First Choice

Outback Tracks: Outback Adventure & Ghan Rail Journey

19 Day Guided Vacation | Adelaide Return

Experience the vast Australian outback onboard The Ghan Expedition, a legendary train and unforgettable adventure. Combining one of the world’s greatest rail journeys with AAT Kings’ flagship Outback Adventure provides the ultimate exploration through Australia’s dramatic outback.

Prices From CODE: NAADR

$11115

Adult Twin i A person 16 years and over (note a person 16–17 years must be accompanied by a person 18 years and over). All prices are per person, land only unless otherwise indicated.
Above lowest price is based on 2024-06-11 departure

$16384

Single i A person, who must be 18 years and over, travelling alone, must pay the single room price. All prices are per person, land only unless otherwise indicated.
Above lowest price is based on 2024-06-11 departure
Prices above are per person in USD
Single rooms are limited and subject to availability
Child prices may be available on request

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Trip Details

trip-details-whats-includedWhat's included

  • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver that are accredited with Uluru & Kakadu National Parks
  • Local Specialists (Guides)
  • Centrally located premium hotels
  • Experience the vast Australian outback onboard The Ghan Expedition, a legendary train and unforgettable adventure

trip-details-diningDining

  • • 15 Full Breakfasts
  • • 3 À la carte breakfasts
  • • 3 Lunches
  • • 1 Be My Guest dinner
  • • 11 Dinners with wine
  • • 1 Farewell Dinner

trip-details-flight-infoFlight Information

  • Day 1: Flights to arrive prior to 12:3-pm into Adelaide Airport

trip-details-what-to-bringWhat to Bring

  • • Camera
  • • Comfortable walking shoes
  • • Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
  • • Water bottle
  • • Warm layers in cooler months

trip-details-fitness-level-requirementsFitness Requirements

  • • Kakadu – Nadab Lookout - Medium Level of Fitness Required
    The climb to the top of Nadab Lookout at Ubirr in Kakadu National Park will not be suitable for all guests. To get to the lookout guests are required to scale up uneven rocky paths and steps to get to the lookout. There is an alternate route on a fairly flat gravel path for those unable climb to the top so they will not miss out on Rock Art.
  • • Kings Canyon Rim Walk - High level of fitness required
    This 6km hike will not be suitable for all guests. The first 30-minute incline is considered “Difficult”. The Tour Director will offer guest an easier alternative along the creek walk for those that are unable.

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Foodies, historians, art aficionados and sport buffs all feel at home in multicultural Adelaide. You will, too, exploring the city at your leisure before meeting a local gourmand to eat your way through the legendary Central Market. This place has been selling artisan produce for 140-plus years. Think green-ant gin, native herbs and spices, locally grown coffee, chocolates and all manner of cheese and charcuterie. Save space for your Welcome Reception & Dinner tonight.

  Hotel: Crowne Plaza Adelaide

  Included Meals: Dinner with Wine

Sitting pretty in the Clare Valley, Knappstein Enterprise Winery produces sweet-scented rieslings and mineral-rich reds. The only thing that distracts from your glass is the setting: all rolling fields of vines and wide blue skies. Hawker lies just to the north, the town inspiring artist Jeff Morgan to paint enormous panoramas capturing the SA outback. Drop in to see his works, plus the SA memorabilia he has collected over the years. The best is yet to come, as you arrive at Wilpena Pound Resort in the shadows of a vast natural amphitheatre.

  Hotel: Wilpena Pound Resort

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

The soaring river red gums that envelop the restored Hills Homestead will leave you lost for words; equally mesmerising is the display inside the property, revealing the hardships of early settlers in this part of the state. You get here on a leisurely walk along Wilpena Creek and continue to Wangarra Hill Lookout for seemingly endless views over the pound’s rippling peaks and sweeping curves. The drama is echoed as you climb to Pichi Richi Pass – spare a thought for the workers who built the train line here in the 1870s, through deep rock that provides a snapshot of Flinders Ranges geology. Visit the historic town of Quorn for a walking tour with a Local Guide. Dating to 1875, you'll hear stories about the old Quorn Mill, the history of the town and its importance in the ANZAC's Gallipoli Campaign in 1915. Your next stop is Port Augusta, where you’ll discover the uniqueness of the Wadlata Outback Centre, and more stories of yesteryear.

