South West Queensland & Lightning Ridge Rover

Queensland

All our tours are fully inclusive.

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As featured in Weekender Channel 7
Coach
Coach
Eco
Eco
Indigenous experience
Cultural

Tour summary

Travel with the best tour and transport operator.
Awarded GOLD at the 2022 Australian Tourism Awards

Join us as we explore the best of South WestQueensland and its rich history. Enjoy lunch and a tour of the historic HotelCorones, visit the Bilby Centre and experience a Big Sky Twilight tour at theCosmos Centre. Visit the Artesian Time Tunnel, discover the history of StGeorge, a tour and three course lunch with wine tasting at RiversandsWines.  Arriving then in Lightning Ridge for a two-night stay where wevisit the Australian Opal Centre, housing the world’s greatest publiccollection of the Australian Opal. Nearing the end of our epic journey, enjoy acotton tour of Goondiwindi before our final lunch together at Albert RiverWines.

Departure location:
Brisbane Coach Terminal
Return location:
Brisbane Coach Terminal
Tour duration:
8
days
Physical rating:
2 - Moderate
Departure dates:

28 July 2025 (Gold Class)

Coming soon
Coach classes:
Gold
Gold
Tour accreditations:
Tour experiences:

22 Meals Included 2 Eco Experience 6 Cultural & Heritage Experiences

Join waitlistBook now
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South West Queensland & Lightning Ridge Rover

as featured in

Check out our spotlighted tour!

Take an exclusive glimpse into our immersive tour featured in Weekender. Discover how Fun Over 50 Holidays seamlessly combines luxury, adventure, and local expertise, making us the go-to choice for travellers over 50.

Tour pricing

Twin Share
Gold
Gold
$
3850
pp
Sole Use
Gold
Gold
$
4425
pp
Deposit:
$400pp
Sole Use:
Green Guest Policy:
All prices are in AUD.

Additional information

Deposit of $400pp required within 14 days of making booking to secure your reservation.

Tour inclusions

  • Travel Carbon Neutral on our 100% offset luxurious 'Gold Class' coach
  • Fully escorted by experienced Fun Over 50 Holidays tour host and coach captain
  • Picnic Point Toowoomba
  • 1 night Roma
  • Roma Cattle Sale yards and interpretive centre
  • 1 night Charleville; Guided tour of Charleville & Hotel Corones
  • Charleville Bilby experience
  • Big Sky Twilight tour at the Cosmos Centre
  • Artesian Time Tunnel at Cunnamulla
  • 2 nights St George with guided tour
  • Riversands Wines tour, wine-tasting & three-course lunch
  • Thallon Silo Trail; Australian Opal Centre
  • 2 nights Lightning Ridge
  • Fred Bodel’s hut
  • Locally guided tour of Lightning Ridge
  • Amigo’s Castle; Cactus Gardens
  • 1 night Goondiwindi with town & cotton farm tour
  • ‘Chambers of the Black Hand’; thermal baths
  • Albert River Wines finale long lunch
  • 22 meals

Additional information

PRE & POST TOUR EXTENDER OPTION

2 additional days (TOTAL 10 DAY TOUR)

• Return economy class flights ex Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide to Brisbane

• 2 additional nights room only (1 night pre & 1 night post tour) at Meriton Suites Brisbane

• Return Airtrain tickets ex Brisbane Domestic Terminal to Roma Street Station

Plus $999pp Twin Share

Plus $1230 Sole Use

**Subject to availability – some block out dates apply. Prices are subject to change without notice**

Physical rating

2 - Moderate
Passengers must be able to:
  • Participate in guided or unguided small walking tours at a relaxed pace
  • Walk on mostly level ground
  • Tackle an occasional flight of stairs or incline
  • Occasionally need to stand for up to 10 minutes
  • Get on and off transportation unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Participate in walking tours with time to rest at least every 10 minutes
  • Walk confidently on bush tracks and soft sand – mostly level ground
  • Stand for 15 minutes without needing to sit down
  • Tackle a flight of stairs or incline
  • Get on and off transportation multiple times unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Participate in walking tours without having to stop or sit down to rest for up to 20 minutes
  • Walk up an incline equal to a flight of stairs without stopping
  • Stand for 30 minutes without needing to sit down
  • Walk over uneven ground, tackle cobbled creek crossings & walk through soft sand
  • Get on and off transportation multiple times unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Be extremely mobile and live an active lifestyle
  • Negotiate inclines, declines and varied terrain confidently
  • Participate in a physical activity lasting up to 5 hours (Trek/walks)
  • Manage your own luggage and be able to carry with you a backpack with items required for the physical activities
Learn more about our fitness levels

