South Australian Skies

After a leisurely breakfast, travel to the airport for your private flight to the Flinders Ranges, South Australia’s only mountain range. Estimated Flight Time: 74 minutes. The Flinders Ranges begins approximately 200 kilometres North West of Adelaide and stretch for over 430 kilometres across South Australia, running North/South. The most characteristic landmark is Wilpena Pound, a large, halfmoon shaped natural amphitheatre covering nearly 80 square kilometres. Wilpena Pound includes St Mary’s Peak, which at 1170 metres, is the Ranges highest peak.

Your stay here, will be at the Arkaba Conservancy. Just ten guests at a time share this remote 60,000 acre private wildlife conservancy dedicated to the conservation of Australia’s unique wildlife and birds. Mobs of kangaroos, emus and other abundant wildlife will delight you on safaris through spectacular ancient landscapes, where expert field guides will immerse you in the story of the bush. Spend the days under the expert care of Arkaba’s guides looking for wildlife, learning about the unique flora, or relaxing at the homestead, soaking up the views.

Following breakfast, travel to the airstrip for your private flight over Lake Eyre / Kati Thanda (Australia’s largest salt lake) to Coober Pedy – the opal capital of the world. Estimated Flight Time: 2 hours 13 minutes. This afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of the opal fields and the underground dwellings of Coober Pedy. Learn for yourself how to choose an opal.

After breakfast, transfer to the airstrip for your private charter flight to the Gawler Ranges. Estimated Flight time: 1 hour 26 minutes. On arrival, meet with your local guide for a 4WD tour of Lake Gairdner. The white crust of this salt lake is likened to the surface of the moon. Here, you can walk on the surface of the lake and look north to see the endless white plains and the striking red surrounds and islands. The red dunes along the lake yield many animal tracks, flowers in spring, interesting vegetation and birds. Photo opportunities are endless. This afternoon, drive through a changing landscape, cigar shaped volcanic rock formations 1600 million years old, and keep your eyes peeled for lots of wildlife. You may see emus and red, western grey and euro kangaroos as you venture through the ancient outback range to Kangaluna Camp.

After breakfast, your expert local guide will tailor the day’s activities to the weather. Outback animals thrive in this environment. Expect to see three species of kangaroos as well as emus and many birds, returning to Kangaluna after sunset drinks at Kolay Mirica Rocks (the famous “organ pipe” formations).

An early morning drive to Baird Bay where you will board the boat for an unforgettable wildlife experience. A 5 kilometre boat journey to a lagoon at Jones Island will allow you to visit a resident colony of rare Australian sea lions. You will have the opportunity to jump in and swim with these agile and friendly mammals in the protected shallow lagoons. You may very well be smooched by the curious, playful creatures!

After lunch on the beach, leave Baird Bay for the nearest airstrip. Board your private flight for Port Lincoln – the seafood capital of Australia. Estimated Flight Time: 48 minutes. On arrival, it’s only a short drive to the beautiful Mikkira Station, one of Australia’s very best habitats where Koalas can be found in the wild. Visit the restored original homestead and go for a stroll under the beautiful old Eucalypt trees, to come face to face with the cuddly icon of Australia as they laze in the Manna gums. The stunted Gum trees will mean you are at eye level to the koalas – you will need more than 2 hands to keep count! Wild but placid kangaroos casually hop around in this beautiful setting. Emus roam amongst mobs of sheep and there is astounding birdlife here, some of which are rare and native to this area. Bush birds include: Port Lincoln (Australian Ringneck) Parrots, Black-Faced Cuckoo-shrikes, Pallid Cuckoos, Golden Whistlers and an occasional Scarlet Robin.

As the sun settles for the evening, relax with wine and a platter of local produce as you listen to the beautiful sounds of nature. It’s a short drive into Port Lincoln showcasing the small city’s highlights, en-route to your accommodation. Dinner tonight will be 3 courses of fresh local produce provided by your hosts.

Start the day with a ‘pick me up’ experience that goes far beyond caffeine. Visit, sample & maybe even roast your own beans from South Australia’s only speciality coffee roastery & bar, focusing exclusively on coffee. You’ll get an overview of the coffee process from crop to cup and you will get to taste test! The taste test will continue when you meet Tony Ford, one of Port Lincoln & South Australia’s best chefs at his Boston Bay Winery for a seafood & wine pairing lunch. Learning about the various wines grown here, sample some of Port Lincolns very best seafood. This winery is the world’s closest vineyard to the ocean, with the locals often joking that pruning needs to be done at low tide so the crayfish don’t bite you! The adventure continues in a National Park from white sand-dunes to the coastline that borders the Southern Ocean. This National Park is literally teaming with kangaroos, emus and native, coastal & inland bird species. For those a bit more adventurous, enjoy 4WDriving through massive sand dunes to the north and stunning coastline to the south. Dinner tonight will be 3 courses of fresh local produce provided by your hosts.

A sunrise picnic breakfast will showcase beautiful Boston Bay. This is a superb photo opportunity, as the ever-changing cloud formations make for a stunning backdrop. After breakfast, continue to beautiful Coffin Bay. The area is of outstanding beauty, world famous oysters and is home to a variety of important species of flora and fauna. There are no other comparable systems of bays and inlets in such compact form anywhere on the coast, which is why this area is classified as a maritime wilderness area. Oysters are on the menu and we take a morning cruise with Coffin Bay oyster farmer Chris Hank on his oyster barge. Chris will be showcasing the Pacific and the Native Angasi Oyster from a picturesque oyster-lease in Coffin Bay. Fresh out of the rack, you get to sample these magnificent oysters proving why they end up in the top restaurants around the world. If you are up for it, you can get in the water and pick out your own freshly harvested oysters straight from the rack and then you’ll get the opportunity to ‘shuck’ them yourself.

From the oyster lease, take a short cruise via The Brothers Islands, where you can watch the seabirds, seals and dolphins that surround this area. The larger island of The Brothers in the Mount Dutton Bay Conservation Park is of paleontological significance because of the presence of sub-fossil bones of six species, including an extinct kangaroo and a giant flightless bird. You will then get your feet wet, as you disembark on a secluded beach in the Coffin Bay National Park. Then it’s time to climb in a 4WD and venture back through the Yangie Trail along pristine beaches, malle scrub and calm and serene coastline. Wildlife is plentiful throughout the 31,000 hectare National Park with Western Grey Kangaroos, Emus, Goanna’s and Snakes and Dolphins in the Bays. Claimed as a National Park in 1972, the area was once called the Coffin Bay Run and was used to breed horses. There is an abundance of birdlife (150 different species in the park) and plenty of stops for photographic opportunities and you get to breath in the fresh aromas of sea air.

As seafood is a major part of this region, we tempt you with another lunch of fresh seafood platters at Coffin Bay 1802 Oyster Bar & Restaurant. After lunch, we take you to the region of Big Swamp, a birders paradise and local conservation area. For something a little different and especially for the chocolate connoisseurs, see and learn how chocolate is made. Pair it with a local organic wine or be amazed with the most unusual hot chocolate experience around. From here, we head to the airport for your flight to Adelaide. Estimated Flight Time: 61 minutes. On arrival, your private transfer will be waiting to take you to any hotel in Adelaide’s CBD or Glenelg.