  Hotel: Majestic Oasis Apartments

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Secrets are revealed at former rocket-testing site Woomera, today home to a park where you can glimpse Australia’s aerospace innovations. Speaking of space, you may will think you’ve landed on the moon as you travel through sun-baked country to isolated Coober Pedy, aka ‘the opal capital of the world’. Things get deep as you travel underground with a local to see how these gleaming gems are mined, and visit the town’s head-scratching subterranean facilities, from churches to schools and hotels.

  Hotel: Desert Cave Hotel

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Once you emerge from your Coober Pedy cave, first stop in the Northern Territory is, fittingly, Australia’s spiritual heart: World Heritage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta. Come sunset, you’ll want a full camera SD card – with every “click”, the countryside around the world’s mightiest monolith changes colour. Toast the day with a glass of bubbles and nibble while you mingle with your fellow adventurers. 

 

  Hotel: Desert Gardens, 2 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast

The colours are just as vivid when you’re enjoying an Uluru sunrise. Make the most of the morning cool and enjoy a circumnavigation by coach of ‘the Rock’s’ 11 kilometres. Or join a guided walk to sacred Mutitjulu Waterhole. This living cultural landscape takes you back to the beginning of time. Small wonder it’s a sacred place for eons of Anangu people. Over the millennia, they left behind rock art and snacked on native plants, with bush plums, tomatoes and figs, all still in abundance. More soul-salving landscapes spread before you at Kata Tjuta, cool relief found as you walk amid its domes to Walpa Gorge. If your SD card isn’t full of sunset photos yet, it will be after tonight’s dazzling display.

 

  Included Meals: Breakfast

If you’re an early bird (or even if you’re not), we highly recommend an optional pre-dawn call to glimpse the Uluru Field of Light – a blanket of 50,000 glowing bulbs. What a way to start the day. There are so many record-breaking rock attractions in this part of the country that you may not have heard of Attila (Mt. Conner) before – but once you’ve glimpsed the table-like formation, you certainly won’t forget it. Stretch your legs again at Kings Creek Station, the largest exporter of wild camels in Australia. Guess what meat stars in the burgers for lunch? All your senses will be activated on the Kings Canyon rim walk, 440-million years in the making and forged through layers of sandstone and hard shale creating soaring domes and plateaus that plummet to an oasis of natural rock pools. It’s hard to gauge the immensity when you’re wandering, until you reach a lookout that is… 

  Hotel: Kings Canyon Resort

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Things are bigger in the NT outback, from the cattle stations the size of a small country to the MacDonnell Ranges, which stretch like a dinosaur spine toward the character-filled town of Alice Springs. Aside from its plethora of Indigenous galleries and art stores, Alice makes Australian history for her 1872 Telegraph Station, one of 12 along the Overland Telegraph Line that traverses a whopping 3,200 kilometres between Adelaide and Darwin. Glimpse it up close, then from afar as you ascend Anzac Hill for panoramic views that inspired many of those paintings in Alice’s galleries.

  Hotel: Doubletree by Hilton Alice Springs, 2 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Aboriginal culture and community spirit are strong in Alice, as you’ll discover on a city tour and a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service – just how these dedicated health workers deliver life-saving services in remote realms is rather astounding. The other thing that dazzles in this part of the state is the stars. And at Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre, this equates to epic stargazing. Your BBQ dinner here with the Falzon family is enlightening and uplifting – think stories of self-sufficient living, astronomy and even a tune or two on the didgeridoo.

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Dinner

1.3 million square kilometres – that’s the eye-watering distance the School of Air’s lessons are broadcast across daily. Watch a live session with kids who would otherwise have no access to public education. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are, you might just believe in aliens when you pass Wycliffe Well, the self-proclaimed ‘UFO capital’ of Australia. But it’s the devil that awaits (well, his marbles) at Karlu Karlu, where precariously balanced boulders appear to have been superglued together. The most prized rock found in this part of the world is, however, gold, which is why your base for the night, Tennant Creek, exists.

