Like many other avid overseas travellers, COVID 19 has made us look closer to home for our next holiday and the resulting 5000km driving holiday through Queensland’s Outback is to us, an obvious choice. We are taking our Suzuki SUV over 12 nights, limiting our driving to around 5 hours a day (broken up by lunch and interest stops) and selecting the most unique and interesting overnight accommodation we can find in each town (all booked prior).

We’ll stick to sealed roads (mostly), so the driving is easy, and our trip planner/go-to guides are outbackqueensland.com.au, an old copy of the Concise Motoring Atlas of Australia and the ever essential Google Maps for checking distances and travel times.

Our itinerary will take us west of Brisbane, through the state’s South West to Charleville, then north to Longreach and Winton in the Central West, and on to Mt Isa in the North West (our closest stop to the NT border).

We’ll then return to Longreach and head south through the Channel Country to discover opals, dinosaurs and historic pubs, and come home via the agricultural towns and rivers of the state’s South West (close to the NSW border).

Although we plan to visit many country towns, discover dozens of dinosaurs, climb pristine red sandhills for stunning sunsets, and search the parched ground for elusive Opals, we decide our main goal will be to visit as many old, unique and historic outback pubs as we can in the time available, buy a beer or two and help these drought affected communities by sharing our love and some money.

We hope that by following our travel itinerary below you will collect some good ideas for your own outback Queensland adventure and in so doing, share your own love amongst these resilient, hardworking people and explore their welcoming, interesting and history-rich townships.

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Day 1: Outback Pub Crawl begins….

Brisbane to Chinchilla (292km – 4hr) via Laidley

• Brisbane to Laidley (70kms – 1hr 6m)

– and our first light beer at The Queensland National Hotel 🍺 Pub #1

It’s only one hour or so before our first stop, but we love the historic old town of Laidley, and can’t resist wandering along the main street whenever we pass through. (read more about Laidley)

• Into the South West…Laidley to Chinchilla (220kms – 2hr 30m)

Heading further into Queensland’s South West region, we travel along the Warrego Highway via Dalby to Chinchilla, famous for its annual Melon Festival. We are staying the night at The Laurels B&B in one of their creatively rustic waterfront cabins. No pub this evening, but the old bath on the deck is the perfect place to relax and take in the river views as the light fades and our first day draws to a close.

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

Day 2: The road to Charleville…..

• Chinchilla to Charleville (455km – 4hr 52m) via Roma and Mitchell

Still travelling along the Warrego Hwy, the road to Charleville takes us from Chinchilla via two interesting towns in Queensland’s South West, Roma and Mitchell.

• Chinchilla to Roma (188km – 2hr)

At our stopover in Roma (pop 7011) we see our first Coolabah Tree at the Roma Bush Gardens, hug Roma’s largest Bottle Tree (with a girth of 9m) and visit the historic Roma Court House (famous for the trial of Captain Starlight in 1873).

• Roma to Mitchell (87km – 56m)

Next stop is Mitchell (pop 990) for a well-earned soak in the therapeutic waters at the Great Artesian Spa. From the outside, it may look like the local public pool complex, but inside, one of the billabong style pools is filled with naturally heated mineral water pumped straight from the Great Artesian Basin, and at this temperature, I can feel my travel-tired muscles relaxing and all tension in my body and mind easing. Bliss 🙏

After an enjoyable soak, we head to our next pub stop in Mitchell at the Hotel Richards 🍺 Pub #2 for a Hahn Superlight.

Unfortunately, in Mitchel only 2 old pubs out of 5 were open, and the famous Courthouse Hotel was closed and up for sale! 🙄 (I am happy to report that since writing, the old pub has been taken over by The Birch Group, and is now under renovation.) Watch this space! 👌

• Rain and Red Earth…Mitchell to Charleville (180km – 1hr 50m)

It’s not raining in Mitchell, but there’s a storm brewing between us and Charleveille, so we wait at the Hotel Richards in Mitchell, watching the BOM site radar, and waiting to see what the weather will do, and head off just as the storm cells brake up.

Once we set off, we take a pit stop an hour down the road in Morven (beer does that), then continued on through the rain and an impressive lightning show. Out of Morven we notice a change in soil colour from everyday brown to the rich red earth tones of the Outback! Exciting stuff!

When we arrive in Charleville around 4.30 it is rain-soaked and the streets are deserted (it is Sunday in the outback after all).

Our accommodation in Charleville is the historic Hotel Corones, built in 1929 by Greek immigrant Harry Corones. We are even staying in his room!

