The 10 Most Famous Outback Icons To See Once In Your Life

The outback icons you know and love.

These renowned outback destinations are icons and on the national radar for a reason, but they still hold some remarkable secrets.

1. Uluru, NT

Uluru, in the heart of the Red Centre, began to form some half a billion years ago, rising 348 metres out of the Central Desert. This ancient monolith is a sight to behold at any time of the day, from its iconic rusty red to purple when the sun melts into the desert.

sunset in Uluṟu, NT — Orange sunset hues paint the sky over Uluru. (Image: Emily Murphy)

For the Anangu people, Uluru is a deeply spiritual place entwined in traditional Tjukurpa lore. After dark, Wintjiri Wiru tells the ancestral Mala story through more than 1000 choreographed drones, lasers and projections in the night sky. The 10-kilometre base walk is a must and weaves through pockets of lush vegetation including the Mutitjulu Waterhole.

Wintjiri Wiru Kurpany — After dark, Wintjiri Wiru tells the ancestral Mala story. (Image: Getty Images for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia. Acknowledgement: Anangu share the Mala story, from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, through a drone, sound and light show designed and produced by RAMUS.)

Insider tip: Uluru is in one of the driest regions in Australia, but occasional heavy downpours can occur between November and March resulting in majestic waterfalls.

2. Kakadu National Park, NT

Kakadu is a place of staggering numbers. Stretching for 20,000 square kilometres, it encompasses a rich environment of vast savannah woodlands, stone escarpments, tropical waterholes and swollen wetlands.

The national park is home to about one-third of the country’s bird species and provides habitat to some 10,000 crocs. You’ll find some of these salties lurking beneath the surface at Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba).

The Bininj/Mungguy people have lived in the area for 65,000 years and it has the world’s greatest concentration of rock art sites; there are about 5000 known sites scattered throughout the park, with some paintings dating back 20,000 years. Let that sink in.

View of Burrungkuy, Kakadu — Kakadu is home to the world’s greatest concentration of rock art sites.

Insider tip: After viewing first contact paintings at Nanguluwurr and the Creation Ancestor Lightning Man (Namarrgon) at Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), be sure to visit Marrawuddi Arts & Culture centre to ethically purchase art from Kakadu and West Arnhem Land artists.

3. Ningaloo, WA

The palette of Ningaloo is almost inconceivable: red desert abruptly clashes with turquoise ocean. It’s home to the world’s largest fringing reef frequented by manta rays, sea turtles and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark.

Ningaloo landscape — The palette of Ningaloo is almost inconceivable. (Image: Tourism Australia)

These gentle and placid creatures visit between March and July each year in conjunction with the reef’s annual coral spawning. Swimming with them is an otherworldly experience.

A whale shark in Ningaloo — Swimming with whale sharks is an otherworldly experience. (Image: Exmouth Dive and Whalesharks Ningaloo)

Insider tip: Fly over sunburnt desert, rugged ranges, empty beaches and a colour wheel of ocean blues on a scenic flight. There are several operators in the area.

4. Coober Pedy, SA

This isolated town halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs was put on the world map after opal was discovered here a century ago.

Coober Pedy comes from an Aboriginal term for ‘white man in a hole’, a moniker given because the miners built their homes – and now restaurants, bars and churches – into the lunar-like landscape as an antidote to scorching daytime temperatures and cold desert nights.

Coober Pedy in outback South Australia at sunset — Coober Pedy comes from an Aboriginal term for ‘white man in a hole’. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Insider tip: Head 25 kilometres north to Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park , an Indigenous-owned area comprising the Breakaways, an ethereal landscape of hills where the colours are amplified at sunset.

5. Broken Hill, NSW

In the late 19th century, the discovery of ore on a lonely broken hill containing one of the world’s richest deposits of silver, iron and zinc led to a mining boom and the establishment of two Aussie icons – Broken Hill and BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary).

Coined the Silver City, Broken Hill became Australia’s first heritage-listed city. It’s also the birthplace of the late Australian artist Pro Hart, a legendary setting for The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Mad Max 2 (filmed in the nearby village of Silverton) and the country’s largest base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Emus in a paddock in Broken Hill — Broken Hill was Australia’s first heritage-listed city.

Insider tip: Stop by Australia’s longest running milk bar Bells , a nostalgic 1950s diner, for a soda or shake and some jukebox tunes.

6. Katherine, NT

An oasis in the Top End, Katherine is bulging with gorges, waterfalls, monsoon rainforests and hot springs. Nitmiluk National Park is a highlight, where the Katherine River cuts through a series of 13 gorges that stretch for 11 kilometres and reach more than 70 metres in height.

Cruise through this mesmerising landscape, paddle through on a kayak or join a cultural tour with a Jawoyn guide to gain a deeper understanding of local Indigenous culture.

Insider tip: Made famous by the 1908 novel, We of the Never Never, Elsey National Park is home to Mataranka Thermal Pools and Bitter Springs, alluring swimming holes fringed by ferns and palms.

7. Mparntwe/Alice Springs, NT

The Arrernte people are the Traditional Custodians of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. The town itself was established during the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872 and named after a local waterhole and the wife of Sir Charles Todd, South Australia’s Superintendent of Telegraphs; the Telegraph Station is the best-preserved along the line.