  Hotel: Bluestone Motor Inn

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

Since the 1930s, the time-tested Daly Waters Historic Pub has been dishing up schnitzels, barramundi burgers and hearty steaks. The walls here are lined with treasures that passers-by leave behind, from bras to boots. What can you contribute over lunch? ‘Land of the Never Never’ awaits at Mataranka. Yes, you can visit a replica of the Elsey Homestead, used in the filming of 1982 Aussie drama We of the Never Never, an autobiographical flick about life in the outback. Or wander palm-lined walkways to take a dip in the region’s steamy thermal springs – the ultimate antidote to weary limbs before arriving in Katherine.

  Hotel: Contour Hotel Katherine

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

The Jawoyn have called Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge home for millennia. You can feel their presence while cruising this mighty waterway that’s home to more than a few resident crocs. This is not the last time these scaly creatures will be in your company – they’ll make another appearance on your Kakadu tour, when you jump in yet another boat for a Yellow Water Billabong cruise. You don’t need binoculars to spot the sea eagles, brolgas and kingfishers that colour this part of the Top End; they’re everywhere you look.                          

 

  Hotel: Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine

The best way to appreciate the immensity of Kakadu and Arnhem Land is from the air. An optional morning flight swoops low over these beauties, giving you a feel for its Indigenous significance. On the ground, meanwhile, Aboriginal art awaits at Ubirr. Scamper to the top of the rocky outcrop for seemingly endless views over floodplains backdropped by sheer escarpments. If your backdrop looks familiar, that’s because it features in Crocodile Dundee. The night is yours in steamy Darwin, where the characters are as large as the shadows cast at sunset. First stop: the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets for a croc burger with your feet in the sand. 

  Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn Darwin, 2 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Nature rules today, your explorations into Litchfield National Park revealing magnetic termite mounds standing up to two metres tall. And then there are the waterfalls: Florence Falls, for its dreamy cascades among monsoon forest; and Wangi Falls, where you can cool off in the crystal-clear waterhole before heading back to Darwin. See the NT capital in a new light when you venture out on a Darwin Harbour Cruise, your champagne glass full to toast your last evening on this epic adventure. 

 

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

Things in Darwin don’t happen in a hurry, which is just the way locals like it. You’ll quickly fall into pace, whether you spend the day exploring architecture on foot, or cruising out to the Tiwi Islands to discover Indigenous art. The choice is yours.

  Included Meals: Breakfast

This morning your journey aboard the legendary Ghan begins at Darwin Rail Station where you'll take the small but momentous step from platform to carriage. Friendly staff will lead you through corridors to your comfortable private cabin where you can take your time settling in and exploring the amenities as the view outside your window begins its smooth and spectacular transformation. Lunch in the Queen Adelaide Restaurant is bound to satisfy and delight with culinary wonders prepared on board by our talented chefs. All food is included in your fare, from a hearty full cooked breakfast to a delectable 3 course dinner. And as you sit back and enjoy the scenery, you'll have arrived in Katherine ready to experience your first included Off Train Excursion to spiritual Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge.

  Hotel: The Ghan Gold Service, 3 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wake up to a new view outside your window, in a world which feels a million miles from home. An outback sunrise could be one of the most spectacular you'll ever see, setting the tone for the day ahead. After coffee, a juice and a sumptuous breakfast you'll arrive in Alice Springs ready for another day of exploration. Here you have the opportunity to embark on one of the included Off Train Excursions, taking in the delights of this famous outback town. A full day in Alice Springs gives you ample opportunity to visit the town landmarks, get up close and personal with Australia's incredible flora and fauna or explore the Alice at your own leisure.

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast this morning you'll wake up and rub your eyes with disbelief as we pull into the middle-of-nowhere stop at Manguri. Here, a friendly tour guide awaits ready to whisk you away for the day. Your destination - the sun-scorched opal mining capital of world, Coober Pedy, where more than half of the residents live underground. Venture into the tunnels and caves of this underground town, where you may even catch opal fever as you mine for riches, visit the otherworldly underground Serbian Orthodox church and glimpse the famous Coober Pedy Golf Course - the only course in the world boasting reciprocal rights with St. Andrew's course in Scotland. Below the earth's surface, you'll enjoy a gourmet lunch in the most unique of locations before setting off to the stunning outback moonscape that is the Breakaways.

