Experience the best of Longreach

Longreach lies on the broad Mitchell-grass plains of central-west Queensland, beside the Thomson River, on the Landsborough Highway. Sheep and cattle country stretches in every direction under a huge sky. Eagle Street, the wide main street, is lined with old pubs and verandahed buildings from the days when the town was a coaching stop and a railway terminus.

The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame tells the story of the people who opened up the outback. A museum beside the airfield recalls how Australia's national airline began in this part of Queensland in 1920, and retired airliners stand on show outside. The dinosaur fossil country around Winton lies to the north-west.

Beef is the staple, cooked as steaks and roasts, and damper and billy tea are part of the outback tradition. The country is flat and open, the sunsets over the plains are long, and winter nights can be cold after mild, dry days.