The Matilda Way is a 1,900-kilometre touring route that runs from Bourke in outback New South Wales to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. It passes through some of the most iconic country in inland Australia, from artesian springs to dinosaur country and grass plains.
The route takes its name from Banjo Paterson’s "Waltzing Matilda”, which was written near Winton in 1895. That connection to the song runs through the whole drive.
The Matilda Way is fully sealed throughout and suitable for caravans and motorhomes. It carries road train traffic on sections through Queensland, so road conditions and overtaking opportunities are worth thinking about, particularly between Charleville and Cloncurry. That said, it is far less intimidating than it might look on a map.
The route crosses two states and takes in a genuine cross-section of outback Australia. From Bourke, it heads north through Cunnamulla and Charleville before tracking through Augathella and Tambo to Barcaldine, the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party. North of Barcaldine, the landscape opens into real dinosaur country around Longreach and Winton, where the Age of Dinosaurs Museum is a stop well worth taking. Beyond Winton, the road climbs through Kynuna and McKinlay before reaching Cloncurry, one of the real outback centres on the route and well worth a stop. From Cloncurry, the road turns north through Normanton to Karumba, where the Gulf opens wide, and the prawns are fresh off the boat.
We've travelled the full length of the Matilda Way and have written about most of the major stops along the route, including Bourke, Cunnamulla, Charleville, Tambo, Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton, McKinlay, Cloncurry and Karumba.
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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.