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Looking out of your window this morning you'll notice a dramatic change in landscape as the rich ochre tones of the outback make way for the beautiful green fields and pastoral lands of South Australia. After breakfast you'll have time to reflect on your journey before The Ghan rolls into Adelaide and your momentous journey comes to an end.

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Please note: This itinerary may be subject to change.


Outback Tracks: Outback Adventure & Ghan Rail Journey

First Choice

19 Day Guided Vacation

Adelaide Return

Experience the vast Australian outback onboard The Ghan Expedition, a legendary train and unforgettable adventure. Combining one of the world’s greatest rail journeys with AAT Kings’ flagship Outback Adventure provides the ultimate exploration through Australia’s dramatic outback.

Highlights

Insider Knowledge

Go off-grid at Earth Sanctuary, where the Falzon family inspire a sustainable lifestyle. Learn how you can, too, over a Be My Guest dinner and stargazing.

Local Connection

Even after 93 years of operations The Ghan still changes lives. This epic rail ride delivers a mesmerising slice of the Australian outback.

Cultural Immersion

Put life into perspective glimpsing 40,000-year-old rock art with an Indigenous guide. From Uluru to Kakadu, Songlines are strong.

Sustainable Footprints

Wilpena Pound Resort is not just a pretty place to stay. When you check in, you’re contributing to the local Adnyamathanha people and regional conservation projects.

Wildlife & Nature

Coober Pedy is hot in more ways than one. This lunar landscape is as stark as it is staggering – even more incredible are the opals you’ll find when you dig deep.

Accommodation

Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.
The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes:

Optional Experiences

Please note, prices for Optional Experiences are subject to change.

To ensure your holiday is filled with memorable experiences, we have included a range of quality Optional Experiences for you to choose from and partake in, if you wish, during your holiday. The experiences can be booked on tour through your Travel Director.

Outback Hot Air Ballooning (Alice Springs)

Adult Price: From AUD 335.00
Child Price: From AUD 274.00

Your adventure begins with the balloons being inflated just as the sun lights up the rugged MacDonnell Ranges. Whilst floating gently in the air you will appreciate the vast remoteness, scenery and wildlife of the Australian outback. The tour includes your return transfers and a light breakfast.

Please note this excursion is not recommended for the elderly or a less agile person. If you are unsure, please discuss your situation directly with Outback Ballooning. A compulsory aviation insurance charge of $30.00 per person is included in the cost.

Outback Hot Air Ballooning

Uluru Scenic Flights (Uluru (Ayers Rock))

Adult: $130.00

Child: 130.00

A 20 minute, fixed wing scenic flight is a great way to take in the amazing landscape of Uluru. This small plane operator offer extended flights that include both Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

Uluru Scenic Flights

Field of Light Sunrise (Ayers Rock)

Adult Price: AUD 89.00
Child Price: AUD 59.00

With just enough time for some background commentary on the internationally renowned artist Bruce Munro, you will arrive very excited to see his latest artistic endeavour. Arriving in complete darkness, you will be able to enjoy the 50,000 spheres of light in the desert, before making your way up the hill to the Field of Light sunrise viewing area.

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Field of Light Sunrise

Uluru Barbecue Dinner (Ayers Rock)

Adult Price: AUD 195.00
Child Price: AUD 135.00

Enjoy a sparkling wine on arrival at this unique and exclusive dining experience with Uluru as your stunning backdrop. Enjoy wine and beer with a classic barbecue of beef steak, lamb sausages, skewered chicken and garlic prawns, as well as a selection of fresh salads and a tasty dessert. There’s even time for stargazing.

Uluru Barbecue Dinner

Kakadu Air Scenic Flights (Kakadu)

Adult Price: AUD 159.00  (30 Minute)
Child Price: AUD 159.00 (30 Minute)

One of the best ways to experience Kakadu is by a scenic fixed wing flight which allows you to see the amazing escarpments, waterways and wetlands. You will be amazed by the vastness and varied landscape that can be best experienced from the air. An experience not to be missed.

