The Queensland Outback is extensive, starting at the Great Dividing Range and heading west to the Northern Territory and South Australia borders.
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The rugged landscape showcases what wonders of Queensland as you discover its charm and meet the locals.
Attractions
There’s a blaze of colour everywhere you look from the big blue skies, and red dirt.
Towns include Birdville, Charleville, Mt Isa and Tambo.
The annual Birdsville Races are a huge drawcard, while there drive up the 40-metre-tall Big Red sand dune that marks the symbolic edge of the Simpson Desert.
Charleville sits on the crossroads of the Warrego Way and the Matilda Way and has a reputation for its starry skies.
Mt Isa is the world’s largest single producer of copper, silver, lead and zinc, and home to an annual rodeo, the biggest in the southern hemisphere.
Stay
To experience authentic Outback hospitality, bunker down in the famous sandstone Birdsville Hotel built by William Blair in 1884 – there are 27 modern hotel units.
Charleville’s Rock Motel offers 20 modern rooms, landscaped gardens and a pool.
Mt Isa’s Red Earth Boutique Hotel has balcony rooms and spa suites while the Burke and Wills Mt Isa Motel is popular. If you are visiting Boodjamulla National Park, stay at Adels Grove in the campground or one of the furnished tent rooms.
Dine
Enjoy a steak or roast at the Birdsville Pub, drop into Humpy Cafe adjoining the Birdsville Roadhouse for French press coffee and tea in second-hand china, house-made muesli and delicious treats. The banana thick shakes have a following.
Charleville’s On the Rocks restaurant serves wild sea caught barramundi with hand-crafted bush salt, which features a herb or spice for every month of the year.
In Mt Isa try the Rodeo Bar and Grill for a steak or Red Earth Thai restaurant.
