Longreach & Outback QLD Spectacular 2027

Be greeted by your Tour Directors before we leave Brisbane, enroute to Toowoomba, situated on the crest of the Great Dividing Range.

Toowoomba is Queensland's Garden City, a vibrant blend of natural beauty and heritage charm. It is also the largest non-capital inland city in Australia with a population of approximately 150,000. It is well known for its many beautiful parks and gardens which benefit from the town's rich volcanic soils. This afternoon, we enjoy a tour of this beautiful regional city, including a visit to the Cobb & Co Museum followed by a visit to Queens Park Gardens. D

We continue north into the Carnarvon National Park. There are numerous guided walks available in the park, depending on your level of fitness. Spot an elusive platypus on a gentle nature trail or, for the more seasoned walkers, head up the gorge to Moss Garden, where water seeping out of the limestone supports a lush carpet of mosses and ferns. This afternoon, we depart Carnarvon Gorge and travel to Emerald. B.L.D

Our day begins with a tour of the Qantas Founders Museum, which houses a Boeing 747 and the airline’s first 707. Walk through the aircraft and wander around this exceptional museum. Later, we experience the iconic Stockman’s Hall of Fame before visiting the School of Distance Education. This afternoon, cruise along the Thomson River followed by dinner on the riverbank, accompanied by a talented musical entertainer performing live on Smithy’s River Stage. B.L.D

Before leaving town, we enjoy a visit to Winton’s Waltzing Matilda Centre. Rebuilt after the devastating 2015 fire, the centre features a world-class museum that tells the story of Waltzing Matilda, along with an art gallery and exhibition space.

We then continue northwest to Cloncurry, passing by the Walkabout Creek Hotel at McKinlay, which featured in the legendary film ‘Crocodile Dundee’. Travelling on to Gulf Country, Mt. Isa, is tonight’s destination. B.L.D

We depart Mt. Isa this morning, bound for Karumba. At Cloncurry, visit the John Flynn Place Museum, commemorating Flynn’s establishment of the Aerial Medical Service in 1928, which brought vital care to remote homesteads and communities.

The display includes some interesting personal memorabilia and explanations of how the whole Flying Doctor system worked in the early days. Flynn's story is the triumph of an unceasing commitment against huge odds. The museum also records the remarkable work of Alfred Traeger, the man who invented the push pedal radio.

The Cloncurry River was named by the explorer Robert O'Hara Burke after his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry from County Galway in Ireland, and when the town was surveyed it took the name of the river. Travelling along the Burke Development Road towards Normanton with morning tea at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. We learn of the expedition in 1860-1861 before heading onto Normanton and into Karumba. B.L.D

Leaving the Gulf town of Karumba, the coach heads inland across the vast savannah plains of Queensland’s outback. The journey offers endless horizons of golden grasslands, scattered with hardy eucalypts and the occasional kangaroo bounding in the distance. As we travel through remote cattle country, the landscape gradually shifts to rugged sandstone escarpments and ancient riverbeds, signaling our approach to the spectacular Cobbold Gorge region.

This hidden gem, carved over millennia, awaits with its striking narrow chasms and tranquil waterways - a dramatic contrast to the open plains we’ve just crossed. B.L.D

Departing Cobbold Gorge, we make our way to Undara Volcanic National Park, which protects the longest lava tube cave system in the world. A local Savannah Guide will take us on a tour through part of the lava tube cave system. Tonight, enjoy dinner in the outdoor-style restaurant as an outback sunset fades into a clear starlit night. B.L.D

Our Outback journey concludes this morning with transfers to the airport. B

Please note: Additional pre- and post-tour accommodation can be booked for guests through Outback Spirit, for more information please call our office on 1800 688 222.