The Best Places To Visit In The Australian Outback

When it comes to the ultimate tick-list of outback attractions that absolutely everyone should stand in awe of, it doesn’t get more spectacular than this.

The great Australian outback takes as fact that you’ll be back. That once you stride out into this sunburnt country and see it in the right light, you will love its frayed edges, its roads that run like ribbons sewn into the Earth, and, of course, its characters, which are its main currency.

Outback attractions

The Kimberley, WA

Discover ancient Aboriginal rock art and wildlife, swim in remote waterholes, and explore cavernous gorges in one of the oldest, largest and most rugged wilderness landscapes in the world, located in Western Australia’s north-west corner.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta, NT

While the Base Walk at Uluru mesmerises most first timers here, the Valley of the Winds walk is a must-do when visiting the magnificent red monoliths of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. After completing the 7.4-kilometre trek, check into Longitude 131° to ogle Uluru from your luxury tent.

Clouds over Uluru in Northern Territory — Visit, or revisit, Uluru.

Bungle Bungle Range, WA

Trek deep into the heart of Purnululu National Park on a guided walk that threads between the iconic red-and-black sandstone domes of the Bungle Bungles in WA’s north-west reaches.

The Nullarbor, SA + WA

The Nullarbor is the longest, straightest and flattest road in Australia. Put the pedal to the metal on this celebrated stretch of asphalt and you will likely see camels, kangaroos and emus along the way. Plan for a pit stop at jaw-dropping Bunda Cliffs, the longest line of sea cliffs in the world, to see whales in season.

Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge, NT

Fly in by helicopter, take a cruise or embark on a walking trail to see the cliffs of Nitmiluk Gorge all aglow on the navy side of sunset, amid the dramatic escarpments of Nitmiluk National Park.

Tjoritja/West MacDonnell Ranges, NT

Wild swimming is a lo-fi way to appreciate the Northern Territory’s outback, and there is ample opportunity to immerse yourself in wondrous swimming holes here, many of which are protected by the imposing shoulders of the West MacDonnell Ranges along the iconic Larapinta Trail.

Kings canyon, NT

Walk the Rim Walk to truly understand the scale of the wonders the landscape here possesses. Our tip: set out super early to see the sunrise paint the sky in pastels hues.

Broken Hill, NSW

Discover the art of Pro Hart at the gallery dedicated to one of Broken Hill’s Brushmen of the Bush. The town’s creative side is also on display at The Living Desert Reserve, dotted with 12 sculptures that rise up out of the red dirt.

Broken Hill sunset — Sun setting in Broken Hill.

Coober Pedy, SA

The opal capital of the world is famous for its lunar landscapes, labyrinth of underground hotels and shops, and the tangerine-tinted outcrops of Painted Hills.

Ikara/Wilpena Pound, SA

The Flinders Ranges is South Australia’s largest mountain range, and Ikara/Wilpena Pound (top right) is the sunken natural amphitheatre at its centre. Anchor yourself at Rawnsley Park Station, which offers eco- luxury to camping under the stars, and be enveloped in the theatrical beauty of it all.

Longreach, QLD

When it comes to encapsulating the pioneering spirit that contributed to making Australia the country it is today, Longreach is it. The Cobb & Co Stagecoach Experience and Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame are must dos.

Wolfe Creek, WA

The focal point of Wolfe Creek Crater National Park, located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia some 150 kilometres from Halls Creek, the Wolfe Creek Crater is the second largest meteorite crater in the world. In a country with so many fantastical sights, the almost perfectly circular crater, which measures 880 metres across and is believed to have been created 300,000 years ago, largely flies under the radar. Long known to the local Aboriginal people as Kandimalal, yet only documented in an aerial survey of the area in 1947, according to WA’s Parks and Wildlife Service, the meteorite that left the brutal scar on the landscape here probably weighed in at more than 50,000 tonnes and would have been travelling at 15 kilometres a second.

The Wolfe Creek Crater is the second largest meteorite crater in the world.

The greener side of the outback

Mention the Australian outback to just about anyone and the mental picture instantly conjured is tinged a rich pindan orange. It’s an iconic vision, but the fact is there are large swathes of what is recognised as outback that are actually lush and green. Needing no introduction is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, where the wet-season rains saturate the expansive landscape (it’s roughly half the size of Switzerland) painting it in varying shades of deep green.

In the 46,000-hectare Finke Gorge National Park, two hours’ drive from Alice Springs, the verdant Palm Valley is an oasis of some 3000 adult palms and thousands of juvenile trees. Visit from April to September to beat the relentless summer heat, all the better to undertake the two-kilometre Arankaia Walk (it takes roughly one hour) or the five-kilometre Mpulungkinya Walk, both of which skirt palm-strewn valleys, and to better appreciate the landscape that famously inspired Albert Namatjira, who was born and raised in nearby Hermannsburg. Elsey National Park, another Northern Territory area big on greenery, is a must for wild swimming lovers, with the palm and tree-fringed Bitter Springs the perfect place for a dip. In Queensland, those looking for respite from the harsh outback conditions should head for the still-little-known Lawn Hill National Park, where the wide, cool waterway is lined with lush trees, and the fossil deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Site have been labelled one of the four most important deposits in the world by no less than Sir David Attenborough.

And, in South Australia, the Australian Arid Land Botanic Garden, with its views to the Flinders Ranges, features 250 hectares of arid land populated by trees, plants and flowers – as well as birdlife and mammals – that thrive in the outback’s characteristically harsh yet compelling environment.