After checking into our historic room, the skies unfortunately remain overcast, so instead of visiting the Cosmos Centre to gaze up at the stars as planned, we settle into the Hotel Corones’ longest bar in the Southern Hemisphere (at time of construction), drank beer, eat pizza and chin wag with the lovely locals. 😁🍺🍕

Here’s cheers to Hotel Corones 🍻 Pub #3

Level: Long Day 🚗💨🚗💨🚗💨

Day 3: Exploring the Central West….

• Charleville to Longreach (515km – 5h 25m) via Augathella, Tambo, Blackall, Barcaldine and Ilfracombe

After completing our first 1000kms in 2 days, we leave the Warrego Highway at Charleville and head north to Longreach via the Matilda Way (Landsborough Hwy) in the state’s Central West. The drive will take us through Mulga country and hopefully we’ll spot emus, kites, brolgas and bustards along the way.

• Charleville to Augathella (84km – 55m)

Our first pit stop today at Augathella (pop 449) shed little light on why it is known as ‘Meat Ant Country’, 🤔 but we check out the big ant sculpture anyway 🐜 and the memorial to the old, vintage 1958 film ‘Smiley’.

We also trade beer for cappuccino (it is AM after all) at Pub #4 🍺 Ellangowan Hotel.

• Augathella to Tambo (118km – 1hr 17m)

Our next stop off is in cute little Tambo (pop 367), Queensland’s oldest town (1863), famous for its Tambo Teddies, a local initiative from 1990 in which the local community created sheepskin teddy bears to help the slumping wool market. What started out as a plan to boost the local wool industry, encourage tourists and create employment, became a thriving business and the little town of Tambo is now the ‘outback Teddy capital of Australia’. (of course we bought some 😁)

Back in the car with our bags of teddies, we drive just an hour north of Tambo to the town of Blackall (Pop 950), where we are excited to see the famous Black Stump.

It isn’t easy locating it though. This historic site of the original 1887 blackened tree stump-come-surveyors peg, humbly resides in a metal shelter shed in a residential street, behind the Blackall State School. And there are two stumps! A petrified wood memorial stump erected in 1988 to commemorate Australia’s bi-centenial, and a newer sculpture by Phillip Perides, commissioned in 2018, taken from drawings found of the original, which was destroyed by fire. Not exactly as I’d imagined it, but it is interesting to read its history and I can tick it off the old bucket list. 😀

• The Tree of Knowledge…Blackall – Barcaldine (106km – 1hr)

Only another hour up the road is Barcaldine, birth place of the Australian Labour Party, and home to the magnificent Tree of Knowledge 🌳

In 1891 this old gum tree was the place where shearers met during the Great Shearers Strike and from which they marched, 3000 strong in protest against poor working conditions and low wages. It became a symbol of the future of labour and politics in Australia, and is now preserved forever under the world’s largest wind chime. The sculpture is an awesome sight. It’s made from recycled telegraph poles, which create a beautiful musical sound as they move around in the breeze and hover above the historic remains of the Tree of Knowledge embedded in the ground below. (PS. we’ve been told you can see its root ball when the lights are on at night).

Barcaldine (Pop 1500) is also famous for it’s many pubs. In fact there are 5 in the main street (almost next to each other), three of which are opposite the Tree of Knowledge. But only one is open on the day of our visit, 🙄 Pub #5 🍺 The Railway Hotel, circa 1886, which is now our next historic pub for a coldie. Cheers! 🍻

• The Best Bar Stools…..Barcaldine to Ilfracombe (80km – 52m)

Last stop before Longreach is at our quaintest pub yet, Pub #6 🍻 The Wellshot Hotel in Ilfracombe (Pop 350). Cold beer, lovely staff, the coolest bar stools ever and an envious hat collection make this the highlight of an interesting day on the road.

• Sunset Cruising…..Ilfracombe to Longreach (27km – 20m)

Level: Long Day 🚗💨🚗💨🚗💨

We arrive in Longreach (Pop 3000) at 4pm, checked into our Slab Hut at our home for the next two nights, Saltbush Retreat. We then jump straight on the coach which will take us to our Thomson River Sunset Cruise at 5.15. Phew, made it!😅

Once aboard, we relax on the top deck of our fully licensed catamaran and glide in a leisurely fashion down the river to Sunset Bend. ⛴ ☀️

In addition to a pretty sunset, we spy whistling kites nesting in riverside trees, Emmet Long Neck Turtles feeding on Saos 🥨 (courtesy of the ship’s captain), and we learn how the tangled, eerie, sculptural-looking Coolibah trees lining the banks were a vital part of outback life in the 1800s. It is a pleasant way to relax after a big day of driving, and as the sun sets over the Thompson River, we enjoy a drink and a toast to our third, successful day of fascinating fun in the bewitching Queensland outback. 🥂

• Laid Back in Longreach……Slab Hut to Bath Deck (100m – 1min)

Back at Saltbush Retreat in our slab hut we crawl into our stockman’s bed for some well-earned shuteye. 😴 After a 500km+ day of delightful discovery and town hopping along the Matilda Way we are in need of a plump mattress to sleep and dream upon.

