Australia's Golden Outback 2023 Holiday Planner

I n the Gascoyne Murchison, the red heart of Western Australia, pindan soils sweep expansive plains and immense, towering rocks and ranges dwarf all that surrounds, humbling the soul. Here, you’ll be greeted with a classic vision of Australia’s Golden Outback — rugged, all-encompassing, otherworldly and completely awe-inspiring. It’s the kind of place that you can’t just pass through on the breeze. You need to live and breathe it to connect with the life here; and there’s no way to immerse yourself into the lifestyle and landscape quite like a station stay. Embrace this pastoral region’s culture when living like the locals, and experience the most brilliant, glittering starry skies around the campfire at night, allowing time to become naught but a foreign concept. With your station stay as a base for a while, embark upon inspiring touring routes and walking trails to soak in the sights. Wildflower season (July – Aug) is one of the most spectacular times to explore. If you’re lucky, late downpours will time perfectly just prior to your visit, transforming the red, dusty landscapes into lush, green carpets speckled like an ice-cream with hundreds and thousands of colourful wildflowers. Walking trails around Wooleen Station will expose you to the likes of wurmbea densiflora, eremohpilas, cassias, sidas, everlastings, acacias and bachelor buttons opening their tiny petals to the sun. In the north you’ll find iconic species like the scarlet red sturt desert pea setting the undergrowth ablaze and the royal purple mulla mulla carpeting the roadside. The magnificent Kennedy Range / Mundatharrda and Mount Augustus / Burringurrah also offer particularly inspiring wildflower settings — their rugged, golden outlines are enhanced by clusters of wildflowers at the base. Mount Augustus, not to be missed, is twice the size of Uluru and something of an icon for the region. Experienced hikers can climb its summit, or walk the base and admire accessible galleries of ancient art. Every year the massive rock is the fitting venue for Australia’s Biggest BBQ when the Gascoyne Food Festival celebrates the best of the bush. Kennedy Range National Park is a

How to Get There

of Aboriginal people of the area at Carnarvon’s exceptional Gwoonwardu Mia Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre . As you walk through its interpretive centre, you’ll encounter many themes ranging from stories of the land through to station tales. The main surviving language of the Gascoyne Murchison is Wadjari, originally spoken in the eastern Murchison area. While a number of languages were spoken in the region, the people all referred to themselves as Yamatji. Today, they refer to the language they speak as the Yamatji language. By Road: The Gascoyne-Murchison has a good network of sealed and all weather roads. There are also the gazetted Outback Pathway trails that make for an enjoyable self- drive adventure. By Air: Skippers flies regular air services from Perth to Wiluna, Meekatharra and Mount Magnet. Reservations 1300 729 924. By Coach: Transwa operates coaches to a number of the Gascoyne- Murchison towns - including Yalgoo, Mount Magnet, Cue and Meekatharra. Tel: 1300 662 205.

film directors’ outback vision of stunning gorges, red sand dunes, natural springs and honeycomb rocks. Camp under a canopy of endless stars here and 4WD to your heart’s content — the range stretches 75 kilometres. Explore the majestic Mount Augustus when travelling the Road to Rock or Kingsford Smith Mail Run . You’ll also find the Kennedy Ranges along your way, as well as along the Wool Wagon Pathway . Kingsford Smith Mail Run and Wool Wagon Pathway belong to the trifecta of trails that comprise the Outback Pathways , along with Miner’s Pathway . The stories and secrets of the region unfold along these trails via interpretive roadside signage along the lattice of sealed and unsealed roads. The Gascoyne Murchison’s collection of self-drive pathways criss-cross the region and showcase the many natural wonders and rich history of this magical landscape. The Murchison GeoRegion Trail is another jewel in the region’s crown, showcasing the significant natural, cultural and geological heritage of the area and easily explored from the region’s towns and the Outback Pathways. Download the Murchison GeoRegion app which takes you on a journey of 21 significant sites, through a unique and ancient landscape full of stories that reach back almost to the earth’s beginning, some 4.54 billion years ago. Celebrate the culture and heritage

australiasgoldenoutback.com | The Gascoyne Murchison | 17