Yaraka

Post

Subscribe

Approximately three hours south of Longreach, the small town of could possibly be described as being in the middle of nowhere. However, it's quite a spectacular and fascinating piece of nowhere - the town and surrounding areas being blessed with the most amazing scenery, abundant wildlife and a colourful history.



In town, there's a pub, a general store, a community park, toilets and showers, tennis courts, a swimming pool and the old railway station which is now a small free museum.



The swimming pool has spectacular mountain views and would likely be considered quite warm by anyone who comes from South of the Queensland border.

Carol and Kevin, two local emus, have recently become famous worldwide after being banned from the pub. They stalk confidently around the town engaging with visitors and making off with anything portable that might prove to be tasty.



At the pub , you can get a drink, a meal and a good chat with whoever is about. That might be the friendly locals and also travellers staying either at the pub or the campsite just down the road. Sunset tours to nearby Mount Slocombe lookout offer some truly beautiful views of the surrounding landscape.

If you love wildlife, then you'll be blown away by how much of it you can see just from driving on the roads. Flocks of emus, mobs of kangaroos, echidnas, goannas, brolgas, eagles and multiple varieties of smaller birds are abundant not to mention cows, sheep, goats and pigs. It's advisable to drive carefully, not only so you don't miss the photo opportunities but also because the wildlife, regard the road as part of their backyard and are pretty well guaranteed to run in front of you. Alternatively, they'll zigzag crazily back and forth and then run in front of you.


For a further taste of nature, there are two national parks near - Welford National Park and Idalia National Park .



The history of the town features sheep stations, interrupted grand plans for railway lines and opal, gold and gas mining. The ruins of the Cobb & Co pub and the lonely grave of gold miner Richard Magoffin are out of town and worth a visit.

Between Jundah and is the historic site of McGee's Shanty featured in Banjo Paterson's poem "A Bush Christening". "On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost" is an apt description of the area's remoteness.



is quite a drive from major towns so staying overnight is a good option. Humans are the rarities out here (town population @12, Longreach area population @3,500 over 40,638 square kilometres).

Note that supplies, particularly of fuel are not always as available as you might be used to and there's a long way between towns. Wet weather can mean some road closures. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has some good tips for when you're heading for the outback.



Visit to get a taste of a beautiful part of Queensland. This place is truly on the back roads. Peace. Stillness. Pristine air. Wild landscapes, sometimes desolate but always enchanting. The sky show features superb sunrises and sunsets and blazing carpets of stars at night. Wildlife galore. A friendly pub.

I think you'll be surprised.



#tourist_sites
#tourist_attractions
#things_to_see
#queensland
#pubs
#outback
#natural_attractions
#motoring
#lookouts
#escape_the_city
#animals_wildlife
#adventure
%wnbrisbane