The Saltbush Retreat is a special place and it is totally living up to all my expectations!

We love our authentic slab hut, the indulgent outdoor claw foot baths and the very generous indulgence package which includes so much food and drink, we can’t even graze our way through it all! Waking up to roos grazing by the cabins is also a bonus 🦘

We are staying 2 nights in Longreach which gives us the opportunity to relax in our rustic cabin, have a soak on the bath deck and visit the QANTAS Founders Museum, the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and also do a little retail therapy in Longreach’s Eagle Street. With store names like Merino Bakery and The Station Store, this is pioneer shopping at its best!

Day # 4 – Up Up and Away….

For all our ex Ansett and QANTAS friends, we share with you a walk through the….

QANTAS Founders Museum…

What a great stroll down memory lane it is for both of us, with Flight Attendant uniforms through the ages, a tour through the original QANTAS aircraft hanger and even a flight in a Bristol fighter simulator. We have fallen in love with this museum and have learnt a lot about the origins of our national carrier. This is a must for anyone who has ever worked in the airline industry or has a passion for plane travel. It tells the story of Australia’s national airline, from its early days in Outback Queensland to the present day. ✈

Just across the road form the Qantas Museum, is the Stockman’s Hall of Fame a place I have always wanted to visit, but on our arrival we find it closed for renovations. 😒Instead of the full tour, we were instead treated to an interesting film in the cinema about the origin, life and stories of our hard working, iconic Aussie stockmen. Although we couldn’t enter the Hall of Fame, we at least could photograph it from the outside, and its unique rugged outback design was as photogenic as the icon stockman statue towering at its entrance. I can’t wait to return one day and see for myself the Hall of Fame’s outstanding tribute to the unsung heroes of remote, outback Australia 🤠

Day #5 – On the Road Again….🚗💨

• The Age of Dinosaurs – Longreach to Winton (180km – 2hr)

After a very civilised 2 day sojourn in Longreach, we jump back in Suzi and continue along the Matilda Way (Landsborough Highway), a sealed road that stretches all the way from Burke in NSW to Kurumba in the Gulf.

We are heading to Winton, the home of Banjo Patterson’s Waltzing Matilda. But first, we must take a short detour, for we have our first date with the Dinosaurs! 🦕🦖

The Australian Age of Dinosaurs began with a chance discovery by grazier David Elliot in 1999. He was mustering sheep on his property one day and almost rode his motorbike straight into a 95 million year old Sauropod femur that had become exposed.

Since then, he has devoted his life to setting up the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, which sits 24km south-east of Winton on a giant mesa, called The Jump Up. It is a primeval place of huge cliffs and gorges and has panoramic views of the rolling plains below, a perfect representation of the Earth’s surface 30 million years ago.

Our first stop at the museum is the Collection Room which houses Australia’s most complete specimens of ‘Matilda’ a sauropod skeleton and ‘Banjo’ a theropod skeleton, among others

We then take the solar powered shuttle out to Dinosaur Canyon where a very real display of life-size Australian bronze dinosaurs and flying reptiles represent life as it was 95 million years ago.

Unfortunately numerous modern day flies also join us on the excursion. Tip: wear an Aussie Cork Hat or take insect repellant with you 😉

Last stop is the Preparation Laboratory where we learn the techniques involved in digging up, preparing and studying the fossils. We watch technicians working on dinosaur bones with pneumatic scribes in preparation for study by paleontologists and are amazed at the shelves and shelves of carefully wrapped and recorded bones waiting for attention. It is truly an incredible insight into the ways we can explore and understand the past.

• The Grand Old Dame…..Age of Dinosaurs to Winton (25km – 20m)

The iconic North Gregory Hotel in Winton is our home tonight and historic Pub #7🍺 for a beer and our first Schnitty, the 2nd State of Origin game and two overnights (but not consecutively – we will stay here again on our return from Mt Isa). It is a beautifully restored, comfortable and friendly art deco accommodation experience.

The North Gregory is also where Waltzing Matilda was first performed on 6th April 1895, and Winton itself celebrates Banjo Patterson’s story at the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the first ever museum dedicated to a song 🎶

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

Day #6 – The Road to Mt Isa…..

