The Outback may not immediately come to mind as a great place to take children, but in reality it has much to offer to families and can also be an affordable but exciting roadtrip. Many kids love following the dinosaur trail, and seeing these massive creatures brought to life is enough to awe the most imaginative of minds. For many kids, reliving life in the old west is a dream come true, so visiting a station and learning how to do ranch chores and ride horses is a fun and exciting way to enjoy the region. It can also be great for burning off all the excess energy that kids seem to pack with them! If a stay at a station isn’t quite what you are looking for, try a visit to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, where visitors can learn about the past through interactive displays, and also a show that includes working dogs, horses, mules, and authentic Outback stockmen.
The Min Min Encounter, in Boulia, gives visitors a show unlike any other, complete with fibre optics and special effects. It tells the true story of the Min Min light, a ghostly light that residents of the area have claimed to have seen for more than seventy years. If traveling with smaller children, the Tambo Teddies workshop may be more appropriate. Here you can watch the famous teddy bears being made from scratch. The Bilbies Centre in Charleville is home to Queensland’s most endangered species, a loveable little marsupial that is being bred at the centre as part of the effort to save the animals.
Older children will enjoy the Cosmos Centre and Observatory in Charleville, where they can enjoy films about the universe and at nighttime view the skies up close. The Qantas Founders Outback Museum in Longreach is an aviation museum full of interactive displays that are sure to please children of all ages.
Most visitors to Australia dream of exploring the outback but find themselves quite daunted by its treacherous reputation. Luckily, there are now many Australian vacation packages that make visiting the Queensland Outback easy, and with the comfort of luxury travel as well.
Because it was once part of a huge inland sea, the Outback is particularly rich in dinosaur fossils. Vacationers looking to experience Australia’s ancient past will want to head out on the Dinosaur Trail, a tour of the area that hits all the major prehistoric attractions. Visit museums in Hughenden, Richmond, and Winton, as well as the Riversleigh Fossil Centre in Mount Isa. The Lark Quarry Trackways is home to the largest fossilized dinosaur stampede. In certain areas you can even dig for your own fossils or, if you are interested in a truly unique experience, join an organized dig.
Another outback must is a visit to a local pub. Long known for their quirky atmosphere and colorful regulars, these pubs have been immortalized in movies and popular culture and are a great way to really get to understand the local culture of the Outback. Another fantastic way to enjoy Outback culture is on a station stay. Similar to a dude ranch, these stations raise cattle and sheep, and offer visitors a chance to try their hand at such chores as sheep shearing, mustering, and fencing. Most offer extensive horse-back riding as well, allowing visitors to explore the land in a unique way.
Those who enjoy four-wheel-driving and fishing will find an abundance of possibilities in the Outback. The area is home to more than twenty national parks, giving visitors an excellent opportunity to explore the outdoors. Alternatively, the area can be toured simply for its heritage attractions. In any case, making the trek into the Outback has never been easier and once there, visitors will be sure to find a unique Australian vacation experience.
If you’re looking for a unique way to explore the Australian Outback, how about visiting a commercial opal field and staying overnight in an underground hotel? This might sound like a trip not for the faint of heart, but in reality the White Cliffs area can be enjoyed by just about everyone. Although it is considered the Outback, White Cliffs and the neighboring Broken Hill are only about a day’s drive from both Sydney and Melbourne, making it relatively easy to visit. If you prefer traveling by air, helicopter flights to the area are also available.
The tourist appeal of White Cliffs comes mainly from the fact that the majority of the town’s residents live underground in houses carved out of the sandstone rock so prevalent in the area. Called ‘dugouts,’ these homes require no heating or air conditioning and maintain a very comfortable twenty-two degrees Celsius through summer and winter. Residents dig their homes into the rock using a jackhammer and a wheelbarrow to remove the debris. Once hollowed out they are normally sealed and painted white. There are two accommodations where visitors can stay underground, at the Underground Motel or PJs Underground Bed and Breakfast. The Underground Motel includes an underground restaurant and bar.
White Cliffs was Australia’s first commercial opal mine. Opals are a unique gemstone that have become Australia’s trademark. A visit to White Cliffs should include a mine tour where visitors can even try their hand at finding opal remnants in the mine’s tailings. Several local shops sell quality Australian opals, and there are also several artists in the area who sell beautiful jewelry, photographs, and paintings. Far away from the city lights, the stars here are clearly visible in the wide open skies, so bring a constellation map along for your stay.
