Four legendary outback pubs, one ancient salt lake full of water, and now someone’s built a pub crawl around it.
Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre is alive with floodwaters, transforming Australia’s largest salt lake into one of the country’s rarest natural spectacles. Now it’s the backdrop for the most extraordinary pub crawl the outback has ever seen.
Most Australians have never seen Kati Thanda from the air. Most have never ordered a beer at William Creek Hotel, where every hat on the wall belongs to someone who understood they’d stumbled onto something genuinely rare.
Prairie Hotel in Parachilna has built what they’re calling the Outback Pub Pilgrimage: a 1.5-day, fly-in journey stitching together four of Australia’s most mythologised remote watering holes, across landscapes most Australians will never otherwise see.
The Outback Pub Pilgrimage begins at the Prairie Hotel. (Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission)
The timing is no accident. Right now, Kati Thanda – Australia’s largest salt lake, usually a shimmering white void – is flooded. It fills rarely, unpredictably, and only briefly. From the air, it’s a sight that defies the outback’s reputation for brown and sparse: an inland sea, gleaming and improbable, stretching to a horizon you can’t quite believe.
The Outback Pub Pilgrimage is hosted by an expert pilot who doubles as a guide. Guests arrive and stay at Prairie Hotel the evening before departure with dinner built on native ingredients, wines from South Australia’s best small producers, and a cold beer from the Parachilna Brew Project, SA’s most remote brewery. Then, the next morning, 500 metres to the private airstrip.
Have morning tea at William Creek Hotel. (Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission)
The route is four stops, each one a chapter in the story of the Australian outback. The plane sweeps low over Kati Thanda before touching down at William Creek Hotel for morning tea – a pub dating to 1935, originally a siding on the old Ghan railway line, sitting in the middle of Anna Creek Station, the largest cattle station on earth at 32,500 square kilometres.
From there, head deep into Queensland’s Channel Country and the Birdsville Hotel, with a sunset drive out to Big Red, the great rust-coloured dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert, and an overnight at the pub. The next day will take you to Cooper Creek and the Innamincka Hotel, where Burke and Wills made their last camp, and where lunch feels like a moment to sit with the weight of the country. Then back to Parachilna, fires lit, cold beer on.
The floodwaters that have filled Kati Thanda have also limited traditional overland access to Birdsville. The Pilgrimage turns that challenge into an opportunity. What used to require a rugged 4WD odyssey now unfolds from the window of a Cessna 210, above country that few people have ever flown over.
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See the unique landscape from a bird’s-eye view. (Credit: South Australian Tourism Commission)
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Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her 4+ years at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? South Australia and The Kimberley.
Beyond the winding bitumen and coastal views lies another side to Victoria’s most famous route.
There’s something hypnotic about this stretch of Victoria’s coast. Maybe it’s the way the road hugs the ocean so tightly, or how the cliffs catch the sun in colours you can’t name. Or, for local Victorians who drove this route as kids, maybe it’s the memories of winding through the impossibly tall trees as they seemingly guide you on your journey like wooden guardian angels. Most travellers know it for the 12 Apostles, but there are plenty of alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road equally as worthy of your time.
So, next time you’re in that neck of the woods, park that car, stretch those legs and try these experiences.
1. Discover living culture at Budj Bim
Walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system. (Image: Visit Victoria)
Breakaway Creek’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a masterclass in educational storytelling. Join a guided tour with Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism to walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system, where the Gunditjmara people built sophisticated eel traps and stone channels more than 6,000 years ago.
Budj Bim’s aquaculture system predates Egypt’s pyramids by roughly 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest examples of human engineering on Earth. If that’s not enough to get your history-loving family members involved in this road trip, we’re out of ideas.
2. Unwind in the hot springs at Warnambool
Let mineral-rich water heal you.
