Darling River Run

Day 1 Monday: Bourke 

Arrival own arrangement. Make your way to your included accommodation.

Day 2 Monday: 

Dubbo → Nyngan → Bourke (BD)

Tour start: 10.00am

Settle in as we roll west and the colours turn outback-bold. Our first pause is Nyngan, a friendly Bogan River town where red earth meets big sky. Choose a cosy café or classic bakery for lunch (own expense), then stretch your legs along the shady levee beneath river gums—maybe a cheeky snap with the Big Bogan before we go.

As the kilometres unwind, saltbush and coolibah take over the fencelines and the horizon runs wide. By afternoon we reach Bourke and make a quiet, meaningful visit to the historic cemetery. Here we honour Professor Fred Hollows and read weathered inscriptions that speak of bushrangers, drovers, cameleers, riverboat hands and frontier families. It’s a gentle, thoughtful beginning to our days following the Darling.

Highlights: Nyngan lunch stop • riverside stroll • Big Bogan photo op • reflective visit to Bourke cemetery (Fred Hollows).

Day 3 Tuesday: 

Bourke ↔ Brewarrina (Baaka Country) (BLD)

Morning light on red river gums sets the mood as we trace the waterway to Brewarrina, a town with an ancient heartbeat. Here lie the Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps—Baiame’s Ngunnhu—intricate stone weirs crafted to guide fish into holding pools. When river levels are kind, you can see the patterns revealed in the current; when they’re high, the story is told in the ripples and in the voices of your guides. At the Aboriginal Cultural Museum, we listen and learn: engineering brilliance, seasonal knowledge, trade, ceremony—threads of a living culture that has read this river for countless generations.

We return to Bourke—once a river port thrumming with wool, citrus and cotton—and pause for lunch  before stepping into the acclaimed Back O’ Bourke Exhibition Centre. This is where yarns become history: riverboats and drovers, poets and paddlesteamers, resilience and reinvention on the Darling (Baaka).

As afternoon softens, we board the PV Jandra (subject to river levels) for a gentle cruise beneath cathedral-high red gums. The paddle wheel turns, pelicans patrol the banks, and the commentary brings the old river trade back to life—timber decks creaking, bales stacked high, whistle echoing down a silver reach.

Highlights: Baiame’s Ngunnhu (Fish Traps) • Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum • Back O’ Bourke Exhibition Centre • PV Jandra river cruise (water levels permitting)

Good to know: Visibility of the fish traps and Jandra operations depend on river conditions; we adapt the day to ensure the best experience.

Day 4 Wednesday: 

Bourke → Louth → Trilby Station (BLD)

We ease into the day with morning tea by the Darling (Baaka)—coolibahs leaning over slow water, birdcalls stitching the stillness. Then it’s downstream along quiet river roads where red earth, saltbush and ribboning billabongs trade places in the window. We’ll pause for a couple of hidden gems—those small, story-soaked stops the guide knows by heart—before rolling into Louth.

In Louth, a classic outback pub lunch awaits, followed by a short tour of this tiny town with a big legend—river trade tales, Cobb & Co whispers and a cemetery headstone famous for catching the light. It’s a place that proves less can feel like a lot.

By afternoon we arrive at Trilby Station, our home for the next two nights. This working sheep station breathes outback character: riverbanks and red dirt, old sheds and star-thick evenings. Settle in, take a gentle wander, and let the station pace find you—the kind where sunset lingers and the Milky Way switches on early.

Highlights: Morning tea by the Baaka • scenic river run with secret stops • Louth pub lunch & town tour • two-night stay at Trilby Station (working sheep station)

Good to know: Some sections today are on country roads; our route and stops may adjust to conditions for the best experience.

Day 5 Thursday:

Trilby Station ↔ Dunlop Station (BLD)

After breakfast, we follow the Darling (Baaka) to neighbouring Dunlop Station—once more than a million acres of pastoral empire. Over morning tea, step inside the historic shearing shed that made world headlines in 1888 as the first to complete a full mechanical shearing. You can almost hear the clatter of handpieces and smell the lanolin in the timber—a place where technology reshaped the outback and wool wealth rode the river.

We return to Trilby Station for lunch, then spend the afternoon on a discovery tour with Liz Murray. This is station life, unvarnished and welcoming: 320,000 acres of Merino country and an extensive goat enterprise; red roads threading to the river; old yards, outback workshops, and river bends where pelicans and kites patrol the sky. The Murray family trace seven generations on this reach of the Darling—since 1860—and Liz’s stories knit the land, the river and the people into one long conversation. Expect practical know-how, history with heart, and plenty of chances to ask questions.

As the day softens, Trilby’s big skies take over—an evening that tends to linger, with stars that switch on early and shine hard.

Highlights: Dunlop Station morning tea & historic shearing shed • 1888 mechanical shearing story • Lunch at Trilby • Guided discovery tour with Liz Murray • Working Merino & goat operations • River bends, birdlife and bush heritage

Good to know: These are working stations; routes and access points can vary with weather and daily operations. Wear sturdy shoes, bring a hat and water, and be ready for uneven ground and a little red dust—it’s part of the charm.