Kakadu Air Scenic Flights

Tiwi Islands Aboriginal Cultural Experience (Darwin)

Adult Price:  From AUD 375.00
Child Price: From AUD 259.00.00

Enjoy an Aboriginal cultural experience on the Tiwi Islands. You will travel to and from the Island by ferry. Once there you will learn about the Tiwi people’s unique and rich culture as they introduce you to their traditional art displays and ceremonies. Enjoy lunch with your local guide and the local community as they teach you more about their culture and rituals. To partake in this experience you will require an additional post tour night accommodation or a flight that departs after 8pm on the day of the tour.

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Tiwi Islands Aboriginal Cultural Experience

Uluru Helicopter Scenic Flight (Uluru (Ayers Rock))

Adult: $180.00 AUD
Child: $180.00 AUD

Experience a unique view with a scenic helicopter flight over the Red Centre and see Uluru from the Air. You might choose the 15 minute flight to appreciate Uluru from the air or the recommended longer flight to witness Uluru as well as the extraordinary Kata Tjuta.

Uluru Helicopter Scenic Flight

Wintijiri Wiru After Dark Show (Uluru (Ayers Rock))

Adult: $190.00 AUD
Child: $95.00 AUD

Wintjiri Wiru, which in the local Pitjantjatjara language means ‘beautiful view out to the horizon’. This breathtaking sound and light show brings to life the ancient Mala story of the Anangu people, a story passed on for thousands of generations. With the use of ground-breaking technology, choreographed drones, lasers and projections illuminate the night sky. Wintjiri Wiru takes place at Ayers Rock Resort, in the spiritual heart of Australia and is an immersion into Anangu culture. The experience begins with a transfer from Resort hotels to a sustainably-built platform where you will take a seat in the intimate amphitheatre.

Drones, lights, traditional music, and Pitjantjatjara language will bring to life the Mala story under the desert sky. After the show, you will return to your hotel via coach transfer. Note: • Subject to availability and weather conditions permitting. • Tour content and timings are subject to change without notice. • Child age range is from 10 to 15 years. Not suitable for children 9 years and under. Credit: As custodians of the land, Anangu hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru. To share their story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, RAMUS designed and produced an artistic platform using drones, light and sound to create an immersive storytelling experience.
Wintijiri Wiru After Dark Show

Kings Canyon Light Towers by Night (Kings Canyon)

Adult: $30.00 AUD
Child $30.00 AUD

Light Towers by night proves that our lives on earth are teeming with the magic of unexplainable things. Awaken your senses to the mystery of the outback as you wander amongst this immersive visual and aural display. From the butterfly mind of internationally renowned light and sound artist Bruce Munro, ‘Light Towers at Discovery Resorts – Kings Canyon’ will immerse guests in the pure magic of light, sound and landscape from this iconic location inside Watarrka National Park. onsisting of 69 two-metre towers of pulsating light, which change colour in response to a celestial soundscape by Orlando Gough, guests are invited to wander amongst the maze of Light Towers.
STARTS: Guests to meet at the Luritja Lookout 5 mins before their ticketed session time.
EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: Entry into the Light Towers
Kings Canyon Light Towers by Night

Kings Canyon Light Towers at Sunrise (Kings Canyon)

Adult: $45.00
Child: $45.00

Start your day immersed in magic. Awaken your senses to the mystery of the outback as you wander among the Light Towers maze of sound and light. Enjoy coffee and pastry at the Luritja Lookout once the sun is up.  From the butterfly mind of internationally renowned light and sound artist Bruce Munro, ‘Light Towers at Discovery Resorts – Kings Canyon’ will immerse you in the pure magic of light, sound and landscape in this iconic location. Consisting of 69 two-metre towers of light, which change colour in response to a celestial soundscape by Orlando Gough, guests are invited to wander amongst the maze of Light Towers.A local guide will greet and introduce guests to the Light Towers at Lurijta Lookout where you will receive a session wristband, before following a lit path into the field of red earth where the Light Towers experience takes place. STARTS: This experience commences 30 mins before sunrise. Meet at the Luritja Lookout 5 minutes before your ticketed session start time. EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: Introduction to the Light Towers by a local guide. Post sunrise coffee and pastry on the Luritja Lookout.

Kings Canyon Light Towers at Sunrise
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