7th – 11 May 2020
Join Bluedog Photography as we head to Quilpie in outback Queensland on a ‘Lending the Hand’ photography and cultural tour.
Danielle Lancaster will be joined by local Troy Minnett around an itinerary based around supporting regions and local businesses that have affected by drought, bushfire, flood or any other natural disaster.
Suitable for beginner, intermediate and advanced.
We hope you can join us into this wonderful area of outback Queensland where we will meet the locals, do a road trip and enjoy the night skies full of stars while supporting local businesses.
Please see below for the proposed itinerary, information on staying at the Channel Country Caravan Park in Quilpie, what to bring, price, inclusions, travel information and more.
Please if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us at info@blue-dog.com.au
‘I had the time of my life on my first Blue Dog Outback Tour. From start to finish the professionalism, pride and dedication of the Blue Dog shone through thus making the tour such a memorable one. The memories will live on forever.’ Kath M.
Highlights include:
Exploring outback landscapes from the Channel Country to the most eastern Simpson Desert. We’ll do a road trip one day and call into meet Corey at the Eromanga Natural History Museum, a station and boulder opal mine.
Evenings we will dine in town from tapas at The Brick to the local Quilpie Bowls Club and then there is the campfire back at the caravan park under those amazing clear skies.
Troy Minnett, is the owner of the caravan park and a fourth-generational Quilpie man, so we could call him a local. Troy will be joining us on many of outings as he showcases his unique backyard in Outback Queensland.
Price
Photographers: $1,274.00
Partners: $260.00
Children under 15: $114.00 (children are to be fully supervised at all times).
Prices include entry to Eromanga Natural History Museum, E-pack with notes as required, one-on-one tuition; constructive feedback, task sheets, some meals and the opportunity to capture images from within Queens;land’s outback.
Non-photography partners are welcome.
All prices are based from Quilpie, Queensland and are dependent on numbers of min 6
Meals as indicated in the itinerary below: B = breakfast; L = lunch; D = Dinner – we aim to support as many local businesses with pre-booking of meals as we can as to lend a hand.
Accommodation
Danielle and Troy will be based at the Channel Country Caravan Park.
There is a variety of accommodation available from cabins, a house, powered and unpowered sites. Please book your own accommodation and pay stating ‘Bluedog’ when booking (accommodation is not included in price). There are other accommodation options in Quilpie and surrounding.
Registration is made through Bluedog and we will double check your reservation with Channel Country Caravan Park (please note any cancellation policies).
Itinerary
Quilpie “Lending a hand’
Itinerary may be changed due to weather, safety or other factors.
Day 1: Thursday 7 May 2020
Arrive in Quilpie. Settle into accommodation before we head to one of the local coffee shops for an afternoon coffee or tea fix and the local stores and hotel for any supplies you may need. We’ll visit the opal alter, race track, take a drive around town and get our bearings – take note of the street names -and maybe catch up with a local or two.
6pm The Brick for tapas, drinks and dinner (own expense).
Overnight Quilpie
Day 2: Friday 8 May
It’s an early start as we head to Eromanga today! We will have breakfast packs ready (included). On the way, Troy will show us into a station where we may see a woolshed, before we meet Cory at 11.00am at the Ermomanga Natural History Museum for an hour personlised tour into the ancient history of the dinasours in outback Queensland (entry and tour included).
Time is allowed before lunch at the Eromanga Hotel at 12.30pm to wander the other musuems, meet the locals and absorb the quaintess of this friendly outback town.
2.00pm depart Eromanga for the trip back to Quilpie. Sunset along the road.
Dinner at the Quiplie Bowls Club. (own expense).
Overnight Quilpie
Day 3: Saturday 9 May
Rise and shine! We’ll have two locations for sunrise on the local map for you to visit.
Breakfast packs will be ready (included) before we head out looking for wildlife, scenery and people that call this special area home. In the middle of the day is some downtime for you to organise images, upload into our the ‘best photo of the day’ to be judged before we do a rec drive for our star trails/night sky photography location.
Dinner: For all registrations, the time for leaving for a star trails will be on this. Either have an early dinner at the Imperial Hotel, order a takeaway or provide your own dinner.
Overnight Quilpie
Day 4: Sunday 10 May|
Happy Mother’s Day to our Mums!
Breakfast this morning will be a cooked breakfast at 8.o0 am at the caravan park (included) with Troy and Danielle.
Today we will visit an opal shop and see first hand how these special gems are produced, then we may travel to a station out of town, see an outstation and discover other haunts Troy knows in the district. Maybe a little opal fossicking on the way – someone may well get rich! We’ll do a group photo at the ‘Welcome to Quilpie’ sign plus time to see the many other attractions like the Quilpie Miltray Musuem, Amy Johnston memorial, Bulloo River Walk, or the sandhills as options.
Overnight Quilpie
Day 5: Monday 11 May
We farewell you from Quilpie and Queensland’s wonderful outback.
Overnight your own bed.
Bluedog reserves the right to change the proposed itinerary if necessary.
For more information on the photography and tour details
Contact Danielle Lancaster
Tel: +6 14 28 715 310
Email: info@blue-dog.com.au
‘This was an amazing experience, I can’t thank you all enough.’ Mary K.
‘I loved the outback and look forward to doing more trips with Bluedog.’ Sue N.
“I was interested to learn more about the outback and that I did, I still can’t believe the opportunities we had. Danielle gave us lots of information. And of course the photography advice and assistance. I got the my bucket list shot! Thank you!!‘ Tim R.
Getting to Quilpie
Drive
The drive to Quilpie is one of Queensland’s great drives. If you can stop for a night in Charleville, and visit the Cosmos Centre and Bilbies. Ther are a multitude of festivals and events like Music in the Mulga you can call into on your way back – say a hi to Carmel and David.
Fly
Qantas Link flies direct from Brisbane to Quilpie – for those that are flying ground transport will need to be organised.
www.qantas.com.au
What to bring for camera gear
Camera, manual and tripod
Lockable cable release or remote
Polariser filter
2 batteries and charger
Computer or back up medium
What to bring – personal items
Water bottle, daypack with sunscreen and hand sanitizer, hat and personal toiletries. For clothing: long trousers, shorts, shirts, closed-in walking shoes, sunglasses, raincoat, umbrella, insect repellent, money for personal spending and meals. And extra snacks like chocolate if you like a late-night munch. Transport is not included. We are hoping most will drive but if you are flying we can work with others for a seat in a car – there is never a problem only a solution as we give a ‘Lending Hand’.
More Info:
Quilpie
Outback Queensland
Queensland Holidays
Eromanga Natural History Museum
