There are many places to go, modes of travel to get there and tours of the Australian Outback, Peter Robinson reveals which one may just suit you.
Heck, you don’t even need to own a 4WD.
With a bit of planning, touring the outback in a family sedan is achievable, as is walking or cycling, though a return isn’t guaranteed with those last two. That said, there are supported walking and cycling tours in some outback places such as the spectacular MacDonnell Ranges west of Alice Springs (but doing the solo Big Lap in a pair of runners isn’t recommended).
Major airlines fly to cities and towns in, or on the edge of, the outback. If you’ve got dollars you can charter light aircraft and choppers to almost anywhere and arrange personalised tours on the ground, or simply hire a vehicle for short on-road trips.
There are plenty of tour companies running outback trips in coaches, specially-built 4WD buses for smaller groups, flying tours, or speeding top to bottom by rail on The Ghan, or left to right on the Indian Pacific.
Coach tours are fine for a comfortable hotel/motel overview of an outback region such as Alice Springs, the MacDonnell Ranges, King’s Canyon and Uluru, and AAT Kings is one of the larger companies specialising in this field.
Small-group camping tours by 4WD bus are another way to venture forth without using your own vehicle or finding your GPS bearings, and this is one way to tour the Gibb River Road, for instance, and get a taste of camping at the same time.
Flying tours, or aircruising, is a terrific way to cover vast distances in comfort; veteran adventurer and travel writer Bill Peach has specialised in this tour market for many years. Not cheap, but extremely comfortable and scenic.
Rail travel to the outback has great appeal to enthusiasts, but you’ve got to really love rail journeys. The reality is this: The Ghan travels between Adelaide and Darwin via Alice Springs; a long trip, but if you break the journey at Alice it’s not so tiresome.
You need to travel first class to get a bed, the food’s not too bad, the rails are not smooth, and the scenery whizzes by in a blur of scrub – bypassing the very things that make the outback worthwhile. On the other hand, you can put your car/4WD on the train too, saving a lot of driving in one direction (or both).
In many outback regions it’s unwise to travel alone, so consider a “tag-along" adventure, where a convoy of 4WD vehicles embarks on a journey to remote regions. This style of travel offers safety in numbers, new friends and camping out under the stars, and is usually led by someone who knows the region well. Someone’s sure to have a satellite phone and HF radio. Motoring bodies (RACV, NRMA etc) in most states offer these types of tour and although there are costs involved, the advantages outweigh the expense.
The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.
From the moment you arrive in Mildura, the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.
Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.
Taste Mildura’s produce
It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.
Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey. Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).
Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers, a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.
Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.
Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.
Hatted dining & Italian history
Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.
To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s. Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.
Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.
Discover a thriving culture scene
The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.
The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.
Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project. Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.
Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.
Find culture around every corner.
Wonder at ancient landscapes
The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.
The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.
Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.
Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park. Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.
Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.
Meet your home away from home
On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.
Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama. A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.
When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats. Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.
Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.
Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com .
