This 5-day Outback road trip from Winton to Tambo belongs on your bucket list

Embark on your adventure from the cultural hub of Winton. What this place lacks in size it more than makes up for in history - Winton is the birthplace of Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda in the still-operating North Gregory Hotel. Learn more about the song’s history at the Waltzing Matilda Museum, or step even further back in time with a trip to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs.

But cultural pursuits are just as welcome in these parts. Winton has been dubbed the Hollywood of the outback courtesy of its annual hosting of the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival. Even if you miss out on the winter event, you’ll be able to enjoy a film al-fresco at the Royal Open Air Theatre, screening movies since 1918.

Day 2: Longreach

Meander the 180 kilometre stretch to Longreach. While national airline Qantas was founded in Winton, you’ll find the airline’s dedicated museum here - Qantas Founders Museum sits just on the outskirts of town, boasting a collection of exhibits, artifacts and displays that tell the airline’s story. Fellow resident, the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame is also well-worth a visit. Opened by the Queen in 1988, this heritage landmark is considered one of the state’s most important. You can further immerse yourself in life on the land with the Outback Stockman’s Show.

After a day’s explore of town, greet the sunset atop the iconic Thomson River. Operators Outback Pioneers and Outback Aussie Tours will show you the way, with a bush camp and dinner. Or keep to your creature comforts instead, spending that night at Saltbush Retreat. 

Day 3: Barcaldine

107 kilometres away you’ll find Barcaldine, pronounced Bar-call-dun. Sitting on the junction of the Capricorn and Landsborough Highways, this Outback town has been dubbed the Garden City of the West thanks to its connection to the Great Artesian Basin.

While used primarily as a base to explore surrounding central west Queensland, Barcaldine isn’t shy of some history of its own. This rural hub is seen as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party, as the home of the 1891 Australian shearers’ strike. Spend your day here exploring the statement-making Tree of Knowledge memorial established in ode to the historic event, as well as taking a gander at the Australian Workers Heritage Centre.

Day 4: Blackall

Next on this Outback Queensland road trip is Blackall, home of the original Black Stump, just a further 100 kilometres down the road. The township flourished back in the 1860s thanks to its involvement in the shearing and the wool industries.

Blackall was placed on the map by blade shearer Jack Howe in 1892 when he set a world record shearing 321 sheep in seven hours and 40 minutes. Impressively, the feat wasn’t matched for 58 years and even then this was by machine shears. Today Blackall remains proud of its origins, boasting a handful of sheep-related landmarks around town, including a bronze sculpture of Jack Howe in the city centre. You can also visit the big sheep at Ram Park before spending a few hours trawling the Blackall Woolscour, the country’s only remaining steam-driven wool washing plant.

Be sure to stop in for a bite at historic tearoom The Lodge on Hawthorn while you’re in town, one of the best spots to eat in Outback Queensland.

Day 5: Tambo

Keeping an eye out for kangaroos, follow along another 100 kilometres and you’ll come to greet fellow sheep town Tambo. This rural community is rumoured to be Western Queensland’s oldest, having been founded in 1863 as Carrangarra, before it landed the name Tambo in 1868.

No trip to Tambo is complete without dropping in to the Tambo Teddies workshop - the local company was conjured up back in 1992 by a group of local women eager to help the town during the drought and a crash in wool prices and it remains a popular souvenir for those rolling through.

*This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated April 2021.