Day 6 Friday:

Trilby Station → Louth → Tilpa → Wilcannia → Menindee (BLD)

We roll back through Louth and trace the east bank of the Darling (Baaka) to Tilpa—a tiny speck with a big personality. Pull up at the much-loved Tilpa Pub, where the bar is etched with travellers’ names and the yarns are as long as the river. Pausing here is a mood: red dirt at your boots, coolibahs leaning over slow water, and that easy outback hospitality.

Following the river’s bends, we reach Wilcannia, once the “queen of the west.” Stately sandstone buildings still frame the streets, a reminder of the paddle-steamer era when wool and supplies surged along the Darling. Today it’s a key service town for far-west communities, rich with stories of resilience and reinvention.

Crossing to the west bank, we aim for Menindee, pausing for lunch en route. The country opens and light spills wider as we arrive at Copi Hollow, part of the vast Menindee Lakes—mirror-bright on a still day, alive with pelicans and kites when the wind ruffles the water. In the afternoon, we settle in for a Wetlands Cruise (conditions permitting), gliding past reed beds and bird rookeries while your skipper brings the lake system’s ecology and history to life. We close the day at the character-laden Maiden’s Hotel, where dinner and local hospitality tie a neat bow on a river-rich day.

Highlights: Tilpa Pub • river-road scenery on both banks • Wilcannia’s sandstone civic heritage • Copi Hollow lookout • Menindee Wetlands Cruise • dinner at Maiden’s Hotel

Good to know: Sections of today’s route are on country roads; timings and the cruise may vary with weather and water levels. Bring a hat, water, and your camera—the lake light is something special.

Day 7 Saturday: 

Menindee → Pooncarie → Mildura (BL)

We follow the Darling (Baaka) downstream to Pooncarie, a tiny former river port that still moves at river pace. Enjoy a peaceful morning tea beneath red gums, swap a yarn with friendly locals, and keep an eye out for kangaroos nosing along the bank.

Rolling south, the country shifts—saltbush gives way to orchards, vines and the first hints of the Murray. We pause for a surprise lunch stop before gliding into Mildura, where paddleboats, palms and golden light set a relaxed, river-city mood. Tonight, dinner is at your leisure: perhaps Stefano de Pieri’s renowned dining room, Stefano’s, or The Province by Matt De Angelo—both celebrating local produce and the Murray’s generous larder. Prefer low-key? Mildura’s riverfront and Langtree Avenue offer plenty of easy, delicious options.

Highlights: Pooncarie riverside tea • classic outback hospitality • changing landscapes into vineyard country • free evening to dine well in Mildura

Good to know: Dinner is at your own expense today. Popular restaurants book out—if you have your heart set on Stefano’s or The Province, we recommend reserving ahead. Routes and timings may adjust to road and river conditions.

Day 8 Sunday: 

Mildura ↔ Mungo National Park (Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area) (BL)

We head deep into big-sky country for a full day at Mungo National Park—a landscape written in sand and time. Dry lakebeds unfurl to the horizon, mallee scrub gives way to pale lunettes, and the wind carves ripples into dunes that glow cream, apricot and ash-white as the light changes. This isn’t just scenery; it’s a place of profound cultural significance, where Traditional Owners have cared for Country for tens of thousands of years and where the ancestral remains known as Mungo Woman and Mungo Man were respectfully returned to rest.

At the Walls of China—the great lunette on the southeastern fringe of Lake Mungo—we pause for stories and short walks. Up close, you’ll see sculpted “badlands,” ancient soil layers and the work of wind, water and time. Emus patrol the flats, kites wheel in the thermals, and the silence carries its own kind of welcome.

Today is about wonder and understanding: remarkable geology, deep human history, and the simple pleasure of standing in a place that feels like nowhere else on earth.

Highlights: World Heritage landscapes • Walls of China lookout/walk (conditions permitting) • cultural interpretation and geology • wildlife spotting and wide-angle photography

Good to know: Sections of access may be unsealed; routes and site access depend on weather and park advice. Bring a hat, water and sturdy shoes, and please follow cultural protocols—stay to paths/boardwalks unless with a licensed guide.

Day 9 Monday:

Mildura → Wentworth → Broken Hill (BD)

After breakfast we turn north toward Broken Hill, pausing in Wentworth—the quaint river port nestled beside Australia's two mightiest rivers. As we traverse the scenic route, take a moment to soak in the beauty of the surrounding landscape and reflect on the enriching experiences of the past seven days exploring the vast Australian terrain.

Continuing across wide, open country, we roll into Broken Hill by early afternoon. Take time to unwind and have lunch at your leisure (own expense) while you savour a week of river stories and big-sky horizons. Later, we explore Australia’s first Heritage-Listed city—grand facades, art corners and outback character—before driving to the Living Desert & Sculpture Symposium. As the sun slips low, twelve sandstone forms glow ember-red against the desert—an unforgettable finale to the day.

Highlights: Darling–Murray junction • Wentworth heritage tour • Broken Hill orientation • Sunset at the Sculpture Symposium

Good to know: Lunch is at your own expense. The sculpture site involves a short, gently sloped walk—bring a hat, water, and a light layer for after sunset. Routes and timings may adjust to road conditions.

Day 10 Tuesday: Departure (B)

Silver City Tours bid you a fond farewell and transfer you to your departure point.

2026 Prices

$4595.00 per person Twin Share

$5445.00 per person Single