Physical rating

2 - Moderate
Passengers must be able to:
  • Participate in guided or unguided small walking tours at a relaxed pace
  • Walk on mostly level ground
  • Tackle an occasional flight of stairs or incline
  • Occasionally need to stand for up to 10 minutes
  • Get on and off transportation unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Participate in walking tours with time to rest at least every 10 minutes
  • Walk confidently on bush tracks and soft sand – mostly level ground
  • Stand for 15 minutes without needing to sit down
  • Tackle a flight of stairs or incline
  • Get on and off transportation multiple times unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Participate in walking tours without having to stop or sit down to rest for up to 20 minutes
  • Walk up an incline equal to a flight of stairs without stopping
  • Stand for 30 minutes without needing to sit down
  • Walk over uneven ground, tackle cobbled creek crossings & walk through soft sand
  • Get on and off transportation multiple times unaided
  • Manage your own luggage
  • Be extremely mobile and live an active lifestyle
  • Negotiate inclines, declines and varied terrain confidently
  • Participate in a physical activity lasting up to 5 hours (Trek/walks)
  • Manage your own luggage and be able to carry with you a backpack with items required for the physical activities
Learn more about our fitness levels
Eco experience
Eco experience
Local guide
Local guide
Heritage
Heritage
Food & Wine experience
Food & Wine experience
Swimming
Swimming
Indigenous experience
Indigenous experience

Itinerary

Departs
Brisbane Coach Terminal
Returns
Brisbane Coach Terminal

Day

1

Roma

Coach

We depart from the Brisbane Coach Terminal on our opulent ‘Diamond Class’ or luxury ‘Gold Class’ coach, travelling responsibly knowing all coach emissions are 100% offset. We travel through the Lockyer Valley and onto Toowoomba where we have morning tea at Picnic Point. A perfect opportunity for a photo of the Lockyer Valley below. We continue through Dalby and onto Chinchilla for lunch, then on along the Warrego Highway through Miles to finish our day at Roma.

AccomModation
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Roma Explorers Inn
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

2

Charleville

Heritage
Local guide
Eco

We start our day at Roma’s Cattle Sale yards which is the largest cattle selling facility in Australia. We browse the new state-of-the-art interpretive centre telling the story of the cattle industry. As you enter the Interpretive Centre, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d joined a cattle drive on the long paddock. Leaving Roma we take a stop at Morven, then continue on Charleville for a tour and lunch at the historic Hotel Corones. Built in stages, the hotel was completed in 1929 during Charleville’s wool industry boom. Following lunch we take a guided gossip tour of Charleville and visit the Bilby Centre to see the super cute bilbies in their spectacular nocturnal house. Learn about the plight of the bilby and the successful breeding and release program. Tonight enjoy drinks and canapés followed by the Big Sky Observatory Outback Stargazing Tour at The Cosmos Centre. See an amazing night sky brought into focus with the help of powerful Meade telescopes and listen to captivating stories from an experienced sky guide.

AccomModation
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Diamond
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The Rocks Motel, Charleville
AccomModation
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

3

St George

Heritage
Local guide
Indigenous experience

Arriving in Cunnamulla we break at the famous Cunnamulla Fella statue, a larger than-life statue tribute to the Aussie larrikin stockman. Enjoy a visit to The Artesian Time Tunnel, stepping inside a mock opal mine lift and taking a journey through time. We go back 100 million years, deep into the middle of ancient sandstone rocks that form part of the Artesian Basin. Further down the road we break in Bollon and take a Nullawokka First Nations Cultural Tour, enjoying a bush tucker-inspired lunch and a tour with Bill, a Gwamu/Kooma elder from the area. A visit to the Nullawokka Art Gallery in the historic post office reveals thoughtfully curated Indigenous artworks and an insight into local places of significance for the First Nations people. We finish our day travelling on to St George.

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Merino Motor Inn
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

4

St George

Local guide
Heritage
Food & Wine experience

This morning we are joined by a knowledgeable local guide for a Heritage tour of St George. This includes a visit to Anchorage Homestead to discover the history of one of the oldest homesteads in the shire, heritage listed and built in 1903. We leave the homestead and make our way to the well-respected makers of Riversands Wines for a tour of the vineyard followed by wine tasting and a three-course winery lunch. After returning to our accommodation, enjoy the afternoon at leisure before meeting up again for dinner.

