See another side to North Queensland with Overlanders Way

Day 1: Townsville to Charters Towers (137km / 1 hour 30 minutes)

Commence your adventure in thriving Townsville. Cusping the popular Magnetic Island, and hugged by a handful of much-lauded national parks, including Hinchinbrook Island, this is a part of North Queensland you may want to spend some time with. Or make way directly for your first stop of Charters Towers, heading 130 kilometres south-west. The birthplace of the state’s gold rush back in the late 1800s, this sleepy town was once the second-largest city in Queensland (after the capital, Brisbane).

Today it remains an important heritage destination and home to the largest purebred herd of Texas longhorn cattle in Australia at Leahton Park. After a day’s exploration, curl up for the night at Charters Towers Tourist Park, or the revamped asylum Kernow.

Day 2: Charters Towers to Hughenden

Onwards to Hughenden, a two to three-hour drive away. If you have a 4WD, you can detour through White Mountains National Park, testing your offroading skills in Sawpit Gorge and Poison Valley. If not make your way directly to Hughenden, the state’s dinosaur capital. 3000 fossils have been discovered in the area alone, including the Muttaburrasaurus and the Queensland Pterosaur. The most famous of these is “Hughie”, a 7m skeletal Muttaburrasaurus residing at the educational Flinders Discovery Centre.

As for where to stay, nature enthusiasts may prefer the scenery at Australia’s own ‘Little Grand Canyon’ Porcupine Gorge National Park just an hour away. The camping grounds here sit at the pyramid lookout. Or closer to town there are caravanning opportunities at Hughenden Terry Allen Caravan Park, while The Royal Hotel will treat you to all the creature comforts.

More dinosaur action can be found at Richmond, a 116-kilometre drive away. Budding paleontologists will appreciate Kronosaurus Korner where near-complete ankylosaurus skeleton Minmie resides, or hunting for fossils in fossicking sites. Not yet satisfied? You can follow in the footsteps of the prehistoric with a detour down the Australian Dinosaur Trail, encompassing Hughenden, Richmond and neighbouring Winton.

Spend the night at The Ammonite Inn, with its own onsite restaurant. Or set up camp at Lakeview Caravan Park, which overlooks Lake Fred Tritton, Jack Brown Lions Parks and the Bush Tucker Gardens.

Day 4: Richmond to Cloncurry (286km / 3 hours)

Stop in on your three-hour journey to Cloncurry at Julia Creek. This Outback Queensland town and its grasslands are famously home to the three-day triathlon the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival, as well as the rare and endangered Julia Creek dunnart, a small mouse-like marsupial. See one for yourself at the Julia Creek Visitor Centre. It’s just a further 90 minutes to Cloncurry. Named by explorer Robert O’Hara Burke, the town is saturated in early Australian history which can be viewed at the Cloncurry Unearthed Museum. Gaze at the doomed explorer’s water bottle, alongside Indigenous spears and boomerangs among other artefacts.

Post-museum, check into Gidgee Inn for the night. Though campers and caravanners may prefer The Discovery Park or Cloncurry Caravan Park.

You’ll find the Overlanders Way moves into the mountains today as it navigates the Selwyn Ranges. Only an hour and a half’s drive (or 122 kilometres) away sits Australia’s largest city in size, Mount Isa. The mining capital is also the world’s largest single producer of copper, silver, lead and zinc, and is home to the southern hemisphere’s richest rodeo. Get better acquainted with the city via the Mount Isa Visitor Information Centre, which takes care of the Hard Times Mine Underground Tour, Isa Experience and Outback Park, Mount Isa Regional Art Gallery, Riversleigh Fossil Centre, Mount Isa Fish Hatchery Project and the Outback Cafe, and can guide you along the Ancient Outback Mount Isa Loop.

Or if you fancy a small group tour of Mount Isa and beyond (from two hours to full days), book in with North West Tours.

As for sleeping arrangements, The Red Earth Hotel caters to those who prefer lavish accommodation, while powered sites and cabins both can be found at Discovery Parks Mount Isa.

Day 6: Mount Isa to Camooweal (190km / 2 hours)

The final day of your Overlanders Way journey will see you move towards Camooweal, exploring the road also known as “Tojo’s Highway”. Built in World War II with American funds, it was designed to link the southern states and the Allied front line in the Northern Territory. After all, this town is the closest in Queensland before the Territory’s border.

Expect a landscape rich in ancient geological formations dating back 500 million years, from rare sinkholes to vertical caverns. These are best perused at Camooweal Caves National Park, which offers a 70m and 220m walk depending on your energy levels. Before you commence your return journey or onward adventure, check into the multi-purpose Camooweal Post Office Hotel Motel & Caravan Park, which nudges the Barkly Highway.