Winton to Mt Isa (468km – 5hr) via Kynuna and Cloncurry

• Winton to Kynuna (165km 1h 45m)

We are on our way out of Winton to Mt Isa, but first, we must enjoy a coldie at historic Pub #8 🍺 The Blue Heeler Hotel, on our way.

The Blue Heeler Hotel is in Kynuna (pop 10) and truly sits at the heart of Aussie folklore.

It was Banjo Paterson’s first visit here that inspired his famous poem Waltzing Matilda after he heard the story of the suicide of Samuel Hoffmeister beside the Combo Waterhole in 1984. He had been one of the shearers involved in burning down the Dagworth woolshed in a stand off for better pay and conditions. 🐑 The battle of Dagworth was to be the last armed conflict between Australians. It was here that they decided that rather than shoot each other in civil war, they would have a drink together🍺

We so love this iconic Aussie pub! It’s great having a yarn with the publican and barman over a beer, and meeting Zina, the pub’s blue heeler mascot in the flesh. I also help the local economy by buying a few souvenirs before we leave 🐕

• Kynuna to Cloncurry – (183km – 2hr)

We are travelling on the section of the Matilda Highway between Charleville and Cloncurry on route to our furthest destination, Mt Isa. We’ve passed through many towns on the Matilda Way – Augathella, Tambo, Blackall, Barcaldine, Ilfracombe, Longreach, Winton, Kynuna and McKinlay.

It is an ever changing landscape of Mulga trees and red earth, spinifex country dotted with mesas (jump ups) in the distance.

As expected the roadsides are littered with kangaroo carcasses being cleaned up by kites and crows which lift unhurriedly into the air as we speed along towards them.

The poetically named Paroo, Barcoo, Warrego, Thompson and Diamantina, Rivers all feed into the Channel Country and are the life blood of this often drought stricken and arid land.

Wildlife spotting is sparse along the route, so it’s exciting when we see a couple of emus or brolgas or even sheep, cattle, goats and roos.

The road trains are immense in size, length and stature and their woosh rocks the car like a jet when they pass us by 🚛🚌🚌🚌💨💨

• North West Lanscapes…..Cloncurry to Mt Isa (120km 1hr 18m)

We notice an immediate change in the landscape when we turn off the Matilda Way at Cloncurry and onto the Barkly Hwy on our last 120km stretch to Mt Isa. We stop in Cloncurry only for a hasty snack in a park before hitting the road once more. We still have another hour to go in our five hour journey.

Termite mounds have started popping up on the road sides, the earth has turned a vibrant red and suddenly trees and grasses abound. We have left the parched channel country behind us.

We see less roo carnage on the roadsides, but incredibly come upon two huge Wedge Tail Eagles feeding on a carcass on the road.

• Mt Isa marks just over the 2000km point in our drive and is an exciting destination with a population of approx 20,000 (the most people we will have encountered since we left Brisbane), and our closest town to the NT border!

It is nestled among the ochre-red Selwyn Ranges, on the banks of the Leichhardt River, and was established in 1924 after John Campbell Miles picked up some heavy rocks there and found they were comprised of 78% lead-silver.

In fact Miles had discovered the world’s richest zinc-lead seams. His purchase of 42 acres of land that he named Mount Isa remains one of the most productive single mines in the history of the world, still producing lead, silver, copper and zinc.

• Outback At Isa…..

On the way into Mt Isa we take a quick visit to the Riversleigh Fossil Centre to learn about the Mega Fauna discovered at Riversleigh. Megafauna are the ancestors of our modern day Aussie animals which roamed Gondwanaland over 25 million years ago.

I didn’t realise wombats the size of rhinos, fierce, giant, meat eating kangaroos, and now extinct marsupial lions ever existed 🦁

We had fun with the cool interactive displays, learnt heaps, and watched an interesting short film narrated by David Attenborough before it closed at 4.30!😁

• Sunset in The Isa…..

It is a big undertaking to drive approx 900km return, and stay one night just to photograph the nightlights of Mt Isa from the lookout! But that’s what I asked Geoff to do for me and he happily obliged – what a guy!

Level – Long Day 🚗💨🚗💨🚗💨

In return, and to thank my obliging stockman, we are staying in the Presidential Suite of the Red Earth Boutique Hotel for the night. 😁 It was a long but fabulous day, so takeaway Thai is on the menu for dinner and we might even dressed up for the occasion. 😂

Day #7 – Off Road….

