ando's outback tours

I have to admit that this review is based on a trip undertaken in 2001 or 2002. This was when Ted, the ancient but lively farmer ran the trip. I went with a mate who ended up getting married to one of the girls we met on the bus no such luck me!). Essentially the trip was a fascinating journey off the beaten track from Sydney to Byron Bay. En route we clipped sheep, went opal mining, drank beer, went riding, stopped in the Blue Mountains, drank beer, learnt to boomerang, went gold panning, drank beer, and ended up in Byron bay for what was an incredible night or 2 on the town.It was so memorable, not least for the locations we visited but the opportunity to get to know new people from all over the world. I'd do it again in a flash, one, if not the most, memorable trip of my life.

My family and I just got back from a trip to Australia/NZ (Dec 2013). It was a fabulous trip - beautiful scenery in NZ, top-notch diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and a wonderful time in Sydney. Easily the highlight of the whole trip, though, was the five days we spent with Noel knocking around the bush in NSW.We've done a lot of travelling, and the challenge is always to get to know a place from the standpoint of the people who live there. Nothing we've ever done has more successfully done that than our tour with Noel. We stayed in local people's houses (including Christmas with Noel and his wonderful family!) and small local hotels, spent time on a working sheep ranch and in charming small (non-touristy) towns, and never once felt like we were being given a "show". Noel himself is a delightful guide, taking you to places he knows as an insider himself, and about which he shares terrific stories. All this while taking in beautiful bush scenery, including scores of roos and emus in their natural habitat and wonderful birds of every hue.Taking this tour was one of the best travel experiences we've ever had, and I can say with confidence that if you're looking to get away from antiseptic hotels and places where tourists go and are catered to, this trip will be a fantastic experience!

It's hard to add anything that's not said in a review already. Even most Aussies who live in the bush have not seen this part of Australia or had this experience - Noel & Noel's trip is DIFFERENT & UNIQUE. You will not have this experience with anyone else but Snail !!! His knowledge about all things Australian is excellent & his willingness to share his life experiences & philosophies gives the trip an added depth. Noel's flexibility & the unknown quantity in the trip make every day exciting - you ask yourself " what awaits us next?" If you're up to a challenge & want to have the best, most unconventional, non-touristic Aussie experience, then join Snail on Valium (the name DOESN'T say it all !!!)Take Ando's Outback tour & find out for yourself.

We selected this tour based on the positive comments of other reviewers, and we were very pleased with what was delivered. We would recommend it to anyone visiting Australia that wants a real [fair dinkum] experience, not a bunch of tourist traps. We suspect that many Australians have not seen and done the things we did.......they should go too! We have just returned home from the tour [August 2013], and find myself drifting off to those fond memories of places and people. I'm counting on those daydreams sticking with me for a long time. Credit goes to our guide Noel: he is a true Aussie bushman; part philosopher, part educator, excellent driver/navigator. Credit also the awesome beauty of outback NSW. Added the best sunset ever to my BL.!!!

As all of the others have explained, this is truly a unique, one-of-a-kind, off the beaten path tour!My husband and I did this tour in February of 2011 and we have such fond memories of our trip. We panned for gold, stayed on a ranch, got to try to play a didgeridoo, had kangaroo stew, slept in a train car, saw the most stars we've ever seen in our lives, mined for opals, took a real 'outback shower', rode horses, and so much more. The best part was that we got to hang out and chat with locals of areas that most tourists never see!Noel is helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating, easy to talk to - just a really great guy.So do it! You will NOT regret it!!

After a management shuffle, this tour is now run by Noel. This tour IS the quintessential road trip. Taking advantage of the great expanse and isolation of the Australian Outback, you will learn about yourself and your life priorities by sharing conversation with Noel, fellow travellers, and random blokes along the way. You will observe, and maybe even adopt, pieces of the many radically different lifestyles. This kind of trip can't be found at a resort, you need to explore new places, that's where this trip will take you. With this considered, the tour itinerary itself is essentially customized for each tour depending on a few different factors (including season). If your heart is set on a certain experience, Noel will bend over backwards to satisfy you- he dedicates himself to being generous and wants to make the trip a success for each individual. As far as facilities and amenities that everyone mentions- all part of the experience. Come with an open mind and a few good things to talk about- there's not much else to do on the drive, but then again, that's the point! Discover Australia, discover yourself- go with Ando's Outback Tours!

Of the beaten track. You go places most Aussies have never been to, you get to meet the hard working people in outback places. Nothing fancy but genuine. This tour will stick with you for the rest of your life. Funny guide, good food, heaps of fun.

