The Wanderer
The dry, flat stretch of road from Birdsville to Boulia
The Rugged Beauty of Outback Queensland
I'm struck by the enormity of pastoral stations and the natural history and geology of ancient places as we drive through the Outback. Animals often on or near the road: Cattle, kangaroos, emus and wedgetail eagles. Between Roma and Tambo, we experience our first encounter with stockmen mustering cattle; an iconic scene, we watch in awe.
On the banks of the Barcoo we visit the oldest town in the west, Tambo. There's no 'Welcome to the Outback' sign, but you know you've passed through the gate when the soil begins to redden, the skies grow bigger, and the endless landscape shimmers. After rain, the earth is awash with waterholes, tinged with green and bursting with new life and birds.
I'm on a 4,000-kilometre road trip over five weeks with my husband, Pete. Our friends, Robin and Cath, are travelling in convoy. We meet in Roma to make our way to Birdsville via Augathella, Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton, Cloncurry and Mount Isa. On the return, we'll make our way through Windorah, through the Channel Country, then on to Quilpie, Charleville and back to Roma.
Queensland Outback Towns: Roma to Longreach
Staying at the Big Rig Tourist Park for four days, we have time to visit art galleries, the Western Spirit Distillery, pubs, western shops, The Big Rig (gas and oil industry history), and the Roma Saleyards, where more than 222,000 cattle are sold annually.
Penned cattle bellow, and cattlemen in wide-brimmed hats whistle and holler. Robin, Cath and I are keen golfers, and like many other travellers, we're eager to play on some Outback courses. Roma is our first, and it's challenging. With a lack of water at most Outback golf courses, grass greens can't be maintained. Instead, sand greens are the go. They vary in texture, colour and pace; they can be oily and crumbly, and ridiculously slow to putt on. It takes many rounds over the next few weeks for us to learn to play on them like the locals.
In Blackall, we spend time at the Living Arts Centre – where art and photography workshops are held. The locals have embraced the world of art and craft to give the town a colourful lift. Shops, cafes and galleries are filled with locally made art, and outdoor sculptures surround the town. Blackall was one of the first towns to sink a bore from the Great Artesian Basin. The Aquatic Centre provides a glorious, therapeutic swim. The wonderfully restored Blackall Woolscour, built to clean wool in 1908, is a must-visit.
The late afternoons are soft orange light. On the edge of town gangs of galahs squawk and swirl, wood ducks ruffle still lagoons and kangaroos watch cautiously from paddocks. We are already becoming familiar with quintessential bush scenes.
From Blackall we travel to Barcaldine, home of the Tree of Knowledge and the claimed birthplace of the Labor Party. From here it's off to Longreach, where we stay in rustic slab huts at Saltbush Retreat. Longreach offers a host of must-do encounters – the Qantas Founder's Museum, the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and a Cobb & Co Stagecoach ride. My favourite is a fascinating insight into remote schooling at the Longreach School of Distance Education base. We listen as children on far-flung stations call in for their 'on-air' lessons. And the best place to end the day is on a serene Thompson River sunset cruise followed by dinner under the stars.
Outback Queensland Attractions: From Winton to Mount Isa
The drive from Longreach to Winton is when our journey starts to look otherworldly – vast, dry landscapes sculptured over millions of years. We visit Lark Quarry Conservation Park, where 3,300 footprints were engraved over 95 million years ago by a herd of 300 dinosaurs. In Winton, we stay at the North Gregory Hotel – a cherished landmark. The entertainment can include Outback opera, country music and bush poetry – it's said Banjo Patterson's Waltzing Matilda was penned and first performed here.
On route to Cloncurry, we stop at the Blue Heeler Hotel for a beer and at the Outback Hotel, McKinlay, where Crocodile Dundee was filmed. We arrive at Cloncurry to coincide with the Cloncurry Stockman's Challenge and Campdraft. The event showcases stock horses' ability and riders' horsemanship. With some of the country's finest stockmen and women competing, it's a thrill to watch. It's at places like this that we meet locals and station dwellers and learn more about the way of life in remote Australia.
Minerals, Camels, and Crows: Continuing Your Queensland RV Travel
The drive from Cloncurry to Mount Isa is stunning. Through the Selwyn Range, the rugged mountain range replaces flat, straight roads. Red boulders, ghost gum trees and hilly outcrops surround green and lush country rich in copper, lead, gold and zinc.
To break the drive from Mount Isa to Birdsville, we stay three nights in Boulia – known for its famous Boulia Camel Races and where the Min Min lights can mysteriously appear.
Near here, we find a stand of ancient and rare Waddi trees and stop multiple times to photograph masses of wildflowers (including mulla mulla) which create an explosion of colour. During our five-night stay in Birdsville, we eat and drink mostly at the bakery and the Birdsville Hotel. Everyone is in high spirits just to be here. We take in a picnic on the top of Big Red and play a round of golf on Australia's newest course, The Birdsville Dunes Golf Course. Covered in yellow wildflowers, windswept reeds and sand dunes, the biggest challenge is keeping your ball in play – the crows steal them relentlessly.
From Birdsville to Windorah, we drive across long, dry stretches of ancient flood plains. Before heading back to Roma from Quilpie, we spend a few nights at Charlotte Plains (a sheep station near Cunnamulla) and reminisce about our trip of vast pastoral stations, ancient places, diverse birdlife, cattle and stockmen mustering cattle, and meeting local characters. Memories that will last a lifetime.
Tips for Your Outback Queensland Adventure
- Prebook accommodation and parks where possible.
- Mobile phone coverage can be non-existent – take a good road map.
- Be well stocked with camera cards and batteries.
Journey Planner: Your Remote Queensland Getaway
Where to stay:
In Roma the Big Rig Tourist Park has large sites:
- www.outbackqueensland.com.au
CMCA, the largest RV club in Australia, V Parks provide low-cost, no-frills accommodation for CMCA members and non-members. Queensland CMCA RV Parks include:
- CMCA RV Park Charleville QLD
- CMCA Greenpatch Campground Gordonvale, QLD
- CMCA RV Park Ingham, QLD (Members Only)
Category: Destinations
Written: Tue 01 July 2025
Printed: July, 2025
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