The Heart of the Outback

After a little grocery shopping in Barcaldine, we continued to Longreach, some 115km north west. The first indication that one is close to Longreach is the sight, in the distance, of the tail of a QANTAS jet.

We stopped in town to get some milk – Barcaldine didn't have any milk left – and went to the Apex Riverside camp, about 4km north of town. Everyone was there!! We ended up at the top of the area looking down at the rows of vans.

The area is a dust bowl that would become very muddy if it rained, with that said, it is a great site and close to Longreach. There are toilets at the river end and at present a new very large covered area is being built. It costs $3 a night or $15 a week. A fruit and vege van comes a few times a week. The sunsets are spectacular over the Thompson River. We watched emus and brolgas walk around the camp site and there were two roosters that 'owned the place'. I liked how the early morning they would play 'Marco Polo' – can't complain about ROOSTERS crowing :)

Longreach is in the heart of the Queensland Outback and has many historic sites to see. Last time we did the QANTAS Founders Museum, well worth a visit. We spent the good part of a day there. Also the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame – a day is not enough. One of the highlights last trip was the Longreach School of the Air, a very informative tour. This trip Longreach is a wonderful stop along the way. We walked up and down the main street, stopped in Kinnon & Co to look at 'outback' goods and heaps of artefacts – and it is the local quilt shop! This is also where a lot of the tours leave from. We do want to do a Thompson River Sunset Cruise, but the nights are so cold we are going to leave it until another time and when the nights are warmer. So much more to see in Longreach. A new installation in Longreach is the Longreach Botanic Walkway. We discovered it by accident when we stopped in a back street to see the QANTAS plane on the way into Longreach. This a 2.5km flora walk between the town centre and the Stockman's Hall of Fame. Along the way are stones with plaques of pioneers. A great new tourist attraction.

Some years ago on one of our trips we signed up for Outback Mates. We don't use it a lot, but it has paid for itself over and over. We went into the Merino Bakery and Peter got his coffee fix and I got a free hot chocolate. We also bought some bread rolls for lunch. We stayed two days, but probably should have stayed a little longer. Next time......