AccomModation
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Merino Motor Inn
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

5

Lightning Ridge

Local guide
Heritage
Food & Wine experience

Our first stop today is Thallon’s beautiful town park, for a selfie with ‘William the Wombat’, a giant sculpture of the critically endangered Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. We join a local guide to learn more of the town’s special connection to the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat, see the town’s numerous sculptures, and seek out the vibrant Thallon Silo Mural. After lunch, we continue on to Lightning Ridge, once a forested plain near this ancient sea, famed for dazzling opal and as one of Australia’s most important dinosaur fossil sites. Our afternoon is spent at the Australian Opal Centre which houses the world’s greatest public collection of Australian opal, rare opalised fossils, opal-related geological samples and opal from around the world. From here we make our way to our hotel to check-in.

AccomModation
Gold
Diamond
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Lightning Ridge Outback Resort
AccomModation
Gold
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

6

Lightning Ridge

Local guide
Heritage
Swimming

Today, our local guide shows us many hidden gems in this fascinating town. We visit Fred Bodel’s hut, the oldest miner’s camp in the area and the Historic Three Mile Flat, the site of the early miners’ settlement. We travel back to town for morning tea and an opal cutting demonstration. Later we learn about the historic opal mining techniques at Lunatic Hill Open Cut. Next we see the Astronomers’ Monument, the hand built Amigo’s Castle and Bevan’s cactus gardens. After lunch we visit ‘Chambers of the Black Hand’ a national treasure in the making in a 100 year old mine shaft. After a day of sightseeing we take a therapeutic soak in the naturally heated thermal baths.

AccomModation
Gold
Diamond
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Lightning Ridge Outback Resort
AccomModation
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

7

Goondiwindi

Local guide
Eco experience

We farewell Lightning Ridge and head for Moree in the beautiful Gwydir Valley. We join a local guide for a cotton farm tour. Discover the heart of the town’s cotton industry, showcasing the process of cotton farming from planting to harvesting, see the crop (if in season) up close and learn about the irrigation systems, visit the cotton gin to see the processing of cotton bales, and other farming practices used to cultivate the cotton. We finish our day travelling on to Goondiwindi.

AccomModation
Gold
Diamond
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Best Western Ascot Lodge, Goondiwindi
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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

Day

8

Brisbane Coach Terminal

Food & Wine experience

Making our way back to Brisbane, we indulge in a long lunch overlooking the vines at Albert River Wines. The sweeping grounds are home to two historic buildings and sprawling vineyards, we arrive back to the Brisbane Coach Terminal late afternoon.

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Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner
Included meals
Breakfast
Morning Tea
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Dinner

What you'll see and do

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Fun Over 50 Holidays has been awarded Best of Queensland Experience 2023

Fun Over 50 is proud to announce that we’ve been named as a Best Of Queensland Experience. This means that we come highly recommended by travellers, and provide exemplary tourism experiences through:

  • Exceptional service reflected in customer reviews
  • Best practice industry standards
  • Regional Tourism Organisation accreditations
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Travel in style and comfort

Our Gold Class coach tours let you experience the beauty of the Australian landscape in comfort and style. From the coach itself to the accommodation and meals, every detail is considered.

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For the next level in luxury, our Diamond Class coach tours give you the business class experience every step of the way. We only book the very best options available

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Frequently asked questions

How do I book this tour?

To book this tour, all you need to do is get in touch with us. We will take your details and reserve your place over the phone. We can also answer any questions you may have and give you all the information you need.

How much luggage can I take?

Our coach tours have a baggage restriction of 17kg per person (regardless of flight and rail allowances) due to our Occupational Health & Safety standards. You can also bring one small, soft carry-on bag not exceeding 30cm wide, 30cm high, and 15cm thick that may be stowed in the overhead compartment.

What do the fitness ratings mean?

Each of our tours has a fitness rating which describes the level of physical activity involved with the tour. These ratings are very important when choosing your tour to ensure it's right for you.  Our fitness ratings are:

  • 1 Easy
  • 2 Moderate
  • 3 Active/moderate
  • 4 Highly active
What is the average size of tour groups?

Our Gold Class coaches have a seat capacity of between 44 and 46, but we cap Gold Class tours at 40 guests per tour. Our Diamond Class tours have a capacity of just 26 guests. Other tour types may have different capacities depending on the transport and destination. Please get in touch with our team if you have any questions about a specific tour.

Can you cater for my dietary requirements?

In most cases, yes we can. We can accommodate guests who are vegetarian and can assist with diabetic, gluten-free and other medically-recommended diets. Please advise us at time of booking, and we can confirm with our suppliers and restaurants.

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