Mt Isa back to Winton (468km – 5hr) via Mary Kathleen Mine and Kynuna

• Mt Isa to Mary Kathleen Mine (53km – 36m)

After a magnificent sunset viewing last night from the City Lookout, and a great sleep, we take our leave of Mt Isa and head off-road to the abandoned Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine 30 minutes away. Uranium was discovered in the small community of Mary Kathleen in 1954 and a mine established by Rio Tinto in 1956. Within five years 4080 tonnes of uranium oxide were extracted and the mine was then closed. It reopened again in 1974 and closed once more, this time for good in 1984 once it was deemed to be exhausted, and has been closed ever since. Now it is an insta-worthy stop if you can manoeuvre the terrain!

In addition to huge pot holes, a few wrong turns and very little signage (an arrow on a rock being most helpful), we dodge cattle and camels, and eventually arrive at the turquoise blue, radioactive waters of the abandoned mine. Quite an adventure!

• Bars and Brolgas….Mary Kathleen Mine to Kynuna (251km – 2hr 43m)

We are on our way back to Winton, and are excited about visiting the Walkabout Creek Pub (of Crocodile Dundee fame), but as pull up outside we realise that it is closed! A sign on the door announces that the publican is out on the postie run, so instead we head over to the Blue Heeler Hotel again for a coldie. And I’m so glad we did. As we walk towards the entrance we are greeted by a family of Brolgas casually leaving the bar, walking out the door and down the steps, we head in! I love this pub 🍺

• Kynuna to Winton (165km 1h 45m) – O/Nite at The North Gregory Hotel (again)😀

Day #8 – Into the Far West……

Winton to Windorah (493km – 5hr 6m) via Stonehenge

Today we say a final farewell to Winton, and 2 hours down the road turn south onto National Route 79 at Longreach and head for Windorah (Big Sky Country) where the Thompson and Barcoo Rivers meet. Our aim? To drink champagne on top of the Windorah’s Red Sand Hills just as the sun is setting. 😍

• The Stonehenge Address Book…..📕

Heading south-west from Longreach, our journey to Windorah takes us via the little town of Stonehenge (pop 25), and then Jundah (pop 350).

It is hot today. 42°! But we have to stop and leave our names in the Stonehenge Address Book, an activity which was started many years ago when a stranded local postie left a message using rocks. Nowadays, it’s a fully fledged ‘address book’ where towns’ and people’s names have been written in stones over the years. Of course we must add ours! ✍

After some intense rock-arranging we decide it was time for a coldie at our next and 9th iconic Aussie Pub #9 🍺 Stonehenge Hotel, were the locals tell us they’ve been without power for 3 days! As we enjoy our beer, listening to their stories the gentle, hum of the generator is a reassuring sound in the background. 🍺

• Windorah & The Red Sandhills…..

Dead in the heart of Queensland’s Channel Country sits Windorah (pop 80) on the Cooper Creek where the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers meet.

It marks the 3000km point of our trip and is an important stopover for one reason – its Red Sandhills! 🌅 🥂 🌋

We are staying the night in Windorah in a tiny little cabin at Coopers Cabins and are sweltering in the 40°+ heat as the air conditioner struggles to cool our room. 🥵🌡

Needless to say, we don’t hang around, but head straight to our next pub…Pub #10 🍺 The Western Star (winner of the Best Outback Pub in Queensland) for a cooling ale and to mingle with the locals. We linger far too long over our beers though and realising the time, find ourselves racing to the sandhills just as the sun is sinking over the horizon. Panting and laughing, we awkwardly stumble up through the deep red sand and finally plonk down at the top, whip out the plastic cups and toast to a magnificent sunset from our magnificent vermillion perch. We also have the place entirely to ourselves! It is breathtaking and magical, and I’m so pleased we made the effort !!! ❤❤

After sunset we head back to the pub for a generous sized burger and chips, which is just the right amount of sustenance we need after our action packed day. 🍔🍺

Level: Long Day 🚗💨🚗💨🚗💨

Day #9 – Windorah to Eromanga (215km – 2hr 26m)

On our way out of Windorah we drive via the Old Courthouse to check out were beloved local resident ‘Tarpot’ now lives, and then took the 12 km Nature Drive, to learn the names of a lot of the tough-as-guts trees we see so often along the roads lining Cooper’s Creek Floodplain.

The Desert Oak which marks the side of many roads, features thin leaves that point upwards rather than out, and so minimises moisture loss which is so necessary in this hot, arid climate.

We are now now heading south to Eromanga, leaving the highways behind and travelling on Developmental Roads, or GRID Roads (as I call them, as there are 100s of cattle grids to cross), and on into the Channel Country.