Alice Springs was also the final settling point for the Afghan cameleers who built the railway that now connects Adelaide to Darwin. Nestled between the East and West MacDonnell Ranges, the red desert landscape is resplendent in spinifex dunes, rocky escarpments and chasms – including the 80-metre-high Standley Chasm/Angkerle Atwatye.

Aerial shot of the outback red centre in Northern Territory Australia — The Arrernte people are the Traditional Custodians of Mparntwe/Alice Springs. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Insider tip: Representing more than 400 Anangu/Yarnangu female artists from remote communities in the Central and Western desert regions, Tjanpi Desert Weavers is a public gallery that showcases baskets, sculptures, jewellery and more.

8. Birdsville, Qld

A group of stockmen held the first Birdsville Races on the border of South Australia and Queensland in 1882. More than a century later – with the help of then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser who attended in 1978 – about 6000 people now attend the event.

Despite the arduous journey to get to Birdsville, this tiny outback town on the edge of the Simpson Desert has become a pilgrimage for music lovers, too, with the even bigger Big Red Bash held annually on the dusty gibber plains. A visit is incomplete without a frosty beer at the Birdsville Hotel.

Birdsville Hotel in Queensland — A visit is incomplete without a frosty beer at the Birdsville Hotel. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Insider tip: Big Red Bash gets its name from the Big Red sand dune west of town. Part of a series of more than 1000 dunes, it’s a great place to go four-wheel-driving, sandboarding or to watch an uninterrupted sunset.

9. Longreach, Qld

Named after the ‘long reach’ of the Thomson River, this central Queensland town is better known as home to Australian civil aviation. The Qantas Founders Museum includes a replica of our national airline’s first carrier and a heritage-listed hangar.

You can also gallop in a stagecoach along the original Cobb & Co Longreach to Windorah mail route and wander through the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, which celebrates the country’s stockmen, acknowledges the important role of Indigenous stock workers and features a live show that includes a muster.

Boat on the Thomson River in Longreach — Cruise the Thomson River in Longreach. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Insider tip: Travel the 1325 kilometres from Brisbane to Longreach aboard the Spirit of the Outback sleeper train.

10. Gibb River Road, WA

This epic 660-kilometre road in Australia’s north-western corner has made a permanent mark on the bucket lists of intrepid travellers. Constructed in the 1960s to transport stock, the mostly unsealed bone-rattling Gibb River Road cuts through the belly of the Kimberley from Derby to Wyndham and is known as one of the country’s last true outback adventures.

It passes through vast wilderness and outback cattle stations the size of small countries, leading to old cave systems, rock art sites, thundering waterfalls, striking gorges and pools, many of which you may have all to yourself along the way. While camping is the norm, there are comfortable station stays and even luxe lodges that you wouldn’t expect in such a remote location.

The Kimberly and Gibb River Road — The epic Gibb River Road has made a permanent mark on the bucket lists of intrepid travellers. (Image: Sean Scott)

Insider tip: Ellenbrae is a cattle station that has become a favourite pit stop for a cuppa and fluffy scones.

Epic railway journeys to the outback

Completing its first journey almost a century ago when a track was built between Adelaide and Alice Springs, The Ghan is the country’s most iconic train. Now connecting through to Darwin, the 2979-kilometre, three-night journey includes stops in Coober Pedy and Alice Springs.

Coober Pedy landscape from The Ghan — *The Ghan* travels through Coober Pedy.

Stretching even further at 4352 kilometres, its transcontinental counterpart, Indian Pacific , connects Perth and Sydney passing through Broken Hill, Adelaide and the arid and infamous Nullarbor Plain.

Indian Pacific next to Lake Hart in South Australia — *Indian Pacific* passes through Lake Hart.

Operating since 1878, the Pichi Pichi Railway travels along the original Ghan route between Port Augusta and Quorn in the rugged South Australian outback. Four restored heritage steam and diesel trains operate half- and full-day tours.

Queensland’s outback is easily reached via train, with three overnight railway journeys. The Spirit of the Outback travels between Brisbane and Longreach, the spiritual home of Qantas, The Westlander between Brisbane and Charleville, a town immortalised by Slim Dusty’s song, and The Inlander between Townsville and mining town, Mt Isa.

Or take it slower on The Savannahlander , a four- and six-day return railway tour from Cairns to Forsayth with visits to Cobbold Gorge and Undara, home to 190,000-year-old lava tunnels.

Railway Adventures are fully escorted tours that incorporate rail and land journeys. Launched by TV personality Scott McGregor, 2024 tours include a 10-day NSW Outback journey to Parkes, Broken Hill and Lake Mungo; a 12-day Outback Queensland trip to Longreach and Winton; and a 13-day Western Australia tour including Kalgoorlie and the Pinnacles.

The country’s rawest places offer some of its most transformative, restorative experiences.

