Our second stop in St Lawrence, the quiet town between Mackay and Rockhampton: two nights at the community rec ground, Friday lasagne night, a local’s tour with a mate, and the old meatworks boilers in the bush.

North of Townsville, two faces of the wet tropics: Big Crystal Creek, a clear rainforest swimming hole, and Wallaman Falls, Australia’s tallest single-drop waterfall, plunging 269 metres into a misty gorge.

A slow guide to Townsville, North Queensland: Castle Hill views, the Strand, Queensland Museum Tropics, the RAAF Museum, and a dog-friendly wander at the Palmetum.

The heat sent Zoe (and us) east, and Hughenden was the perfect stop: a free RV camp, Hughie the Muttaburrasaurus, town street art, and a coolibah tree blazed by explorers hunting Burke and Wills.

Between Mount Isa and Cloncurry sit the empty streets of Mary Kathleen, a uranium mining town built in the 1950s, sold off entirely at auction in 1983, and now a ghostly grid of slabs and silence. Perfect for camping!

Every expedition needs a curse, and ours began the moment we left Mount Isa chasing the Lost Cities. Plagues of bugs, biblical rain, a brutal road, and a mysterious rash.

Three days out to Boulia via Poddy Creek and the Middleton Hotel, the Min Min Encounter, outback sunsets and no actual Min Min sightings. Then north to a spectacular free camp at Dajarra Dam on the way to Mount Isa.

After three visits, here's what we'd actually send a friend to do in Longreach! Qantas history, outback rail and river tours, and a stockman's show. Not everything, just our favourites.

Back in Longreach for our third visit. Outback rail adventures, a sunset cruise on the Thomson River, the Longreach Races, new Akubras, and the friendliest welcome yet.

Blackall’s Historical Woolscour is the only surviving steam-powered woolscour in Australia, operating since 1908. Add Jackie Howe’s unbroken shearing record and a free camp on the Barcoo River, and you have one of outback Queensland’s best stops.

Tambo delivers more than it advertises — Tambo Teddies and a station side quest, chicken races that got out of hand, and the site of Qantas’s first fatal crash in 1927. A small town with a lot going on.

Four visits to Charleville and still finding new things — the Angellala Creek explosion site, the Airfield Museum, the Bureau of Meteorology weather balloon and the WWII quarry that built the airport runways.

From the Cosmos Centre and Bilby Experience to the Airfield Museum, WWII Secret Base, Outback Date Farm, and the Angellala Creek explosion site. There’s a lot going on!

Halfway between Cunnamulla and Charleville, Wyandra is a quiet railway town on the Warrego River with a sandy beach, outback burgers, a peaceful camp and sunsets good enough for a calendar cover.

An overnight pub camp at Enngonia, then north to Cunnamulla; the Robbers Tree, the All Aboard rail show, a day at the races for Neil and artesian hot springs for Cameron. A weekend well spent.

We came to Toowoomba for two nights and stayed four. Drawn in by gardens, markets, thunderstorms, and easy charm. A big city with a small-town heart, full of stories and surprises on the range.

From the old Rex Cinema in Monto to a four-kilo peanut haul in Kingaroy, this stretch of Queensland had everything—local tips, bush learning, and the stories you only find on the road.

A weekend stop in Biloela for new windscreens turned into a laid-back escape. Between Heritage Park, Callide Dam, and country charm, this Central Queensland town proved that even repair days can feel like holidays.

Emerald is Central Queensland’s great reset town. A practical crossroads with everything you need, plus dog parks, gardens, murals and mosaic trails, it’s the place travellers refuel before heading deeper into the outback.

Five hours of potholes, rattles, and questionable suspension from Charters Towers to Emerald reminded us that not every road is smooth.