Southern Wine and Wildlife 2025

After boarding the train, settle into the comforts of The Ghan, relax in your cabin, or mingle with fellow travellers in the Outback Explorer Lounge. Enjoy lunch ahead of your Off Train Experience in Katherine.

In a region renowned for jaw-dropping natural assets, Katherine boasts one of the Top End’s best – the incredible Nitmiluk Gorge and a cruise is on offer to showcase the beauty of this spot. Alternatively, the Katherine Outback Experience lets you into the lives of those who call the outback home, while the Cutta Cutta Cave system is home to a variety of native wildlife and is rich in Indigenous culture and modern European history. Alternatively, take it all in from the air, with an optional upgrade helicopter flight over Nitmiluk.

Back on the train, you’ll enjoy the cuisine and creature comforts of The Ghan, including a delectable on-board dinner, as you continue on towards Alice Springs. (L,D)

OVERNIGHT: 3 nights The Ghan Expedition

Your arrival into Alice Springs after breakfast provides you with time to explore this iconic town in the red heart of Australia on an Off Train Experience. There’s an experience to suit everyone, including an off-road e-bike adventure, the Alice Explorer tour that takes in the historic Telegraph Station and Royal Flying Doctor Service, a cultural experience at Standley Chasm, meeting the wildlife at the Desert Park, or taking in the astounding beauty of Simpson’s Gap. Alternatively, spot Uluru and Kata Tjuta from the air, with an optional upgrade scenic flight.

In the evening, the hallmark experience of The Ghan Expedition begins. Dine under a blanket of stars at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station, with red earth at your feet and white tablecloths at your fingertips. This will be a night to remember. (B,L,D)

From your morning stop at Manguri, you’ll venture into the weird and wonderful opal mining township of Coober Pedy, where more than half of the residents live underground. Here, you’ll enjoy a day of discovery, and a gourmet lunch in the most unique of locations: underground. Off Train Experiences on offer include exploring the majestic Breakaways, touring the town, learning more about mining history on the Opal Experience, or an optional upgrade with the Painted Hills and Lake Eyre scenic flight.
Dinner is served back on the train, where you can enjoy a nightcap as your journey continues. (B,L,D)

This morning, you’ll see a dramatic change in landscape as the rich ochre tones of the outback make way for the green fields of South Australia. Enjoy a leisurely brunch as you pass through the Flinders Ranges before arriving in Adelaide. Transfer to your accommodation, home for the next two nights. (B)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Sofitel Adelaide

As far as gourmet experiences go, today you are about to indulge in one of Australia’s best. The legendary Penfolds Magill Estate, where some of the world’s great wines are produced, is your venue for an epicurean adventure you’ll never forget.

Make your way from the hotel to Penfolds Magill Estate by your own arrangements, ready to enjoy tastings, including Grange, in the Estate’s private rooms, before heading to the Magill Estate Cellar Door for a sumptuous lunch. (B,L)

Please note: Day 6 and 7 may be interchanged.

Depart from Adelaide Airport for your flight to magical Kangaroo Island, where you will be met by your guide and begin your ‘Island Life’ tour. Island Life provides a taste of the way of life in this bucolic spot, where things take time, drivers wave as they go by, and passers-by stop for a chat.

Have a cuppa with some home-made treats before taking a walk down a country track through towering Eucalyptus trees, where koalas snooze overhead or chew languidly on leaves. Listen for the sounds of the bush – brightly coloured honeyeaters and brilliant parrots, cicadas or perhaps just the sound of silence. You’ll travel through the island’s most productive countryside to the north coast and walk through the bush with your guide, learning what makes that noise and whose tracks those are. Watch for small wallabies, a kangaroo found only on Kangaroo Island, and a variety of other birds, plants and animals.

Lunch is at a private bush camp, where you’ll enjoy a delicious meal featuring King George whiting – a local sea fish, fresh salads and fine South Australian wines. At Seal Bay Conservation Park, take a private tour with your guide among Australian sea lions on a beautiful sandy beach. Watch pups nursing or playing in the surf and old bulls bearing the scars of territorial disputes and learn about their unique breeding biology.

After a day of touring, you will return to your accommodation, with dinner included at your hotel. (B,L,D)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge

Begin the day travelling through some of the regenerating landscapes of Kangaroo Island. Learn about fire ecology and how nature deals with this natural hazard. Some of the native flora species only flower following fire.

Travel into Flinders Chase National Park and explore the massive shapes of Remarkable Rocks, a natural sculpture perched impossibly on top a granite dome plunging into the ocean. Then you’ll break for an elegant picnic lunch in the bush, or if weather permits, on a spectacular clifftop. Evidence of the power of the Southern Ocean swell continues at Admirals Arch – a coastal grotto that provides a haul out for a large colony of Long-nosed Fur Seals, which swim effortlessly through the crashing waves.

After your last day of touring, you will return to your accommodation, with dinner included at your hotel. (B,L,D)

This morning, you’ll be transferred to the airport for your return flight to Adelaide. Arriving in Adelaide, you will be transferred to your city accommodation to leave your bags
and spend the remainder of the day at your leisure.

The evening is free to explore some of Adelaide’s many dining and entertainment precincts. (B)

OVERNIGHT: 2 nights Sofitel Adelaide

Today, delight your senses with boutique wine and food touring to the historic Barossa Valley, with its 80 cellar doors. You’ll even visit one of the oldest vineyards in the world, where Shiraz vines were planted in 1843. Enjoy running commentary from your driver as you make your way towards the world-renowned wine region and be guided though some of the best wines South Australia has to offer. Tours are small groups up to 8 people only to ensure a relaxed and unhurried day. Whether you prefer red or white, there will be something to tantalise and delight with tastings at three wineries throughout the day, and a delicious lunch with an accompanying glass of wine included in your tour. (B,L)

After breakfast, check out of your accommodation, bringing your epicurean adventure to an end. (B)