Broken Hill & White Cliffs

DAY 1

ALBURY - MILDURA MONDAY 19TH MAY, 2025
Welcome aboard Martins touring Coach for our 8 Day Tour to Broken Hill and the Opal Mining town of White Cliffs for departure from Wodonga Plaza, Smythe Street at 7.15am, Albury Railway Station 7.30am, Lavington Shopping Centre 7.45am and Corowa River Street Bus Stop 8.45am.
From Albury, travel to Deniliquin for morning break, then arrive in Hay for a light lunch at the Bishops Lodge Historic House. Crossing the Hay Plain we pass through Balranald and arrive in Mildura late afternoon to check into our overnight accommodation.
Accommodation: Best Western Chaffey International Motor Inn Mildura Ph: (03) 5023 5833

DAY 2

MILDURA TO BROKEN HILL TUESDAY 20TH MAY
From our Mildura motel we make our way to Orange World where we embark on a guided tour through the Avocado trees and Citrus orchards. Hopping aboard the tractor train we’ll be entertained by our guide and his juicy sense of humour, then make our way to Wentworth. Take a look at the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers, as well as Lock 10 before having lunch at the Lock 10 & Weir Restaurant in Wentworth. From Wentworth head to Broken Hill. Dominating this town is the “Line of Lode” – the seven-kilometre strip of what was the biggest deposit of silver, lead and zinc in the world. Take in the best view in town from the Miners Memorial. After spending some time here, make our way to our motel to unpack and relax.
Accommodation: Old Willyama Motor Inn (4 Nights) Broken Hill Ph: (02) 08 8088 3355

DAY 3

BROKEN HILL WEDNESDAY 21ST MAY
A local guide will join us today, sharing the history of Broken Hill. Mining has been a part of Broken Hill since 1883 when the first sign of wealth was discovered by Charles Rasp. Since them a total of 14 different mining companies have made Broken Hill their home and their fortune. Following our sightseeing tour, we visit the Pro Hart Gallery. Here we discover the spiritual quality of the outback in ways very few artists can emulate.
Lunch today is at Bells Milk Bar.
Next visit the Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum followed by the Silver City Mint and Art Gallery for a self-guided tour of the Big Picture. The large acrylic painting will draw you into its huge skies and red rock earth of ancient riverbeds dotted with gums, leading to the distant Flinders Ranges

DAY 4

MENINDEE LAKES SCENIC FLIGHT THURSDAY 22ND MAY
This morning will be a real highlight of our tour with a 2-hour scenic flight over the Menindee Lakes, Darling River and Silverton. The Menindee Lakes are a system of nine large, shallow lakes in far-western New South Wales. Over the past 2 years floodwaters snaking their way through the Darling-Baaka River system in northern New South Wales have finally made it to the Menindee Lakes, to the delight of the severely drought-affected community. On our scenic flight we can easily see the area and wildlife that abounds when not in drought. Next visit the Royal Flying Doctor Base at Broken Hill Airport. Enjoy a guided tour of the facility and experience first-hand a real-life Flying Doctor base in action, view historical photos and other equipment. Lunch today is at The Demo Club, then this afternoon we have some free time in Broken Hill to look through the various shops and possibly take a look inside the famous Palace Hotel that was featured in the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

DAY 5

SILVERTON FRIDAY 23RD MAY
This morning, we travel out of Broken Hill to visit the historic Daydream Silver Mine.  Located in a remote setting, its hard to imagine the 500 odd workers living and working here in its hey-day. Enjoy morning tea here with a guided surface tour,hearing all about the smelter, township, how and who found the mine, plus stories about the Cornish Miners and their families and the area in general. From Daydream Mine we continue onto Silverton for a look around. Today it’s a virtual ghost town but a number of the historic buildings remain. More recently Silverton has hosted film crews who have produced many well-known movies such as Mad Max 2, A Town Like Alice and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.  We have lunch at the Silverton Pub and take a look at the Mundi Mundi Lookout. On our return to Broken Hill we visit The Living Desert to view the Sculpture Symposium.  This nationally successful sculpture symposium is situated on a majestic hilltop within the centre of the reserve.  The Symposium was completed in 1993 by artists from around the world, under the direction of organiser and artist Lawrence Beck.

DAY 6

BROKEN HILL - WHITE CLIFFS SATURDAY 24TH MAY
The White Cliffs Opal Fields were the first commercial fields in New South Wales. The first lease was granted in 1890 and by 1899 the fields were supporting 4500 people. Today over 50,000 mine shafts dot the landscape around Whitecliffs – a legacy of the relentless search for opal. In fact, after quite a number of years with very little success, a major opal find was confirmed in the area in September 2000. No doubt the digging will continue! In contrast to the mainly old-time hand methods of mining the town is today powered by a very modern solar power station. Our locally based guide will explain all the inner details of this interesting town. We head to the Red Earth Opal Showroom and Café where have lunch, then experience the adventure of going underground to learn all about the “day in the life of a miner”. We take a look through the showroom before checking into our motel.
Accommodation: Underground Motel White Cliffs Ph: (08) 8091 6677

DAY 7

WHITE CLIFFS – DUBBO SUNDAY 25TH MAY
We have an early start today as we travel to Cobar. Our visit here and our lunch stop is at The Great Cobar Heritage Centre the former Administration Building (circa 1910) of the Great Cobar Copper Mine. The centre captures the essence of Cobar, housing an outstanding collection of exhibits which date from the early 1870s to the present day. Inside the amazing collection of artefacts reveals the extraordinary diverse local heritage of Cobar. Through the exhibits the rich history inherent in the everyday life of Cobar's pioneers, and the culture of making do, becomes apparent. After lunch we pass through Nyngan and Narromine to arrive into Dubbo for our final night of the tour.
Accommodation: Matilda Motor Inn Dubbo PH: (02) 6882 3944

DAY 8

DUBBO - ALBURY MONDAY 26TH MAY
Following breakfast, we make our way out of Dubbo to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The Zoo is one of the largest in the world, covering some 300 hectares, where animals live in large natural areas behaving very much as they would in the wild. A zoo-keeper will join our coach and explain the open range layout and some of the behind the scenes operations of the Zoo. After our visit depart the Zoo and commence our journey back to your home destination with lunch (own expense) and comfort stops enroute.

TOUR COST

$4140.00 Per Person Twin / Double Share
$4785.00 Single Supplement

INCLUDES

Coach Travel for duration of tour
Accommodation on basis as booked
Meals as indicated on itinerary
2 Hour Scenic Flight over Menindee Lakes
Entrances to attractions as per itinerary

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner