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19 DAYS
24 JUNE – 13 JULY 2021
3,145 TOTAL KILOMETRES
Point the car west for Outback Queensland and travel along the Warrego Highway to Queensland’s Garden City, Toowoomba. Stop for morning tea at Picnic Point, best known for its expansive views across the Great Dividing Range.
If time permits today, call into the Cobb & Co Museum, before following the tracks of these original people movers to Chinchilla. Love watermelons? Keep any eye out for Chinchilla’s big watermelon, the town recognised as ‘Australia’s Watermelon Capital’.
Arrive in Roma, home to the largest cattle selling facility in the Southern Hemisphere. The town comes alive on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s with the sounds of the sales where over 400,000 cattle a year are seen through here.
For the afternoon, delve into Roma’s oil history at the Big Rig Oil Patch Museum where you can get to see historical rigs, interpretive displays, and other old-fashioned machinery that contributed to the industry.
If the town’s bottle trees take your fancy, stop for a photo with Roma’s largest bottle tree at the end of Edwardes Street.
Stay 1 night
Leave early to take the short drive to Mitchell along the Warrego Way, home to explorer and bush ranger stories. The town is named after explorer and Surveyor General of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Mitchell who explored the area in 1846.
Pit stop for a refreshing soak in the mineralised thermal waters and for lunch on the deck at the Mitchell Great Artesian Spa before continuing your way to Charleville.
Arrive in Charleville by afternoon, where the town makes up for its size with big experiences.
While in Charleville, get up close and personal with one of Australia’s most endangered species at the Bilby Experience and view the outback clear night skies like never before at the Cosmos Centre’s Night Telescope Observatory Session. If time permits in your schedule, book in for the Top-Secret WWII USAAF History Tour, to explore the uncovered site’s and delve into Charleville’s war history.
Make sure to arrive in time to make the most of Charleville’s Half Way There Shindig on June 25. Dance the night away to live entertainment or fuel up at the food stalls at the street party before the second round of the competition gets started at the Charleville Golf Course.
Stay 4 nights
Charleville Golf Club, May Street Charleville
Saturday 26 June – Sunday 27 June 2021
It’s time to make tracks to Cunnamulla this morning, taking the Matilda Way south.
Stop halfway on your journey in the town of Wyandra, once a major water stop for steam engines heading through to Charleville. You may be a long way from the beach here, but the town boasts its own ‘beach’ on the Warrego River.
Arrive in Cunnamulla home to natural outback beauty and classic country hospitality, perched on the Warrego River. The Cunnamulla Fella statue is hard to miss, paying tribute to region’s pastoral heritage and popularised tune by Slim Dusty, the ‘Cunnamulla Fella’.
If you’re looking for some action, adventure to the natural sand hills for sandboarding or alternatively take off for a relaxing paddle along the Warrego River.
For those wanting to spot a kangaroo on your outback trip, Cunnamulla is known to have the largest population of ‘roos in Outback Queensland.
Stay 1 night
Alternatively, take the Warrego Way directly to Quilpie, 210 kilometres west.
Travel to Eulo, known as the ‘Montville of the Outback’, 69 kilometres along the Adventure Way. Slide into an outdoor bath at the famed artesian mud baths, pick up leather handcrafted goods or sample the Eulo Queen Hotel’s signature dish for lunch.
Continue west for Thargomindah, home to Australia’s first hydro-electric power plant. Take the opportunity to visit their Hydro Power Plant Complex for a demonstration or unwind after the day’s drive along the Bulloo River Walk and Heritage Walk.
Thargomindah is a great launch pad for a trip to the Noccundra Hotel. The historic sandstone hotel lying 142 kilometres west of Thargomindah was established in 1882 and is all that survives of the town today.
Stay 1 night
This morning travel along the Quilpie Thargomindah Road to Quilpie via Toompine, known as ‘The Pub with No Town’. The iconic Toompine Hotel is over 120 years old and is all that remains of this once bustling town, which came about due to the discovery of opal nearby in the 1860’s.
Travel north to Quilpie, home to the exquisite boulder opal and location of event three in the Outback Queensland Masters.
Late this afternoon, drive approximately 7.4 kilometres from Quilpie to take in a spectacular sunset from Baldy Top, a magnificent boulder formation. The relatively easy ten-minute climb to the top will reward you with breathtaking outback panoramic vistas. Take your camera to capture the perfect sunset photo.
See the bolder opal in all its glory at St. Finbarr’s Church with the spectacular opal altar or try your luck at the free opal fossicking area two kilometres west of town.
Stay 3 nights
Quilpie Golf Club, Eagle Drive Quilpie
Saturday 3 July – Sunday 4 July 2021
Take the Cooper Developmental Road to begin your drive to Australia’s furthest town from the ocean, Eromanga.
Eromanga is home to the Eromanga Natural History Museum where you can meet Australia’s largest dinosaurs including ‘Cooper’ and ‘George’, plus other massive 95 million year old Eromanga dinosaurs and the world’s largest marsupials, reptiles and Eulo megafauna. Take the guided tour through the museum workshop, dinosaur and megafauna laboratories and collection room.
Spend a night at the museum or in the town.
Stay 1 night
Today is a driving day but the red outback scenery will be rewarding to reach the ‘Heart of the Outback’, by travelling through the towns of Jundah and Stonehenge along the Thomson Developmental Road.
For those looking for a short off-road adventure and stunning outback scenery, take the short cut through Welford National Park to Jundah.
Spend your time in Longreach by soaking up history and heritage with visits to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Qantas Founders Museum. Take a tour through one of the largest classrooms in the world at the School of Distance Education or experience the thrill of a Cobb and Co. ride. No trip to Longreach is complete without a sunset cruise down the Thomson River including dinner and entertainment.
Stay 3 nights
Begin your journey to Blackall by first stopping in Ilfracombe, 28 kilometres east of Longreach. Walk the Great Machinery Mile, a graphic timeline of the evolution of the pastoral and transport industries then stop for lunch at the Wellshot Hotel, voted ‘Outback Queensland’s Favourite Pub’ in 2019.
Continue to Barcaldine along the Matilda Way, home to the Tree of Knowledge and reputed birth place of the labour movement in Australia. The famous Tree of Knowledge on Oak Street has been preserved and placed under an award winning structure that gives the illusion of a canopy over the Tree.
Make your way to Blackall by the afternoon ready for tomorrow’s tournament.
Relive any aching muscles from the long drive at the Blackall Aquatic Centre’s artesian spa or if you’re feeling energetic a few laps in the Olympic sized pool.
A major attraction, the Historic Blackall Woolscour is living history and a direct physical link to Australia’s pioneering era. It’s the only fully intact steam powered wool-washing plant in Australia where you can see the engine in action on a guided tour.
Blackall is home to Australian shearing legend Jackie Howe. The icon sheared 321 sheep in seven hours and 40 minutes, using blade shears at Alice Downs Station near Blackall.
Stay 3 nights
Blackall Golf Club, Woodbine Road Blackall
Saturday 10 July – Sunday 11 July 2021
It’s time to begin your journey home.
The first stop is Tambo, the oldest town in the west and ‘Australia’s Teddy Bear Capital’. The town is famous for their locally crafted sheepskin bears, so stop into the workshop where over 47,000 bears have been made.
Grab a coffee from a local coffee shop before hitting the road again towards Miles.
The charming town of Miles is a vibrant arts community and home to one of Australia’s finest historical museums. Explore the pioneering era buildings at the remarkable Miles Historical Village Museum or catch an exhibition at the renowned art gallery, Dogwood Crossing @ Miles.
Stay 1 night
Make a stop in the thriving regional hub of Dalby with its beautiful gardens and bustling main street. Experience the local history and culture of the area at the Pioneer Park Museum, including Queensland’s largest collection of working early model trucks, tractors and agricultural equipment and historical buildings.
Take your time and take a break at The Woolshed at Jondaryan, Queensland’s oldest operating woolshed. Enjoy a self-guided tour on the Woolshed Heritage Walk to learn about its history and role in the development of pastoralism before leaving the outback sunrises and sunsets behind for Brisbane.
For more travel itineraries to inspire your Outback Queensland journey click here.
For further travel information including local road conditions, visit a local Outback Queensland Visitor Information Centre.
21 & 22 June
28 & 29 June
5 & 6 July
12 & 13 July
19 & 20 July
25, 26 & 27 July