Latest news with #JourneyBeyond
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- The Guardian
The ultimate WA adventure: small-group tours into the heart of the outback
Incredible experiences and natural wonders await in every region of Western Australia…if you know where to find them. A small-group tour with expert guides at the helm can take you deeper into this extraordinary land and bring every destination to life. Outback Spirit tours don't just take you to see the sights – they invite you to experience them. These carefully curated tours are designed for curious travellers looking for authentic ways to journey beyond the well-trodden attractions and discover the state's hidden gems. Tour through the Kimberley region. Photograph: Outback Spirit Journey through the wilderness of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Golden Outback in comfortable, purpose-built 4WD vehicles to get safe, unrivalled access to these outback regions. Handpicked lodgings – including exclusive safari camps – mean you'll end every day in comfort, surrounded by the wilderness that brought you here. In the otherworldly Kimberley region, one of Earth's last true frontiers, ancient landscapes unfurl in vivid red and ochre hues. Outback Spirit's flagship tour of the region includes a stay at Ngauwudu Safari Camp, an eco-retreat nestled at the gateway to Mitchell Falls (Punamii-Uunpuu). Ngauwudu Safari Camp, Mitchell Plateau. Photograph: Outback Spirit Cruising the Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim). Photograph: Journey Beyond – Horizontal Falls (Seaplane Adventures) You'll explore some of Australia's most astonishing terrain – the tiered pools of Mitchell Falls are a standout – and cruise the Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim) before marvelling at the surreal shapes of Purnululu National Park's Bungle Bungle Range, a World Heritage-listed site sculpted by wind and water over 350m years. Explore Purnululu National Park's Bungle Bungle Range. Photograph. Outback Spirit Along the way, expert guides illuminate the deep cultural significance of each site, sharing Aboriginal stories that bring these landscapes to life. Whether you're exploring on foot, or by helicopter, boat or 4WD, Outback Spirit's all-inclusive tours invite you to forge a more meaningful connection with the region. In the Pilbara, Karijini National Park offers a striking contrast: plunging red gorges and towering, spinifex-covered plateaux stretch toward a boundless sky. You'll walk through rock chasms formed over 2bn years, swim in pristine waterholes and experience the awe and quiet grandeur of country (the area is culturally significant to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga peoples). To get there, you'll journey along the spectacular Coral Coast Highway to hang out with dolphins at Monkey Mia, snorkel at Ningaloo Reef (Nyinggulu) and cruise between the cliffs of Yardie Creek. Fortescue Falls in the Pilbara. Photograph: Outback Spirit Whether you're exploring the North West, or heading south into the Pilbara and Coral Coast, your journey will take you to Broome (Rubibi). If you're there between March and October, you may get to see the extraordinary Staircase to the Moon, a natural optical illusion caused by the full moon reflecting off the tidal flats of Roebuck Bay (Yawuru Nagulagun). Outback Spirit's South Western Explorer tour reveals a very different side of Western Australia – one of vibrant wildflower displays, soaring forests and the vast expanses of the Golden Outback. You'll walk beneath towering karri and tingle trees on the Ancient Empire walk, and delight in the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, where suspended pathways lead through the forest canopy. In Kalgoorlie (Karlkurla), you'll delve into the gold rush past before standing in awe of Wave Rock (Katter Kich), a 2.7bn-year-old granite swell shaped like a breaking ocean wave. And in the coastal gem of Esperance (Kepa Kurl), you'll be greeted by dazzling white-sand beaches, clear turquoise waters and wild, windswept beauty. In the Margaret River Region, gourmet indulgence takes centre stage, with lunch and tastings at a renowned local winery. To cap it off, you'll spend a night in the port city of Fremantle(Walyalup), visit the WA Maritime Museum – home to the legendary Australia II racing yacht – and cruise up the Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan) to Perth (Boorloo). There's a dream adventure waiting for everyone in Western Australia. Discover more at
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Largest floodwater on record creates rare outback spectacle
The largest volume of floodwater on record for parts of South Australia have left communities and stations isolated and some famous trails closed. The floodwaters, flowing down from Queensland to the state's north-east, have caused the closure of the 472-kilometre Strzelecki Track as well as a South Australian section of the Birdsville Trail. But the waters have also flowed to South Australia's Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, bringing Australia's largest salt lake alive for the second year in a row. Australia's lowest natural point, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre covers an area of 9500 square kilometres. Flooding of the usually dry lake is a once-every-several-years occurrence. Back-to-back drenchings are rare, though it hasn't been completely dry for some years. Even more rare: a filling, and that's what's predicted this year. The last time was from the record-smashing 1974 floods. When the water comes, so too, does the wildlife, including migratory birds and even marine life from below the lake's surface. The outback landscape is its own spectacle. Journey Beyond's Alicia Triggs says Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is best appreciated from a bird's-eye perspective. The company's Outback Spirit is running Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Flinders Ranges Spectacular five-day, all-inclusive, small-group coach tours that include two scenic flights over Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre as well as exploring Wilpena Pound, in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.
The Age
14-05-2025
- The Age
Largest floodwater on record creates rare outback spectacle
The largest volume of floodwater on record for parts of South Australia have left communities and stations isolated and some famous trails closed. The floodwaters, flowing down from Queensland to the state's north-east, have caused the closure of the 472-kilometre Strzelecki Track as well as a South Australian section of the Birdsville Trail. But the waters have also flowed to South Australia's Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, bringing Australia's largest salt lake alive for the second year in a row. Australia's lowest natural point, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre covers an area of 9500 square kilometres. Flooding of the usually dry lake is a once-every-several-years occurrence. Back-to-back drenchings are rare, though it hasn't been completely dry for some years. Even more rare: a filling, and that's what's predicted this year. The last time was from the record-smashing 1974 floods. When the water comes, so too, does the wildlife, including migratory birds and even marine life from below the lake's surface. The outback landscape is its own spectacle. Journey Beyond's Alicia Triggs says Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is best appreciated from a bird's-eye perspective. The company's Outback Spirit is running Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Flinders Ranges Spectacular five-day, all-inclusive, small-group coach tours that include two scenic flights over Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre as well as exploring Wilpena Pound, in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.