Australia offers sublime opportunities to disappear into the ancient, untouched wilderness, worlds away from modern stress. Wild Bush Luxury offers a collection of experiences that are a portal into the continent’s wildest, most undiscovered landscapes, from wide floodplains to vast savannas, where the only distractions are birdsong, frog calls, curious wallabies and the daily drama of sunset. With a focus on conservation and Indigenous knowledge, these all-inclusive experiences allow guests to slow down and quiet their minds for intimate encounters with the natural world.

1. Bamurru Plains

safari tent at Bamurru Plains wild bush luxury — Let nature take front row.

In the remote Top End, just outside Kakadu National Park on the fringes of the spectacular Mary River floodplains, you’ll find Bamurru Plains , a peerless Australian safari camp. After a quick air transfer from Darwin to the camp’s private airstrip, you’ll be whisked away via 4WD to a vivid natural wonderland of shimmering floodplains, red earth, herds of peacefully grazing water buffalo and 236 bird species (Bamurru means magpie goose to the Gagadju people).

Accommodations consist of 10 mesh-walled bungalows and two luxe stilted retreats where guests enjoy panoramic, up-close views that invite them into their rightful place in the landscape (and binoculars to see it even better). Being an off-grid experience designed to help guests disconnect, the only distractions are birdsongs, frog calls, curious wallabies, the occasional crocodile sighting and the daily drama of the spectacular golden sunset.

It’s a place where nature’s vastness rises to the level of the spiritual, and Bamurru’s understated, stylish, largely solar-powered lodgings are designed to minimise human impact and let nature take front row. Guests relax in comfort with plush linens, an open bar, communal tables that allow for spontaneous connections and curated dining experiences from the in-house chef using local ingredients and bush-inspired cooking methods.

Bamurru Plains airboat tour — Zoom across the floodplains. (Image: Adam Gibson)

It’s a restorative backdrop for days spent zooming across the mist-covered floodplains in an airboat, birding with expert guides, taking an open-sided safari drive or river cruise through croc country. Spend time at the Hide, a treehouse-like platform that’s perfect for wildlife spotting.

In fact, nature is so powerful here that Bamurru Plains closes entirely during the peak monsoon season (October to April), when the floodplains reclaim the land and life teems unseen beneath the water. Yet Wild Bush Luxury’s ethos continues year-round through its other experiences around Australia – each designed to immerse travellers in a distinct Australian wilderness at its most alive and untouched.

2. Maria Island Walk

woman on a headland of Maria Island Walk — Maria Island Walk offers sweeping coastal scenes.

Off Tasmania’s rugged east coast, the iconic Maria Island Walk is an intimate four-day journey through one of the country’s most hauntingly beautiful and unpopulated national parks, encompassing pristine beaches, convict-era ruins, and wildlife sightings galore. Accessible only by a small ferry, Maria Island feels like a place reclaimed by nature, which is exactly what it is: a penal settlement later used for farms and industry that finally became a national park in 1972.

These days, the island is known as ‘Tasmania’s Noah’s Ark’ and its only human inhabitants are park rangers. It’s a place where wombats amble through grassy meadows, wallabies graze beside empty beaches, dolphins splash in clear water just offshore and Tasmanian devils – successfully reintroduced in 2012 after near-extinction on the mainland – roam free and healthy.

Each day unfolds in an unhurried rhythm: trails through coastal eucalyptus forests or along white-sand bays, plateaus with sweeping ocean views, quiet coves perfect for swimming. Midway through the journey, you’ll explore Darlington, a remarkably preserved 19th-century convict settlement whose ruins tell stories of human ambition at the edge of the known world.

At night, sleep beneath a canopy of stars in eco-wilderness camps – after relaxing with Tasmanian wine and locally-sourced meals, and swapping stories with your fellow trekkers by candlelight.

3. Arkaba

two people standing next to a 4wd in Arkaba — Explore Arkaba on foot or on four wheels.

For a bush immersion with more of an outback flavour, Arkaba offers a completely different type of experience. A former sheep station and historic homestead in South Australia’s striking Flinders Ranges that has been reimagined as a 63,000-acre private wildlife conservancy. It’s now patrolled mainly by kangaroos and emus.

Small-scale tourism (the homestead has just five ensuite guestrooms) helps support rewilding projects, and guests become an essential part of the conservation journey. Days begin with sunrise hikes through ancient sandstone ridges or guided drives into the ranges to spot yellow-footed rock-wallabies. And end with sundowners on a private ridgetop watching the Elder Range glow vibrant shades of gold, crimson and violet as the air cools and time stands still.

Here, you can join conservation activities like tracking native species or learning about Arkaba’s pioneering feral-animal eradication projects, then unwind with chef-prepared dinners served alfresco on the veranda of the homestead, which is both rustic and refined. The highlight? Following Arkaba Walk, a thriving outback wilderness where emus wander and fields of wildflowers grow.

It’s an unforgettable immersion in Australia’s vast inland beauty, a place where the land’s deep and complicated history – and astounding resilience – leave their quiet imprint long after you return home. In a world where genuine awe is rare, Wild Bush Luxury offers a return to what matters most in the untamed beauty of Australia’s wilderness.

Disconnect from the grind and reconnect with nature when you book with at wildbushluxury.com

The 10 most famous outback icons to see once in your life