Daily tours and art sessions include

• Iconic buildings around Broken Hill
• Menindee Lakes and Kinchega National Park
• Mutawintji National Park
• Outback rock art in an area with restricted visiting rights
• Welcome and farewell dinner
• We plan to spend time with Badger Bates – winner of the 2015 Outback Art Prize and an established artist using the mediums of linocut print, wood, emu egg and stone carving and metalwork. His art often reflects the motifs, landforms, animals, plants and stories of Paakantji country and the Paaka or river. He mixes the traditional and contemporary to create a style that portrays a strong sense of identity and association with the land and waters. His art is an extension of a living oral tradition and is an important way of interpreting, renewing and handing on that tradition.

Cilla Campbell

I am a graduate of the National Art School, Sydney and conduct courses at the WEA in drawing and relief printmaking.

Throughout the year I lead national and international art tours. (check tour testimonials)

OUTBACK GUIDE

Tri State crew members come from all walks of life with a strong passion for the Outback. They are dedicated to this unique and inspirational land and hope you will fall in love with it as much as they have. With Advance Eco Certification and commitment to sustainability, Michael (founder and owner of Tri State Safaris) is passionate about the natural environment and sharing it with others. They are the recipient of many tourism awards including the 2013 award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism by an Individual.

CREATING ART

This is a private tour and our focus is to draw/paint our visual memories. We’ll explore different destinations every day. This tour is suitable for artists with drawing or painting experience. Non artists are welcome as there is a lot to see and experience. Those with limited drawing experience are welcome and will be given daily instruction. Everyone is encouraged to work at their own level with group appraisals as well as individual attention.

INCLUDED

• 4 nights accommodation with breakfast in comfortable well appointed ‘villas’
• Day tour creating art around Broken Hill at iconic sites
• Day tour to Menindee Lakes and Kinchega National Parks
• Day tour to Mutawintji
• Day tour to a private and restricted area with one of the largest concentrations of engraved rock art in Australia
• All lunches, morning and afternoon teas
• Welcome dinner
• Farewell dinner
• Daily art sessions
• Comfortable 4wd vehicle with local guide and driver

NOT INCLUDED

• Travel to/from Broken Hill
• Alcohol
• 2 dinners

WHAT TO BRING

It is early autumn – some cool layers are advisable

• Comfortable, casual clothes
• Sunhat, sunscreen, sunglasses
• Warm jacket
• Sensible NON SLIP walking shoes (you must be able to walk independently)

WHAT TO BRING: Art Materials

We will be drawing ‘en plein air’

• Any materials/surfaces you prefer (charcoal, graphite, watercolour, acrylic)
• Oils and pastels are difficult to transport and are not recommended.
• If you have never created art en plein air, a 2B pencil, medium size drawing book and rubber are sufficient.
• OPTIONAL: portable stool.

ACCOMMODATION

is in well appointed self contained cottages, close to the centre of Broken Hill.

FITNESS LEVEL

A reasonable level of fitness is necessary and that you can walk independently at a moderate pace on uneven ground.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

is recommended

CLIMATE

The average temperature in April: 12-24C.

Best to travel with layers for easy removal, especially in the middle of the day.

DAY ONE / SUNDAY 10 APRIL    

This tour begins late afternoon in Broken Hill (when the Flinders art tour returns mid afternoon). Settle in to our villa style accommodation and then down town for a celebratory welcome dinner.

DAY TWO / MONDAY 11 APRIL

After breakfast we’ll choose some of our favourite buildings and iconic Broken Hill vistas to draw, paint and explore. Lunch at Alfrescos with a visit to the Broken Hill Regional Gallery if there is an exhibition.

Free choice for dinner, perhaps a barbecue at our villa accommodation.

DAY THREE / TUESDAY 12 APRIL

After breakfast we’ll depart approx 8.30am for a day creating art and exploring MENINDEE LAKES & KINCHEGA NATIONAL PARK in comfortable 4 wheel drive vehicles.

Morning tea on the banks of Lake Pamamaroo is a great introduction to the spectacular area which is many times larger than Sydney Harbour.

Travel through Kinchega NP with kangaroo, emu and abundant birdlife. We’ll visit the historic woolshed and follow the Darling river as it winds through massive stands of red gums to the Menindee township.

Menindee was once a thriving river port and the area is rich in the history of our early explorers. Burke & Wills and Charles Sturt’s exploration parties both spent time camped at Kinchega. Learn about the aboriginal history of the area and of the first europeans who followed the Darling in search of pasture for their sheep.

Kinchega NP was once part of the Kinchega-Kars pastoral lease held by the Hughes family since 1870. At its grandest, the property extended from Menindee to Broken Hill and covered an area of over 800,000 acres.

Enjoy a picnic lunch on the banks of the Darling River, and marvel at the long shadows and spectacular colours of the late afternoon light, as we head back to the Silver City at the end of another wonderful day in outback New South Wales.

DAY FOUR / WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL

We’ll depart after breakfast, around 8.30am and drive 130km through the Barrier Ranges with saltbush and bluebush plains, mulga and red sand country.   We’ll find time to paint/draw amongst the gorges and creeks lined with majestic River Red Gums.

Today we explore MUTAWINTJI NATIONAL PARK within the rugged Byngnano Ranges with Aboriginal rock carvings, paintings and stencils dating back more than 8000 years. Mutawintji means ‘place of green grass and waterholes’ and is home to a wide variety of birds and wildlife. Mootwingee NP was formally handed back to it’s traditional owners in 1998 and is now called by its traditional name, Mutawintji.

Return to Broken Hill for a final group dinner and celebration of our time exploring the great Australian Outback together.

DAY FIVE / THURSDAY 14 APRIL

After checking out of our accommodation we’ll depart (approx 8.00am) after breakfast and travel north to a privately owned area, with exceptional examples of ABORIGINAL ROCK ENGRAVINGS. Limited groups may enter and we are one of the privileged few to experience this unique rock art site.

Panaramitee style rock art at this site is characterised by motifs pecked into the rock surface with a specially prepared stone tool. Animal tracks predominate, including kangaroo tracks, bird tracks and human footprints, as well as many other motifs. Some extinct forms are also recorded, such as thylacine, giant kangaroo and diprotodon. This site incorporates one of the largest concentrations of engraved rock art in Australia, with appx 18,000 individual engravings recorded. Engravings here date beyond 10,000 years old.

The day will also include glimpses of life on a working sheep station. Depending on time we’ll visit to historic buildings and mine sites and 4 wheel driving through spectacular areas of the Barrier Ranges.

The tour ends when we return to Broken Hill airport for departure on the 4.05pm return flight to Sydney.

$1,550.00  per person twin share

$250.00  single supplement

CANCELLATION CHARGES
You may cancel the booking at any time but written notification is essential.

The following charges apply:
90 days or more – forfeit of deposit until a replacement reservation is made.
Less than 90 days – forfeit 100% of tour cost unless a replacement reservation is made.

BOOKING

Please use the booking form below.
Bank details will be forwarded for a deposit ($500).