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Travel Information

Corporate Travel Management (CTM) has been appointed the official travel agency for the conference. CTM offers special flexible/changeable conference airfares at up to 40% discount off full economy class airfares on Qantas services or the best Internet or published airfares available on Qantas and Virgin Blue Airlines.

Early bookings are advised.

CTM will advise the best airfare available and conditions of purchase at the time of making your booking.

DAY 1 - SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER

Plane departs Bankstown - refuels at Griffith - arrives Mildura - Mungo National Park - Arumpo Station - Walls of China - Mungo

The chartered private scenic low-level flight will take approximately 4 hours from Sydney to Mildura. With the opportunity of viewing the highest possible diversity of NSW landscapes on the way. Informed commentary and plenty of photographic opportunities will be made available. (The current planned route is Bankstown, Jenolan Caves, Mossvale, Kangaroo Valley, Nowra, Braidwood, Cooma, Snowy Mountain Range, Tumbarumba, Wagga, Griffith, Booligal, Mungo and Mildura).

Board coach for transportation to Mungo National Park. Viewing some land use issues on the way (ie. Arumpo Station). View display at the Visitors Centre and have an introduction to the Willandra Lakes Heritage Area.

Sunset drinks at the Walls of China. Photographic opportunities of erosion and sand dunes, arguably some of the most impressive soil erosion in Eastern Australia!

Meals include: Morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Accommodation: Mungo Lodge - twin/triple share

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DAY 2 - MONDAY 29 NOVEMBER

Tour of Mungo - Willandra Lakes - Mungo National Park - Balranald

Tour of Mungo by our bus driver, a local aboriginal guide and David Eldridge, Western Division soils expert. Tour the internationally renowned Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. Mungo National Park contains a varied environment of clay and sand-rich lunettes, sandy sub-parabolic and linear sand dunes, and extensive loamy sand plains with breathtaking areas of natural and human-induced erosion. See century old soil structure decline - Cobb and Co coach tracks! On the way back to Balranald, Dave Eldridge will provide the opportunity to learn more about the soils and vegetation of South-Western NSW, their management and environmental issues associated with their use.

Meals include: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Accommodation: Balranald Motor Inn - twin share

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DAY 3 - TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER

Balranald - Coleambally Irrigation Area (long drive across the Riverine Plain) - Narrandera - Wagga

We swap to a larger coach to drive across the famous Riverine Plain, an extensive alluvial landscape interrupted only by the scalded levees of prior and ancestral streams, as well as the channels of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers. However it contains a remarkable diversity of soil and subtle vegetation features.

Our journey will be punctuated with a stop or two to inspect profiles with Dave Eldridge and to discuss typical Riverina soil profiles and sites of land use issues with landholders.

In the afternoon we will be inspecting soils and land use of the Colleambally Irrigation Area with well-known soil scientist Liz Humphreys.

Meals include: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner
Accommodation: Central Motel, Wagga - twin share

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DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY 1 DECEMBER

Wagga - Tarcutta - Tumut - Yass - Young

Murrumbidgee regional soil surveyors Janet Wild and Brian Jenkins will lead our group from Wagga to Yass, stopping off just before Gundagai to inspect some unusual soils and have morning tea. Following this, we will inspect salinity and inland acid sulfate soils at Dicks Creek with leading soils man Rob Fitzpatrick, and in the afternoon we will ponder on the origin of interfluve lagoons and their associated soils with DIPNR principle scientist Greg Bowman.

Meals include: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner
Accommodation: Great Eastern Hotel, Young - twin or more share

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DAY 5 - THURSDAY 2 DECEMBER

Young - Greenethorpe - West Wyalong - Lake Cowal - Jemalong Wildes Plains - Forbes

Soils expert Brian Murphy will introduce us to 'Landra' the Greenethorpe Castle (a unique part of the history of share farming in Greenethorpe area). This is the area where William Farrer tried some of his rust resistant wheats for the first time. We will then continue on to Richard Langleys (Conservation Farmer of the Year) farm at Greenethorpe to see no-till /controlled traffic farming at its best.

Later we will visit the Lake Cowal Mine (just started to mine after several years of seeking environmental approval) to view amazingly detailed geological cores taken many metres into an ancient lake system. Then to Jemalong Irrigation Area where soils extension expert and farmer John Lawrie will introduce us to one of the first irrigation areas developed in NSW (a confined irrigation area with some environmental issues i.e. leakage of channels and salinity concerns) viewing a series of pits dug across a prior stream. We will be introduced to irrigation management issues and the outputs of a recent soil survey in the area. In the afternoon we will inspect remarkably successful permanent bed conservation farming systems on highly sodic soils on Philip Adams' farm near Forbes.

Meals include: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner
Accommodation: Albion Hotel, Forbes - twin share

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DAY 6 - FRIDAY 3 DECEMBER

Forbes - Cowra - Blayney - Bathurst

After inspecting urban salinity problems in a heritage building we will travel to Escort Rock, the site of Ben Hall's boldest bushranging exploit. There Brian Murphy will lead the discussion on the salinity and hydrology of Mandagery Creek, discussing salt loads, use of soil landscape modelling in the development of the hydrological models.

Then we will travel to our BBQ lunch at DIPNR's Cowra Research Station before we embark to a large Cowra winery for inspection of precision viticulture and an erudite discussion on the impact of soils on wine by Dr Andrew Rawson.

In the afternoon we will visit soils guru Ian Packer's recharge estimation plots and discuss the impact of land management by soil type on salinity and hydrology. Our penultimate stop for the day will be the most outstanding known dust derived profile at Carcoar where Geoff Humphreys, soil process expert will discuss features of the profile.

Our final site for the day will be some interesting pedological and geological features adjacent to the Mount Panorama racing circuit.

Meals include: Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner
Accommodation: Park Hotel, Bathurst - twin share

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DAY 7 - SATURDAY 4 DECEMBER

Bathurst - Newnes Plateau - Upper Blue Mountains - Western Sydney - Sydney

Travel via Lithgow to the Newnes Plateau where Geoff Humphries will show us wind blown sands, and impressive mountain heath and skeletal soils 'Pagoda Country'. We will then continue to the Blue Mountains National Park visitor Centre at Govetts Leap lookout for a brief discussion of geology and soils of the Blue Mountains

Then to the Three Sisters lookout for a discussion concerning the role of soil science in the management of Warragamba Dam catchment. Later we will ride one of the steepest aerial cable cars in Australia to inspect the cliff shadow rainforest of the Jamison Valley. After ascending steeply from the valley by cable car we descend to the mid mountains to inspect Kings Cave, an historic natural shelter for those crossing the Blue Mountains. Here we will further discuss mountain soil formation. Then into Western Sydney where we will inspect urban salinity sites and impacts of salinity on infrastructure.

We expect to arrive in Sydney at dusk where you will be dropped at the conference hotels.

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POINTS TO NOTE:

1. The pre-conference field trip may be subject to changes and updates. Please keep an eye on the website for any new information.

2. In the case of wet weather the proposed sites and discussions will vary as necessary.

3. There is a luggage limit of 10kgs per passenger on the plane, please pack thoughtfully.

4. There are limited numbers, please secure your seat early.