“I want to tell you what a huge success the tour was. It was a great group expertly led by Christine and the Arkaba component was faultless.”
P. Murray
It’s no secret that South Australia packs a flavourful punch when it comes to good food & wine. Add Christine’s passion for tuning into the cycles of nature, eating seasonally & supporting the people contributing to the food on your plate. Her continuous thirst for learning about & giving back to the biodiversity of the land that sustains us and her well-seasoned appetite for adventure travel combine on this safari to give you this in spades.
PRE-NIGHT
5.45pm: Meet your fellow guests for Welcome Drinks hosted by Christine atop Adelaide’s luxury Mayfair Hotel at Hennessy Rooftop Bar.
Afterwards you’ll be transferred to family-run Parwana Afghan Kitchen for a casual, shared banquet-dinner.
Stay: Accommodation not included. We recommended the Mayfair Hotel for convenience and style.
DAY 1
This morning you’ll be collected from your Adelaide CBD hotel. Enjoy the convenience of a private group charter flight from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges with a scenic loop over Wilpena Pound.
Enjoy a Wild Bush Luxury welcome lunch ahead of your guided Lay of the Land safari experience, taking you deep into Arkaba’s conservancy. You’ll explore high ranges, rolling hill country, gorges and valleys, revealing a wide variety of habitat.
Immerse yourself in the story of the bush – its ancient geology and all of its glorious diversity. One of Arkaba’s field guides hosts dinner, providing an atmosphere more akin to staying with friends in the country or a private safari lodge than a typical luxury hotel.
Stay: Arkaba Homestead Guestroom
DAY 2
Today, immerse yourself in one of the world’s oldest landscapes, learn about Arkaba’s 500-million-year journey and how we are allowing natural processes to reassert themselves in this country.
Shady and picturesque, a guided morning walk takes you through Arkaba’s ancient landscape into creek beds lined with seemingly immortal and rejuvenating River Red Gums. Look up and spot birds that commune in the canopy, including healthy populations of galahs, parrots and honeyeater species.
Learn how Arkaba’s conservation programs have benefited and encouraged a growing web of ecological networks essential to native recovery in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges.
Return to the Arkaba Homestead for a bush-inspired lunch with matching wine.
On a 4WD safari this afternoon, keep an eye out for Emus, Red Kangaroos and raptors while delighting in afternoon tea with a dramatic backdrop.
Sip South Australian wine on top of the ranges with the grandeur of outback Australia laid out for miles around.
Upon return to the Homestead, our stone fireplace is a good space for a pre-dinner tipple before your hosted feast this evening.
After dinner, you might like to experience the Southern Hemisphere’s clearest skies silhouetted against mountains half a billion(!) years in the making.
Enjoy a cooking demonstration by Christine.
Stay: Arkaba Homestead Guestroom
DAY 3
Today you’ll venture into the spectacular ranges, valleys and Brachina Gorge in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. Home to fossils of the unique Ediacaran fauna and once used as a pass-through where bullock teams pulled their loads.
Along the way, you will pass the natural amphitheatre of Wilpena Pound, the jewel in the crown of the Flinders Ranges.
Learn about millennia of history in the beautiful shale and sedimentary rock bands. The mind-bogglingly ancient country is the inspiration for many a passing artist, including Sir Hans Heysen. The scree slope on the western side of the gorge provides the perfect opportunity to see the beautifully decorated near-threatened Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby endemic to the region and bouncing back from the brink of extinction.
Taste outback pub fare at the iconic Prairie Hotel for lunch. Nestled throughout the hotel, the Prairie Gallery features permanent exhibitions and is well worth a wander.
Stay: Arkaba Homestead Guestroom
DAY 4
The Wild Bush Luxury team will bid farewell as you depart Arkaba and the Flinders Ranges at 8:30 am for your scenic transfer to Adelaide via South Australia’s Clare Valley wine country.
You’ll head through the historic outback towns of Quorn, Wilmington, Mount Remarkable and Melrose, all famous for their nature-filled valleys and riverbeds.
You will be treated to an exclusive lunch at Mallee & Myrtle Farm by Warndu in the beautiful Clare Valley. Weather pending, you will dine in the trees or the original cottage with local Clare Valley wine, beer and cocktails. Food will be wild-harvested, foraged or sourced locally, and as always, Australian native food will be the hero.
Continuing south, you’ll arrive at Adelaide Airport at approximately 6 pm. Please arrange your departing flights from 7 pm to allow enough time for check-in.
If you are staying in Adelaide, we are happy to drop you at your city located hotel with our compliments.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
RATES
AUD $7,650 per person twin-share all-inclusive.
Only 8 places available.