Developmental Roads are very narrow, sealed minor roads feeding the vast farming properties along the way, and on this section, the Diamantina Developmental Rd, there are no other cars on the whole 106km drive!

Apart from grids, other common features of these roads are mirages, willy willies and floodways, even an emergency landing airstrip on the road itself. We also cross over Cooper Creek, famous as the confluence of the Thompson and Barcoo Rivers.

When we finally arrive in Eromanga it is 44°, so what else can we do but head straight to Outback Pub #11🍺 The Royal Hotel for some much needed refreshment!

Unfortunately the CWA has booked the inside dining area, so we have to have our beers and lunch out on the verandah. It is soooo hot my camera stops working, and we’re not even sitting in the sun! Welcome to the Outback!

• A Night at the Museum……..Eromanga

Tonight we are staying in Eromanga, the furthest town from the ocean (pop 45). Our accommodation is ‘onsite’ at the Eromanga Natural History Museum in a Studio Room at Cooper’s Country Lodge 🦕

We arrive at 2pm in the sweltering 44°heat, check into our lovely, spacious, clean and COOL cabin, then take a hands on tour of the Eromanga Natural History Museum, an amazing prehistoric preservation museum-in-a-shed!

Their original and most famous find, Cooper, is the largest dinosaur found in Australia to date and the first Titanosaur of its kind ever discovered. Cooper’s fossilised femur is about 1.9 metres long, suggesting the massive animal stretched almost 30 metres in length and weighed about 30 to 40 tonnes!

His story goes like this…..

“……Southwest Queensland’s first dinosaur was found in 2004 when 14-year-old Sandy Mackenzie spotted an unusual rock while mustering on the family property west of Eromanga. The Mackenzie family began scouring the property and a plethora of unique 95-98 million year old titanosaur fossils sites were discovered. The internationally-valuable bones represented the remains from new species and genus of dinosaurs for Australia. A locally based natural history society was formed to raise funds and run systematic scientific digs on the property.

Australia’s largest dinosaur was carefully excavated from the dirt and a raft of other dinosaurs followed, all species that had never been seen before. The discoveries made southwest Queensland the country’s newest palaeontology frontier. The Eromanga Natural History Museum began collecting other items of scientific significance from the southwest, including new species of insects and arid-zone botany.

On a property near Eulo the Foundation also found well-preserved fossils of the world’s largest marsupial, other large mammals and reptiles. Microfauna (small fossils found around the larger bones in dinosaur sites) were also dug from these sites which are dated to approximately 50,000 to 100,000 years old and to date, there are at least 30 known different species represented at these sites……..”

We watch a fab dinosaur documentary, then are shown around the museum. Our guide explains the different types of dinosaurs, the techniques for cleaning and preserving them and shows us the secret room where a new find is in the process of being recorded and submitted for review. It is a fascinating tour, made even more special because we we are the only ones on it! Private viewing over, we head back to our lodge for a fun night of star gazing and relaxing. Once again, we have the place to ourselves, so we make the most of the evening, drinking in the magic and solitude of this very special place….the Outback 🥂

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

Day #10 – Eromanga to Eulo (330km – 3hr 46m) – via Quilpie & Toompine

• Opal Country…….Eromanga to Quilpie (105km – 1hr 10m)

In the morning we continue south, heading to our next overnight stay 300 km away in the town of Eulo. Our first stop along the way is at Quilpie, of ‘Kings in Grass Castles‘ fame as well as the accidental landing location of aviator Amy Johnson at Quilpie airport.

Quilpie shire is also famous for the Boulder Opal which, being backed by ironstone, is one of the most beautiful and durable of all opals 💎

Unfortunately, all the opal shops were closed here (due to COVID and travelling during the off season) so we went fossicking instead…and found our own 😁 We also visited the beautiful St Finbarr’s Catholic Church to view its amazing opal-embedded altar, lectern and font ⛪

• The Town with no Pub!……Toompine

After Quilpie, we travel just 50 minutes to the tiny little town of Toompine (Pop 2), known as ‘the pub without a town’. We are excited to tick off Pub #12 at this historic pub, but the Toompine Hotel is closed. 🙄 So, instead we keep driving and name Toompine ‘The Town with NO Pub’. 😉

• The Eulo Queen…

Instead we push on to Eulo (pop 48) and stay the night at Pub #12, 🍺 the infamous Eulo Queen Hotel. We check into our comfy cabin behind the pub and head to the bar where we down many cold beers while chatting to the publican. We get to know the locals while enjoying some well earned rain, and then head into the restaurant for a delicious Pork Belly and Potato Bake for dinner 🍝

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

Located around the site of the Eulo General Store are some interesting sights, such as the famous Eulo Flood Truck, an old Dodge which performed an invaluable service by ferrying people and goods back and forth across the flooded Paroo River for many years.

