Embark on a journey back in time and discover the heart of Australia with our guide to the 10 best ways to unleash your outback pioneering spirit in Longreach. Steeped in history and heritage, Longreach offers a unique blend of authentic experiences that will transport you to the days of pioneers and stockmen. Longreach in outback Queensland promises unforgettable adventures for all ages.
1. Ride the Cobb & Co Stagecoach
This is the ultimate way to step into pioneer shoes and experience the thundering hooves, the dust, the creaks and groans of the stagecoach, and the bush beyond the open windows as you gallop along the old Longreach-Windorah mail route. It’s a trip to be remembered, whether you’re 8 or 80! Book Outback Pioneers Cobb and Co Stagecoach Experience online or at their booking office or agents in town.
2. Have dinner round the campfire under the stars
All the hard work is done for you if you hop aboard the Outback Pioneers Starlight’s Cruise Experience. After a sunset sail along the Thomson River with birds coming home to roost, step ashore for a stockman’s stew, dessert and damper plus traditional entertainment from a bush poet and plenty of outback humour from the Kinnon boys. There’s the Starlight’s Sound & Light Picture Show on the riverbank too.
3. Go shopping the pioneer way
The Station Store in Longreach is based on the traditional outback stores where remote outback families would come to buy everything. Time slips away as you go from room to room, discovering leatherware, outdoor ware, stockman’s supplies, homewares, haberdashery, books and gifts. It’s at 126 Eagle Street Longreach in a 1920s building, which is a treasure itself.
4. See the planes that started it all
At Qantas Founders Museum, you’ll be inspired by the spirit of the pioneer aviators who took to the skies to bridge the huge outback distances. The Winton and Longreach region was the home of our national airline when it started. At the museum, you can step inside a range of iconic aircraft and even try your hand at flying in a flight simulator!
5. Go on the Nogo Station Water Run
The water run is part of the Outback Pioneers Nogo Station Experience and is your best chance to get up close to the animals that live in the outback – from iconic cattle breeds to feral camels to native wildlife. As you travel the sunlit plains on a double-decker open-top bus, you’ll get a unique insight into outback life. The view is little changed from when pioneers of the outback ran sheep and cattle on this land in the 1800s.
6. Eat a steak fit for a stockman
The ultimate way to cook your steak, chicken or crocodile is on a hot stone, as the pioneers did at the campfire. The Welcome Home’s Stonegrill’s Dining Experience has updated the concept and cook your meat on a stone at the table – exactly as you like it. There’s a choice of sides and sauces and, to complete the meal, there’s an all-you-can-eat dessert bar of traditional homestead desserts. Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the tour season. BYO alcohol. Call 07 4658 1776 for more details and reservations.
7. Experience the Old Time Tent Show
You’ve probably never experienced anything quite like the Old Time Tent Show‘s quirky mix of humour and animal antics! The one-hour show is based on the traditional outback tent shows and tells a fictional story set in the time of Harry Redford (Captain Starlight). Book a Billy-can lunch to eat while you watch.
8. Catch up with Banjo!
Winton is just a bus trip away and it’s worth seeing the new Waltzing Matilda Centre while you’re here – and the North Gregory Hotel where Banjo Paterson first performed the iconic Australian song. If you don’t have your own transport, Outback Pioneers has a Winton Discovery Day Tour on Saturdays that shows you all these highlights and the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Book online or ask at the Outback Pioneers booking office or agents in town.
9. Tread in the footsteps of local heroes
Whether it’s Captain Starlight’s history at Nogo Station or the celebration of stockmen and more at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, the outback has plenty of local heroes to discover. Many of the town’s old buildings housed some great characters too. Start at The Welcome Home and the Outback Pioneers booking office will tell you all you need to know.
10. Say g'day to a shearer
You can’t visit the outback without meeting a shearer and experiencing the sights and sounds of a traditional shearing shed! Join the Nogo Station Experience on Tuesday or Friday morning and meet our champion shearer who will tell you all about life in the shearing sheds and show you how it’s done! Book online, at the Outback Pioneers booking office or through agents in town.
