like Paul Hogan did in Crocodile Dundee, which was filmed here.
Take a dip in the natural infinity pools of Gunlom Falls, or hike up to the cascading waterfalls of Jim Jim Falls. Cruise the tranquil Yellow Water Billabong amid millions of migratory birds, including the dancing jabiru, and keep your eyes peeled for lurking salties.
Kakadu is best appreciated through the eyes of its Traditional Owners, the Bininj/ Mungguy people, with the highlight for many visitors the Indigenous-led tour of the millennia-old rock art galleries at Ubirr and other cultural sites.
Kakadu is a three-hour drive from Darwin. Day trips and longer guided tours are available from the city, some with stops at Litchfield National Park and Arnhem Land. For an above-ground perspective, take a scenic helicopter over the park’s wild landscapes.
Perth to the Kimberley, WA
The Kimberley region in Australia’s far northwest is a barely imaginable, insanely colourful wilderness full to the brim with magnificent contrasts and contradictions.
The short flight from Perth (or Sydney and Melbourne in the dry season) lands you in the laid-back, frangipani-treed nirvana that is Broome. Wander alongside aqua waters (and boutiques) full of Pinctada maxima (‘mother of pearls’) and become part of the sunset on an organised camel ride along 22-kilometre-long Cable Beach.
From Broome, it’s easy to explore the culture of the region’s Indigenous owners, the Bardi Jawi people, on a tour to Kooljaman at Cape Leveque (kooljaman.com.au), where red dirt and the azure Indian Ocean are separated only by a strip of striking white beach. Tag along on a bush tucker tour to eat like the locals have for thousands of years, tasting the spicy apple-flavoured illarr berry and Kakadu plum known as gubinge.
Inland, the dramatic landscape constantly gives up its secrets: grand gorges, clear freshwater swimming holes and Horizontal Falls. Yet there’s no reason to ‘rough it’; secluded Berkeley River Lodge’s
(berkeleyriverlodge.com.au) stunning dune-top luxury coastal villas with open-air bathrooms are accessible both by seaplane or helicopter.
Kimberley Coastal Camp and Faraway Bay also offer great sea-facing stays (kimberleycoastalcamp.com.au; farawaybay.com. au). In East Kimberley, at the homestead on El Questro’s sprawling 283,279-hectare cattle station, you can ease into your outdoor bathtub and watch Chamberlain River flow by, as Hollywood A-listers regularly do (elquestro.com.au).
Give yourself at least one week here, preferably two, because many more Kimberley experiences beckon: from luxury coastal cruises to one of Australia’s most epic 4WD adventures along the Gibb River Road.