Queensland Flood Expedition – 3 days

Depart Melbourne and refuel in Wentworth before landing at the newly opened airstrip at Parachilna, just steps from the iconic Prairie Hotel. Be among the first to arrive by air and enjoy warm country hospitality with sweeping views of the Flinders Ranges.

After a short refuel at Leigh Creek, continue north along the eastern fringe of Lake Eyre. From this vantage point, you’ll witness the floodwaters snaking through the desert – a rare and mesmerising sight. Where possible, we’ll descend for a closer look, including a flyby of the Cooper Creek crossing where vehicles are ferried one by one via makeshift punt along the Birdsville Track.

Continue over the Warburton River and across the lush expanse of the Goyder Lagoon before arriving at Birdsville – now accessible only by air. With road access cut, we may be the only visitors in town. Enjoy a drink and dinner at the legendary Birdsville Hotel, sharing stories with the locals who are eager for new company.

Overnight: Birdsville Hotel

After a hearty cooked breakfast,
reboard your aircraft and follow the
Diamantina River north, passing over
Lake Maccadie – home to a
spectacular surprise on past visits:
thousands of pelicans, mysteriously
drawn to this remote inland oasis.
Will they be there this time? You’ll
soon find out.
Track across the flooded Diamantina
Delta before landing in Jundah for
lunch, right in the heart of Channel
Country. In the afternoon, refuel at
Windorah and follow the Thomson
River – which becomes the mighty
Cooper Creek – south to the isolated
outpost of Innamincka. If conditions
allow, we’ll circle over the historic
Burke and Wills Dig Tree before
landing at the famous Innamincka
Hotel, where we’ll be warmly
welcomed as some of the only
visitors in weeks

After a hearty cooked breakfast, reboard your aircraft and follow the Diamantina River north, passing over Lake Maccadie – home to a spectacular surprise on past visits: thousands of pelicans, mysteriously drawn to this remote inland oasis. Will they be there this time? You’ll soon find out.

Track across the flooded Diamantina Delta before landing in Jundah for lunch, right in the heart of Channel Country. In the afternoon, refuel at Windorah and follow the Thomson River – which becomes the mighty Cooper Creek – south to the isolated outpost of Innamincka. If conditions allow, we’ll circle over the historic Burke and Wills Dig Tree before landing at the famous Innamincka Hotel, where we’ll be warmly welcomed as some of the only visitors in weeks.

On departure, continue to Cameron Corner, the meeting point of Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales. The airstrip has recently reopened, and we’ll stop for morning tea and a chance to stand in three states at once (and maybe tee off on the only golf hole to span three states!).

Enjoy lunch at the historic Family Hotel in Tibooburra, with its murals painted by Archibald Prize winner Clifton Pugh during the 1969 floods, and contributions from other Australian art legends including Russell Drysdale.

After a final refuel in Broken Hill, we return to Moorabbin, arriving by 6:00pm – your camera full, your mind astonished, and your spirit lifted by the scale  of inland Australia in flood.