I read a recommendation for Ando's Outback Tour in Frommer's guide book and decided to take a chance on it despite there not being many online reviews and I am so very glad I did! My husband and 8 year old son and I just finished up our tour last week (in June- winter). Noel runs the tour these days and is as kind and knowledgable a fellow as you could hope to find. The real gist of this tour is that you see places, meet people and do things that you would never go and do on your own-- simply because they are not tourist traps but instead you are given the opportunity of stepping in and out of regular folks lives-- a meal in their home, a drink at their local rural pub, a breakfast with folks after sleeping on their ranch, a chat with tiny town store keepers or older blokes who up and decided to open a winery at 60, etc...just general characters that are all mates of Noel and Ted-- and now you are their mates so you are fully welcomed with open arms. It is by no means a 5 star trip and by no means an over-scheduled, exact itinerary, fancy food type thing--if you can't stand not knowing what is up next on the agenda or you feel that not eating your meals at the exact same time every day would be torture or you're a germaphobe -- this may not be the trip for you. But if you love the idea of moving outside your regular life for a few days, choosing to live in the moment by being present to other people's way of living and you want some degree of adventure and a glimpse into this amazing country in ways a tourist doesn't normally (horse riding, boomerang throwing, hiking to spots you'd never know about, scratching for opals, interacting with hunting dogs, the list goes on and on) -- go for it! It's an amazing price for the experience and you won't regret it (if you're open minded and easy going about travel). This was our first time to Australia and we feel so much more at home and connected here than we often do on trips because we were chatting with locals and just generally hearing their stories and sharing ours and we had a fabulous guide with us the whole time and I know we'll keep in touch with Noel. We can imagine coming back doing the tour again. It was an amazing experience for our son as well. You are in a 10 person bus so the drive time is really easy and it's like being on a safari (for city folks like us from the US) in terms of all the cool Aussie animals you see along the way. The stars at night are mind blowing as well as the sunrises and sunsets on those huge vistas. Noel chats away and answers any and all questions day and night...he's lived in Queensland and New South Wales all his life. The reason you don't find all the usual tour reviews on this group is that it's run by these funny, extroverted blokes whose kids are grown and have a bit less tying them down and they just want to let you see a bit of their world and show off things they think are cool and they love to meet some interesting folks themselves...they are not techies and the formal business end of things is the least of their concern...but that's what makes it special...they run when they want to and go where they like...email and see if it works for your schedule, it was a fabulous thing to follow our first 6 days in big city Sydney...definitely seeing two sides of the country. For me, I grew up with grandparents who were rural folks and I've lost touch with that part of the things once they passed away and it really touched me to be part of that world where animals are all around in everyday life, people are so sincere and have such a playful spirit about them, food is taken directly from the land and is needed for sustenance, vistas are big and empty and quiet and the people work for a living-- with their hands and backs, not their keyboards. If that appeals to you, you'll love it, but I warn you-- don't expect to take a shower :-)

Dear AndosI hope you are well.I went on your tour in 1998 (the computer did not allow access)You picked me up in an awesome school bus with young teens, I was in my 50's and showed us the time of our lives. I liked sitting in the back of the bus with either oranges or apples as we bumped along. The most memorable part was sleeping under the billions of stars somewhere in the outback. I can go on and on. thank you I will always remember you. Carol Sue Gershman New york

This tour is now run by Noel, butis just as good as the previous comments suggest. I am 21 and went with my 20 year old sister and my parents (late 40s). We had such a great time and learnt so much. We found opals, sifted for gold, slept in an old train carriage, went down a 40ft mine, hung out with locals at a pub in the middle of nowhere and met some fabulous people. This tour will stay with me for the rest of my life and I wish it all the best for the future.

I've been there april 2008. If I ever get the chance to go back to Australia, I'm deffinatly going to this part of the country again... I've been Australia for about 4 months, this tour has been the best week! Very friendly people, very welcoming, and I didn't feel like a tourist all the time, got to meet the "real" Australia... I've been reccomending this trip to eveyone I know who is going to visit Australia...

I used to live in the homestead on the same driveway as Ted, but over the hill! Ted's an awesome bloke it would of been about five years ago now, when i was 9/10 years old!!! He was such a funny aussie bloke, really polite, welcoming n AWESOME!!!!!!!! Living next to him i met many tourists and i really want to live there again when i grow up so i really recommend this for anyone who loves the outback and doesn't mind roughin it.

went on andos outback tour 5 years ago now, was one of the funniest weeks of my life, the guide ted made the trip the best i ever could have imagined, it was fun from the minute we left sydney! he was no spring chicken but he could fairly party! it was one adventure after another, not for the faint hearted:-)

My husband and I went on this tour about five years ago, and we still talk about it!! This is definitely an authentic Outback tour! If you want to see the real Outback and meet some real Aussies, this is the tour for you! There were about 8-10 other people on the tour with us, so you really got to know the people you were riding with. Ted, the owner, is so nice, funny, accomodating... you name it!! I can't think of one part of the tour that wasn't interesting and a load of fun! The price for the tour is exceptional too. Just know that you won't be staying in any 5 star hotel on this tour... it's definitely roughing it, but in a fun way!! I can't wait to go back and visit Ted!

I went on one of these tours 6 years ago, and still laugh about it/marvel at it today. It's definitely not one of your usual package tours - Ted the guy who runs it owns a ranch (where you stay the first night and shear his sheep - some go hog hunting but that wasn't for me) and is a big, burly, true-blue Aussie cowboy, with a twinkle in his eye and a wry sense of humour. He takes you to so many places, where he is friends with entire outback communities who welcome you and make you a part of them and their life. Activities range from mining for your own opals (and partying til dawn with the miners in their shanty town), swimming croc infested rivers (but he "knows the safe parts.."), climbing a mountain (in an hour!), horse riding through rivers, swimming in secret lagoons, cayacking with dolphins in Byron Bay (beautiful experience!). Many of the farmhands/cowboys at his ranch were people who had gone on one of his tours and decided to stay on at his ranch and work there. One of the girls on my tour decided to stay on with the miners!