There is also an old air raid shelter built during WWII which was built to protect the Eulo residents in the event of an attack by the Japanese. Made from heavy-gauge corrugated steel, curved over a trench, it could hold 50 people standing up.

Happily, we also find the Eulo Queen Opal Centre, and it’s open! 💎

It’s not hard to learn the ‘real’ reason Eulo is so famous. It was once a droving stopover on the east west stock route and became renowned for one very industrious business woman……The Eulo Queen 👑

The story of the Eulo Queen is the story of the great Isabel Gray who became hotel-keeper in Eulo with her husband in 1886, and it was during this time that Isabel became known as the Eulo Queen. She beguiled her guests, and freely fraternised with travellers in exchange for opals – for which she had acquired a feverish penchant.

So captivated was she by the gems, that she used them as currency in exchange for her services, and adorned herself lavishly from head to toe in the stones. There is even a poem in her honour….

“…..She won their hearts and she took their pelf,

Was it love in her eyes they read?

Yes, each one believed it would be himself,

She’d love, had she not been wed……”

Unfortunately, as EuIo’s importance faded due to the development of better roads, new railway travel and a slump in opals, so too did Isabel’s. By 1926 she was living in poverty, and died in 1929. She is buried in Toowoomba cemetery. Her story lives on however at the famous Eulo Queen Hotel, a great place to stop for a beer, a yarn and a vibrant history lesson.🍺

Day #11 – Eulo – St George (360km – 4hr) via Cunamulla and Bolon

• Leaving the Outback – Eulo to Cunamulla (67km – 44m)

Today we are turning left and heading east, back towards the coast via the Adventure Way. We are travelling from Eulo to St George via Cunamulla and Bollon. We are still in red dirt country but the trees are now taller, and the ground has a lot more grass cover, indicative of our closer proximity to the coast.

Just 45mins from Eulo we are in Cunamulla (pop 1140). It sits on the Warrego River and is the second town we have visited on this major watercourse. Only 9 days ago we passed through Charleville, also on the Warrego, but 200km to the north.

We don’t stop in Cunamulla for long, only for a stretch and to take a pic of the bronze statue of the Cunamulla Fella, (a tribute to Slim Dusty’s song about the stockmen of the bush).

Another 2 hours down the Adventure Way and we stop at Bollon (pop 221) for lunch, and discovered a quiet little town on the banks of a very pretty Wallam Creek in the Balonne Shire 🌳

Only 1 more hour further east and we will arrive in St George, our second last stopover on our outback adventure 🙂

• Wine Tasting in St George……

We arrive in St George (pop 3048), a pretty rural town also on the banks of the Balonne River, which provides services to the surrounding cotton, wheat and sheep farmers.

Our accommodation for the night is at the Pelican Rest Tourist Park in a Superior Queen Cabin, spacious and clean, with park-like grounds and pretty tree views from the verandah.

After check-in we head off to Riversands Wines, a 20ha vineyard just 3km from town. We are here for a wine tasting🥂 of their famous ‘Good F***ing Port’, ‘Let’s Dance’ and ‘Sparkling Sisters’ Bubbles, Chardonay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Shiraz varieties🍷

It’s a fun affair, and we walk away with a bottle of port and bubbles under our arms.

We then head to Pub #13, the Cobb & Co Hotel for a beer, and although this hotel was established in 1886, it has unfortunately lost its old-school magic and lacklustre atmosphere doesn’t really appeal to us 😒

We have one beer then head down to the beautiful river bank to watch the ducks, listen to a multitude of birdlife while we wait for the Asian Pearl Chinese Restaurant nearby to open. We are having takeaway for dinner….and looking forward very much to the Roasted Red Curry Duck! Sorry my new feathered friends at the river! 🦆 🤫

With takeaway in hand, we head back to the Pelican Rest where we sat on our verandah, eat our duck and watched the sun set then the moon rise….bliss! 🌕⭐

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

Day #12 – St George to Warwick (400km – 4hr 20m) via Nindigully, Goondiwindi and Yelarbon

• St George to Nindigully (46km – 30 m)

Our Outback Pub #14 🍺 Nindigully Hotel holds the esteemed title as the hotel with the longest held license in Queensland, and the most character.

