Must-see attractions in Outback Queensland

Qantas Founders Outback Museum houses a life-size replica of an Avro 504K, the first aircraft owned by the fledgling airline. Interactive multimedia and…

Combo Waterhole, 132km northwest of Winton and 13km south of Kynuna, is widely believed to be the place that inspired Banjo Paterson's famous bush ballad,…

The homeland of the Maiawali and Karuwali Indigenous peoples, Diamantina was a cattle station from the 19th century until it became a national park in…

In a beautifully conceived building with an impressive multiarched design, this is a fine museum, and also a tribute to outback pioneers, early explorers,…

The award-winning Outback at Isa combines the visitor centre and booking office with three of Isa's major attractions. The Hard Times Mine is an authentic…

After the original centre burned to the ground in 2015, this hugely impressive rebuilt museum reopened in 2018. The displays on Banjo Paterson's iconic…

This interpretive centre offers a rare opportunity to learn about the native marsupial bilby and the long-running captive breeding and conservation…

It's 30 years since Crocodile Dundee hit the screens but the McKinlay pub, aka Walkabout Creek Hotel, is still trading off its success. Stop in for a cold…

Everyone should make the short trip up to the City Lookout for excellent 360-degree views of Mt Isa. The best time is sunset, when the smelter stacks are…

This $5-million contemporary art installation outside the train station – labelled an ‘upside down milk crate’ by one disgruntled local – is best seen at…

Get kitted out in mining attire and a head lamp at the Hard Times Mine. On this 2½-hour tour, often guided by former miners, you descend into a purpose…

The waterless Simpson Desert occupies a massive 200,000 sq km of central Australia and stretches across the Queensland, Northern Territory and South…

Richmond's undisputed highlight is this museum and visitor centre, housing Australia's best collection of marine fossils, most found by local landholders…

This outstanding dinosaur fossil museum, about 15km east of Winton, is set atop a rugged plateau known as the 'Jump Up'. There are two sides to the…

One of the more accessible national parks in Outback Queensland, Bladensburg lies south of Winton and can be visited on a half-day drive from there. Pick…

If your defining image of the outback is red sand dunes, red-rock escarpments, billabongs and spinifex plains, you might be thinking of Welford. West of…

This outstanding museum celebrates Dr John Flynn’s work setting up the invaluable and groundbreaking Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), which gave hope…

Classic Outback Queensland scenery is Lochern's signature: grassy plains that turn yellow during drought; gidgee plains as hot and bare as anvils;…

About 110km southwest of Winton is the startling Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry, where you’ll see dinosaur footprints fossilised in a prehistoric stream…

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…