Outback Trailblazer

Theme: Spirit of the Pioneers
Proposed Mass – St Joseph’s Chapel

• This morning we will visit the Mary MacKillop Precinct to celebrate the life of Australia’s first saint. Here we will also visit the Mary MacKillop Museum before entering into the peaceful St Joseph’s Chapel (Mary’s much-loved place of personal prayer) for Mass.  
• Travel north to visit the Sevenhill Winery and Centre of Ignatian Spirituality in the Clare Valley 
• Travel via Cradock where we will view St Gabriel’s Church, built in 1883.
• Continue on to Wilpena Pound at the base of a remarkable bowl-shaped natural amphitheater in the heart of the northern Flinders Ranges. 

Wilpena Pound Resort Overnight (BD)

Theme: Wonder of Creation
Proposed Mass: Outdoor Mass

• Choose from varying levels of spectacular bush walks today, including the Old Homestead and Wangarra Lookout walk, Arkaroo Rock, Brachina Gorge and the Cazneaux Tree being one of the most photographed trees in Australia.
• Remainder of day at leisure to relax and enjoy our unique surroundings.
• Enjoy a sunset walk with the kangaroos amongst the ancient Red River gums before dinner.

Wilpena Pound Resort Overnight (BD)

Theme: Abundance of Blessings
Proposed Mass – Vigil Mass – All Saints Parish, Port Augusta

• Depart for Port Augusta via the historic outback railway town of Quorn to browse the shops and maybe enjoy an afternoon tea in one of the quirky cafes.  
• Arrive into Port Augusta on the Spencer Gulf where the Outback meets the ocean. Check into our hotel after a panoramic tour of the port city.

Port Augusta Overnight (BD) 

Theme: Grace Through Trials

• Set out early this morning along the Stuart Highway into the heart of the South Australian outback to the underground opal town of Coober Pedy

Coober Pedy Overnight (BD)

Theme: Food for the Journey
Proposed Mass – underground St Peter & St Paul Catholic Church Coober Pedy

• This morning tour the famous underground dugouts and opal mines.
• Try your luck at noodling for opal in the towns mullock piles.
• Remainder of the day at leisure.

Coober Pedy overnight (BD)

Theme: Wonder of Creation
Proposed Mass – Planned Outdoor Mass

• Travel north and cross into the Northern Territory
• This afternoon we arrive at Uluru
• Fields of Light – Experience the changing colours of Uluru as the sun sets, followed by the world-renowned “Field of Lights” installation featuring 50,000 slender stems topped with radiant frosted glass spheres spread over an area of seven football fields in the foreground of Uluru

Uluru Overnight (BD)

Theme: Awe & Gratitude
Proposed Mass – Yulara Community Shed / Kata Tjuta Outdoor Mass

• Guided walk around the base of Uluru (Mala Walk)
• Visit Kata Tjuta National Park (also known as the Olgas) recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Area for both its natural and cultural values. to experience the Olgas as you walk through the Walpa Gorge, a natural creek bed that carves its way between the two tallest domes of Kata Tjuta.
• Celebrate an outdoor Mass in Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
• Remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
• Sounds of Silence dinner experience – an evening of dining under the sparkling outback sky.

Uluru Overnight (BD)

Theme: Peace & Reconciliation
Proposed Mass – Yulara Community Shed

• Visit Curtin Springs Station – a working cattle station – where you will learn about the legacy of the Severin family and their outback heritage.
• Stop at the Erldunda Roadhouse, “the Centre of the Centre”, where we will be able to have lunch, visit the kangaroo farm and emu enclosure.
• Arrive Alice Springs later this afternoon

Alice Springs overnight (BD)

Theme: Springs in Dry Places
Proposed Mass – Our Lady Of The Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Alice Springs

• Visit Simpsons Gap, a stunning gorge carved out of the West MacDonnell Ranges by Roe Creek, where water flows through a small gap in the mountain range.
• Continue west to Standley Chasm – Known traditionally as Angkerle Atwatye, meaning “Gap of Water”, Standley Chasm is a 3-metre-wide, 80-metre-high gorge. The walking trail to the Chasm and those in its surrounds offer chance encounters with a variety of inhabitants, including diverse bird species, lizards, wallabies, as well as native flowering plants and ancient cycad palms.
• Visit Ormiston Gorge one of the most popular and photographed places in the Red Centre, where we will enjoy a picnic lunch and opportunity to swim in the waterhole
• Travel on to Ellery Creek Big Hole, where thousands of years of massive floods have carved out a beautiful waterhole and unlocked some amazing geology
• Alice Springs City tour – an afternoon tour beginning with panoramic views from Anzac Hill overlooking the rugged West MacDonnell Ranges, School of the Air and the Telegraph Station and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Visit the Museum of Central Australia which tells the story of the region’s unique natural history. See also the Strehlow Research Centre, one of Australia’s most important collections of film, sound, archival records and museum objects relating to Indigenous ceremonial life.

Alice Springs overnight (BD)