We arrive into Nindigully (pop 9) at 10am, right on opening time at the Nindigully Pub, and then do something neither of us have never done…..I had a beer at 10 o’clock in the morning and Geoff (illustrious driver) had a capuccino at the bar! 🍺☕

Located just 46 km south of St George along the Carnarvon Hwy, with its sawn timber walls, it proudly boasts about its status as Queensland’s “oldest pub in its original condition and location”

This famous Hotel was once used as a staging post for Cobb & Co when they ran extensive services through central and western Queensland. It was built in 1864 and parts of the original building still remain today 🐎🐎🐎🐎

In addition to its extensive collection of memorabilia (the pub has had 21 different licensees over its lifetime), it is also home to the 5.5kg Road Train Burger and a 1.5kg Gully Aussie Sandwich!🍔🥪 ✅ A great Aussie Pub not to be missed! Cheers🍺

• Nindigully to Goondiwindi (185km – 2h 11m)

Not just famous for Gunsynd 🐎, the Cup winning ‘Goondiwindi Grey’, but also for our lunch stop today in Goondiwindi (pop 10,799), at our historic Pub #15 🍺 The Victoria Hotel.

What a beautiful, grand and well maintained old pub! And the history of the hotel is a colourful one too…..

The original Victoria Hotel was a modest single-storey wooden building with a shingle roof, built during the reign of its namesake, Queen Victoria 👑 Hitching posts and horse troughs flanked the intersecting dirt tracks that are today’s Marshall and Herbert Streets.

There are stories of criminals being held there while awaiting their trial, horsemen riding into the bar area and lassooing bottles off the shelves and even a boat being rowed into the pub during the 1956 floods 🛶

In the 1920s major renovations and extensions were made to the building by the Pendock family who created a sturdy building of brick and timber, with a criss-cross of dark panelling and white lattice on its facades, stained glass windows and doorways, and an ornamental (yet slightly off-kilter) tower to top it off.

An eye-catching building indeed and It looks much the same today, now adorned in its Christmas finery 🎄🎅 We stop for a steak sanga and a beer, then head off to our last stop before home – Warwick 😁

• Goondiwindi to Yelarbon (51km – 36m)

Yelarbon Graincorp Silo Art…..

Artwork Title: “When the Rain Comes.”

Just 30minutes east of Goondawindi, we pull over at the designated parking area for a closer look at the monumental Yelarbon Silo Art, measuring 1,800 square metres, and spread across eight Graincorp silos. This artwork by Jordon Bruce (aka The Brightsiders) took two weeks and more than one thousand litres of paint to complete.

“When the Rains Come” tells the story of a young boy playing in the lagoon, and highlights the local flora and fauna of the region. It is just one of many beautiful, tourist drawcard Silo Art projects popping up all over rural Australia on The Silo Art Trail.

Yelarbon to Warwick (149km – 1h 35m)

The Abbey……

What better way to end a fabulous holiday than with a stay in the grand and beautiful Abbey Boutique Hotel in Warwick! 🌸

Set on 2 acres, this adults-only heritage-listed hotel was originally built for the Sisters of Mercy in 1891 after the small brick cottage the nuns had used since 1874 became too small. In its heyday, the Abbey housed up to 23 nuns and up to 60 girls from the age of 11. It was also used as a safe house for the girls of All Hallows in Brisbane through WWII, and at that time it housed up to 160 girls.

But by 1987 there were only three nuns living here and it took too much upkeep to look after, so it was sold to Assumption College, and then in 1993 it was sold again and became a bed and breakfast.

We are staying tonight in the Bavarian Suite, (originally the girls dormitory and then the Nuns’ Private Chapel), a beautifully appointed 5.5m x 10.7m ensuite room with 4 poster king bed, claw foot bath, private verandah, high vaulted ceilings, chandeliers and the original stained glass chapel windows.

I can’t think of a better way to end our journey, or a more luxurious way to watch State of Origin 3! 🏉

Level: Long Day 🚗💨🚗💨

Day #13 Warwick to Gold Coast (210km – 2hr 27m)

We are heading home today via the Darling Downs and slip into the Gold Coast on the back roads through Beaudesert, Canungra and Nerang. But even this route doesn’t prepare us for the culture shock of weaving our way back onto the M1 after driving the empty open roads of the vast outback!

I’m happy to say our final count is 15 historic pubs, in which we have enjoyed many light beers, met mobs of friendly locals and even shared a bar with a Brolga or two!

It has been a great trip and one we will never forget, not only for it’s outback charm, but for the camaraderie we have developed as a couple on a road trip full of discovery, surprise and adventure 🚗💨

Level: Easy Day 🚗💨

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