The numbers, the planning, and the highlights behind the diary
Actual GPS route from Paul's phone — drag to pan, scroll/pinch to zoom, click a dot for the place name.
| Place | Days | Nights | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane → Dalby | Day 1 | 1 | Dalby Fairway Motor Inn |
| Mitchell | Day 2 | 1 | Mitchell Motel and Cabin Park |
| Augathella | Day 3 | 1 | Motel near the BP Truckstop |
| Quilpie | Day 4 | 1 | Shearer’s quarters at Lake Houdraman |
| Yowah | Day 5 | 1 | Artesian Waters Caravan Park |
| Thargomindah | Day 6 | 1 | Oasis Motel |
| Eromanga | Days 7–8 | 2 | Coopers Country Lodge |
| Windorah | Day 9 | 1 | Western Star Motel |
| Jundah | Days 10–11 | 2 | Jundah Hotel |
| Longreach | Days 12–14 | 3 | Mitchell Grass Retreat |
| Winton | Days 15–18 | 4 | Winton Outback Hotel |
| Cloncurry area | Days 19–20 | 2 | Oasis Hotel Motel Cloncurry |
| Nelia | Day 21 | 1 | Corella Ck Country Farm Stay |
| Hughenden | Days 22–23 | 2 | Royal Hotel |
| Barcaldine | Days 24–25 | 2 | Barcaldine Country Motor Inn |
| Tambo | Day 26 | 1 | Tambo Mill Motel |
| Roma | Day 27 | 1 | Roma Inland Motor Inn |
| Toowoomba | Days 28–29 | 2 | Avenue Motel Apartments |
| Toowoomba → home | Day 30 | — | Home |
I (Paul) did the planning for this trip, I built it around the "Glamping" stay in Longreach, timed to coincide with our Wedding Anniversary, and the Dinosaur attractions at Eromanga and Winton. The only accommodation I booked in advance was at Longreach, the rest was booked as we went. We took the Subaru, and packed the camping gear into the pod on the roof as a backup, but we did not use it. We did not take the mountain bikes. The trip went well, apart from unexpected rain at Winton which shut down some of the roads so we missed the Lark Quarry tour. We also ran into traffic flooding back from "Big Red Bash" which dried up all the accommodation. This meant we could not continue east on the A6 and had to divert back down the 18 and 19 to the A2.
We've done a few trips like this before, just with the car and booking motels or cabins in caravan parks. We enjoy the freedom to make up our minds as we go, stay a little longer when we find a gem, move on when it's not as good as promised. The downside is the stress of booking accommodation close to the date, places can get booked out. On this trip we decided that for our next trip out west we would buy an off-road hybrid pop-up van.
I really enjoyed the sunsets. I was pleasantly surprised by the much greater amount of dinosaur attractions / places than expected. I enjoyed watching Kayleen relax and explore her bird watching.
[Kay's best memory from this trip]