Lake Eyre & the Birdsville Races

Depart Moorabbin Airport at 9.00am. Fly across Victoria and NSW to the frontier town of Broken Hill. On the ground, head out to Silverton, once a silver mining town, now better-known for being the backdrop to the Mad Max movies.

Returning to Broken Hill, visit the Pro Hart gallery to see some unique artworks and wildly painted Rolls Royce. Marvel at Ando’s Big Picture, a painting that’s 100 meters long and 12 meters at its highest point, and the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial, a striking building to remember more than 800 miners who have lost their lives on the job.

Before dinner, pop into the Palace Hotel, made famous by Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, for a refreshing ale and toast your arrival in the outback!

Overnight: The Astra Hotel, Broken Hill

An early start will have you landing in Birdsville mid-morning. Check out the wonders of Birdsville on race day, perhaps have a quick drink in the iconic Birdsville Hotel and take in the carnival atmosphere before a short drive out of town to the Birdsville Racecourse.

Have a few drinks, a flutter on the horses, watch them carve up the red dirt and be entertained by the colourful characters. If you’re feeling especially dapper, you could show off your sartorial elegance in Fashions on the Field. Lunch and drinks at the races are at own expense.

Winnings in hand (hopefully!) hop back on the aircraft for the short journey to Innamincka in South Australia’s remote northeast. The Innamincka Hotel is another true outback pub, with comfortable rooms and quality food with an outback focus.

Overnight: Innamincka Hotel

Innamincka is famous for being the place pioneering explorers Burke and Wills set up camp for their ill-fated expedition. A short tour will give you an insight into their adventures.

Heading homeward this morning, make a bit of a detour into South Australia for a flyover of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, magnificent whether in its usual dry, flat, salt-plain state or during those rare periods when rains in the gulf have filtered down to create an oasis in the desert.

Fly over the fascinating Marree Man, with its intriguing story – who put it there in the 1990s, and why? Stop for lunch at the Marree Hotel and perhaps find some answers to these questions, before landing back at Moorabbin Airport at 7.30pm.