TO BOOK
Please fill in this form >
SECURING YOUR PLACE
A non-refundable deposit of 20% is required within 7 days of making a reservation with your balance at 45 days prior to departure. For bookings made within 45 days, full payment must be made within 48 hours of booking. Direct deposit available or 1.7% fee for credit cards at arkabaconservancy.com/pay.
CANCELLATION POLICY
For cancellations outside of 45 days your 20% non-refundable deposit will forfeited. For cancellations within 45 days of arrival all monies will be forfeited. In case of unscheduled lodge closure (such as, but not limited to, the case of cyclone, fire or flood) full monies will be refunded subject to third party cancellation charges.
YOUR HOLIDAY MAKES A DIFFERENCE
By joining us, you are also actively contributing to our conservation mission to help save the biodiversity of Australia’s wildlife. Over five million native animals (and counting!) thank you from the bottom of their fluffy, feathery and scaly reptilian hearts.
ARKABA HOMESTEAD
Arkaba’s restored homestead is a Luxury Lodge of Australia and an exclusive outback South Australian experience.
Each of the five Homestead Guestrooms has a character of its own. Each is named after early settlers, explorers or property owners with a private bathroom and views of the surrounding ranges.
The décor has been hand-fashioned by wildlife artist Rosie Woodford-Ganf. Bedheads are from recycled fence posts and fleeces. Gumnut tassels tied back curtains, and lights are perched on explorers’ tripod theodolites.
The layout of the original homestead has been retained, exuding a real sense of history and place.
We unapologetically spare your room from noisy televisions, WI-FI, and internet connections. We’d much rather share expansive views, ever-growing species checklists and binoculars so you won’t miss a thing.
GROUP SIZE
We would rather not run into loads of people when out on safari, so we dial up on vast open space and keep numbers to a privileged few. This Outback Arkaba Safari with Christine Manfield will operate as a private experience with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 8 guests.
ITINERARY
Please use the schedule listed in this itinerary as a good(!) guide only. The day and time of guided safaris at Arkaba may vary to make the most of local conditions for utmost enjoyment and wildlife viewing on the day.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We understand that, sometimes, plans change. Therefore, if you cancel outside 45 days, we will provide a full refund less a $50 administration fee and any credit card merchant fees (if you’ve chosen to settle your deposit by credit card). Within 45 days of arrival, all monies are forfeited. We reserve the right to cancel bookings that remain unpaid within 45 days of arrival.
COVID ASSURANCE
Please see our Covid Assurance policy.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
We recommend that all guests obtain travel insurance, including a cancellation policy and emergency medical care. Travel insurance is available from travel agents, general insurance companies and some medical funds. We can direct you further if needed.
Christine Manfield is one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs – a curious cook and a perfectionist inspired by the culinary melting pot of global flavours. As an award-winning author, her books – A Personal Guide to India & Bhutan, Dessert Divas, Tasting India, Fire, Spice, Stir, Paramount Cooking and Paramount Desserts have spiced up the lives of keen cooks everywhere. She regularly contributes food and travel features to magazines.
As one of Australia’s leading culinary ambassadors, her professional culinary life as a restaurateur culminated in three groundbreaking, highly acclaimed restaurants: Paramount in Sydney 1993 to 2000, East@West in London 2003 to 2005 and Universal 2007 to 2013.
Her diverse work portfolio includes mentoring and collaborating with chefs and industry colleagues, hosting pop-up events in Australia and overseas and lending her experience as a national judge for the Delicious Produce and the Appetite for Excellence Young Restaurateur Awards. In addition, Christine is a consultant to Pearl Catering for specific events and, in the past, Brand Ambassador for Byron Bay Cookies – developing new flavours to broaden their range and profile.
A love of spices and an understanding of the home cook’s need for authentically flavoured, simple, sustaining food led Christine to develop the Christine Manfield Spice Collection range of spice pastes and condiments – widely available at retail stores throughout Australia (since 1999).
Christine continues to broaden her global interests as an inveterate traveller, hosting bespoke gastronomic tours to exotic destinations including India, Africa, Bhutan, France, SE Asia, Italy, South America, and Tasmania.
Giving back is an integral part of Christine’s work portfolio, and she lends her support to the following charities.
Harding Miller Education Foundation
Visit www.christinemanfield.com for more.
A clever and engaging food tribe that champion their excellent local resources bringing diversity to the plate.
It’s travelling off the beaten track to find this enticing place to stay that is so rewarding, to immerse yourself in the mesmerising landscapes and ancient indigenous culture, to fully appreciate the commitment to a sustainable environment and regenerating the land.
Experiencing the extraordinary beauty of Flinders Ranges and surrounding landscapes, exploring the hidden beauty of Brachina Gorge and being immersed in local indigenous history, finding a sense of place – all these experiences come together to make for a deeply satisfying outback adventure.
Please reach out if you have any questions about this or any other Wild Bush Luxury experience at Arkaba.
