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Outback Queensland

Beyond the Great Dividing Range the sky opens up over tough country that's both relentless and beautiful. Travellers come for the exotic and intimate Australian experience, their restlessness tamed by the sheer size of the place, its luminous colours and its silence. It's a place that echoes with Indigenous stories down through the ages, and tales from Burke and Wills to Waltzing Matilda. Towns like Winton, Longreach and Birdsville in particular capture the essence of this vast place.

In the dry season, endless blue skies hover over stony deserts, matched only by the brilliant velvety clarity of the Milky Way at night. It's a long way between drinks out here, but it's well worth the drive.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Outback Queensland.

  • See

    Tree of Knowledge Memorial

    This $5-million contemporary art installation outside the train station – labelled an ‘upside down milk crate’ by one disgruntled local – is best seen at night when dappled light filters through the wooden wind chimes. Love it or not, it certainly makes art critics of the pubs’ patrons across the road, but most locals claim it's grown on them. The tree itself is a preserved version of the original eucalyptus that striking shearers would meet under during the strike of 1891.

  • See

    Kronosaurus Korner

    Richmond's undisputed highlight is this museum and visitor centre, housing Australia's best collection of marine fossils, most found by local landholders. Pride of place goes to an almost complete 4.25m pliosaur skeleton – one of Australia's best-preserved vertebrate fossils – and to a partial skeleton of Kronosaurus queenslandicus, the largest known marine reptile to have lived here. Other complete fossils include prehistoric turtles and sharks. There's also a fossil preparation laboratory where you can sometimes see resident palaeontologists at work. There's a cafe in the complex, as well as tourist information. You can hire maps and fossil-finding equipment, or join one of the two-hour guided digs (adult/child $30/25) at 3pm on Tuesday and Thursday from May to September. There's also the annual Big Dig in July, when you can apply to join a paleontologist on a dig.

  • See

    Porcupine Gorge National Park

    Porcupine Gorge National Park is an oasis in the dry country 70km (by sealed road) north of Hughenden. The best spot is Pyramid Lookout; you can camp here (sites per person/family $6.55/26.20), and it’s an easy 30-minute walk into the gorge. Hughenden's visitor information centre has a route outlining points of interest, including some Indigenous landmarks, between the town and the park. Ask also about scenic helicopter flights that are due to begin in 2019.

  • See

    Min Min Encounter

    The Min Min Encounter feels like a Spielberg movie set, featuring animatronic gadgetry, a cast of outback characters and eerie lighting in its hourly show. Doubling as the information centre, it’s classic travel kitsch and actually rather good. Its focus are the min-min lights, an unusual, local light phenomenon. Shows starts on the hour, with last one at 4pm (or at noon on weekends from October to March).

  • See

    Stone House Museum

    This is the preserved 1888 home of the pioneering Jones family, full of local history memorabilia and Aboriginal artefacts. Outside are sheds containing more outback stuff, space junk, and a fascinating collection of marine reptile fossils unearthed in the area. It's an excellent insight into local life and history, and worth an hour of your time.

  • See

    Big Red

    On the edge of the Simpson Desert, about 35km west of Birdsville, Big Red is a photogenic 30m-high sand dune that offers a big challenge for 4WDers. It's the closest large sand dune to town, and a taste of what lies ahead if you're heading out into the Simpson. Come for sunset.

  • See

    Australian Workers Heritage Centre

    This centre is dedicated to the Australian social, political and industrial movements so intertwined with Barcaldine's past. There's a variety of permanent and changing exhibits celebrating working women, shearers, the formation of the Australian Workers Union and more.

  • See

    Mt Walker

    Take the drive 12km south of Hughenden along the Muttaburra Rd to Mt Walker (478m) for fabulous 360-degree views over the flat outback landscape. There are six lookout points, all worth exploring, with the sunset lookout true to its name.

  • See

    Amy Johnson Memorial

    Near the entrance to the airport, a display of photos and information panels commemorates the 1930 visit of pioneering aviator Amy Johnson.