Outback Queensland is the inner west desert expanse of Queensland.
Towns
This is a vast and desolate region. Don't be fooled by the number of towns listed; there are no major population centres in this part of Australia, and human habitations can be hundreds of kilometres apart or more.
- 1 Birdsville
- 2 Blackall
- 3 Burketown
- 4 Charleville
- 5 Cloncurry
- 6 Cooladdi
- 7 Cunnamulla
- 8 Eulo
- 9 Hungerford
- 10 Longreach - original home of the Qantas airline
- 11 Mount Isa - heavy mining in the desert
- 12 Thargomindah
- 13 Winton
- 14 Yowah - opal-mining town
Other destinations
Understand
Queensland's main population centres are on the coast, and the arid western part is very sparsely populated. If you venture off the beaten track you will find wide open grazing lands and open cast mining.
Get in
It will take a while to drive into this region, and if you do a 4x4 is recommended due to the nature of much of the road network here.
Flying is also possible with QantasLink flying smaller planes into the main mining towns from Brisbane. Airports include Birdsville Airport (BVI IATA), Blackall Airport (BKQ IATA), Charleville Airport (CTL IATA), Cunnamulla Airport (CMA IATA), Burketown Airport (BUC IATA), Longreach Airport (LRE IATA), Thargomindah Airport (XTG IATA), Winton Airport (WIN IATA).
Some of the towns are visited by trains, although it may be with a frequency of twice a week so plan ahead!
Get around
See
Do
Eat
Drink
Every small settlement will have a local pub.
Stay safe
See the Australian Outback article for more general advice.
The obvious danger of travel in this region is having a vehicle breakdown or getting lost. Prepare for such an eventuality and remember to stay with your vehicle rather than trying to go for help.
There are poisonous snakes, but these are likely to avoid you unless you surprise them. Be careful when walking through any vegetation and looking under rocks.