If your legs need a break after a long drive, Deep Blue Hot Springs is your remedy. The geothermal pools sit just metres from the coastline, filled with mineral-rich water that bubbles up from deep underground. Move between open-air baths, waterfall pools and quiet zones made for meditation.
The water in Deep Blue’s geothermal pools comes from an ancient aquifer nearly 850 metres below the Earth’s surface, which, in non-scientific terms, means it’s far more likely to have healing properties than the mineral water you’d find at the supermarket.
3. Take to the air at Princetown
See an icon from a different view.
You may have seen the Twelve Apostles from the trusty viewing platform, but a helicopter flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters shows you just how sprawling and rugged this coastline really is.
The trip covers everything from Port Campbell to London Bridge (not to be confused with the UK’s own), giving you a rare chance to watch waves carving the limestone cliffs from above. It’s worth noting that the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles are said to erode by roughly two centimetres each year, so the longer you leave it, the less of the Apostles you’ll see.
4. Step into the past at Flagstaff Hill
Visit a time of yore.
Continue the tour through Warnambool at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum, a recreated 19th-century port town. Hear stories from the days when shipwrecks were as common as seagulls, with an astounding 180 ships believed to have sunk along the Shipwreck Coast in less than five years.
The night show, complete with lights, sound, and sea spray, brings the coastline’s most dramatic stories to life.
If you’re staying the night, Simon’s Waterfront offers relaxed dining with fresh local seafood and oceanfront views. Order the catch of the day and toast to the sailors who never made it ashore.
5. Learn to surf in Torquay, Lorne, or Anglesea
Learn how to hang 10. (Image: Visit Victoria)
Whether you’ve surfed before or can barely stand on a board, Go Ride A Wave will have you upright in no time. Torquay’s calm beaches are ideal for first-timers, while Lorne and Anglesea bring a bit more energy for those unafraid to get dunked.
Bells Beach, just down the road from Torquay, has even hosted the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition since 1962. So, for those eager to have a gander at pros using surfboards like they’re an additional appendage, the competition usually runs sometime in autumn.
6. Tackle the trails in Forrest
Hire a bike and explore MTB trails through the Otways.
Forrest is a haven for mountain bikers thanks to an expansive network of trails through stunning natural scenery. The Forrest trail network has almost 100 kilometres of singletrack across 36 trails, so there’s something for every level of rider. That’s including more than 60 kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails winding through the Otways’ dense forest. Cycle through ancient myrtle beech trees and towering tree ferns, with smaller ferns and soft mosses forming a carpet at your feet.
Hire a bike from Forrest MTB Hire and take your pick from easy, scenic rides to more challenging singletracks, such as Red Carpet or Rollercoaster.
7. See wildlife up close in Apollo Bay
Get help spotting the locals. (Image: Doug Gimsey)
If spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild feels like winning the lottery, Wildlife Wonders gives you guaranteed sightings without cages or crowds. Every visit to the sanctuary helps fund the Conservation Ecology Centre which supports endangered species across the Otways, so your business is appreciated by humans and animals alike.
The guided walk takes you through protected Otways habitat where you might spot potoroos (or joey lookalikes for those unfamiliar with a potoroo), wallabies, and sleepy koalas lounging in the trees.
8. Visit the Cape Otway Lightstation
Delve into the tales of Cape Otway Lightstation.
Towering over the sea on a cliff above the Southern Ocean, Cape Otway Lightstation has been guiding ships since 1848. Before the lighthouse was built, Cape Otway was one of the most treacherous points on the Victorian coast, with dozens of shipwrecks occurring in its surrounding waters. Pick the right day, and you may bump into a local willing to tell you about the wreck of Eric the Red.
While at the Cape Otway Lightstation, explore the keeper’s quarters, walk the coastal trails, and take in views that only stop short at the horizon.
And no, contrary to popular belief, the Round the Twist lighthouse is actually located in Split Point, just shy of two hours in the direction of Melbourne. Nothing’s stopping you from embarking on a lighthouse crawl, though.