Kakadu National Park is roughly half the size of Switzerland.

Stargazing in the outback

One of the true allures of the outback is its blissful remove from the modern world, allowing you to experience nature at its most unsullied and elemental. During the day that means uncrowded vistas and wide open spaces, while the inky black of an outback night promises attractions that are literally out of this world. Clear, cloudless skies and a lack of light pollution make stargazing in the outback a breathtaking proposition.

Looking up into the night skies anywhere in the outback promises a polka-dot blanket of celestial wonders, but there are a few destinations that take it to the next level, such as Warrumbungle National Park in NSW, the southern hemisphere’s first Dark Sky Park where Sliding Springs Observatory is home to the largest optical telescopes in the country. At the Cosmos Centre in the outback Queensland town of Charleville, guides share the stories of Indigenous astronomy as part of the Universal Dreaming tour, while Alice Springs’ Earth Sanctuary World Nature Centre’s astronomy tours point out planets, constellations, dark nebulas and the building blocks of new stars.

Stars in Warrumbungle National Park. — Marvel at the Dark Sky Park in Warrumbungle National Park.

An outback experience in Victoria

While there are stunning tracks of outback littered across the country, the general belief is that Tasmania and Victoria miss out when it comes to these evocative landscapes. And while we can’t really make a case for Tassie, with its rich, green interior and rugged coastline, Victoria is in possession of two small but impactful national parks where the vistas present decidedly outback. Murray-Sunset National Park, located on the traditional Country of the Latji Latji, Ngintait and Nyeri Nyeri peoples in the north-west of the state, is home to a stunning collection of pink lakes, including the star of the show, Lake Crosbie. Deliciously remote, exploring here takes in the islands of the Murray River, abundant bird and wildlife, jaw-dropping sunsets (as the name implies) and an ancient history that local ranger Damien Jackson, a proud Wiradjuri man, shares generously.

Meanwhile, Little Desert National Park in the Wimmera Mallee region is the traditional lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples (collectively known as the Wotjobaluk), whose presence through millennia is marked by scarred trees, shell middens, stone tools and oven mounds. Camping and bushwalking here is best done in late winter to early summer when the wildflowers are in bloom.

Salt lakes of Murray-Sunset National Park.

Outback pubs

Noccundra Hotel

This charming sandstone hotel, which has been serving beer since 1882, is the only surviving building in the outback township of Noccundra (population: 11) in south-west Queensland. The heritage-listed hotel has cold beer and donga (camp-style) digs for rent near to the Wilson River.

Prairie Hotel

This iconic South Australian pub has that quintessential quirky Aussie aesthetic that makes it the perfect pit-stop for road-trippers. The beer is brewed in-house at the iconic Parachilna pub, which is perched in the plains miles from anywhere.

William Creek hotel

Established in 1887, this heritage-listed hotel is one of the most remote pubs on the planet, located as it is on the Oodnadatta Track in South Australia. The hotel offers the closest accommodation to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.

Birdsville hotel

It’s all hot pies and cold beers at the Birdsville (pictured right), which bills itself as ‘Australia’s most iconic outback pub’. Base yourself at the south-west Queensland pub to visit the Waddi tree and soaring sand dunes or attend the Birdsville Races.

Lap up a true outback experience at the Birdville Hotel. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Outback events

Laura Quinkan Indigenous Dance Festival, Cape York

Held in the remote Queensland outpost of Laura, this biennial, three-day festival is a riot of colour and culture as some 20 different Cape communities gather to share stories and histories through music, song and spectacular traditional group dancing. The next festival, overseen by the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation, the trustee of the traditional lands of the Ang Gnarra people in and around Laura, is scheduled to take place from 7–9 July 2023.

Catch an Indigenous festival (Credit Elise Hassey) — Catch an Indigenous festival, including the Laura Dance Festival. (Credit: Elise Hassey)

Parrtjima + Alice springs beanie festival, Mparntwe/Alice Springs

Ancient traditions meet New-Age technology to spectacular effect at Parrtjima (parrtjimaaustralia.com.au), the celebrated annual festival of light (pictured below right). Over 10 days, works by Aboriginal artists are transformed into mesmerising light installations and projected against the imposing 300-million-year-old backdrop of the MacDonnell Ranges. The 2022 event will light up the Central Australian night sky from 8–17 April. Alice Springs is also home to the delightfully quirky Beanie Festival (beaniefest.org), with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists gathering together to celebrate the humble beanie. This year’s festival will take place at Araluen Arts Centre from 24-27 June.

Big Red Bash, Birdsville

There are three things in Birdsville that everyone knows about: the iconic hotel, the annual race meeting and the Big Red Bash (above right), a three-day extravaganza of Aussie music held in the breathtaking surrounds of Munga Thirri National Park (Simpson Desert). Proudly boasting to being the most remote music festival in the world, the tyranny of distance doesn’t stop crowds from flocking to see some of Australian music’s biggest artists, including the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Kasey Chambers and Kate Ceberano on the 2022 bill, scheduled to take place from 5–7 July.

A birds eye view of the Big Red Bash Festival, Birdsville.

Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair

Having been established in 2007, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF), held on Larrakia Country, has gone on to become the country’s largest and most significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts event. With more than 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Centres in attendance, representing more than 2000 artists, DAAF also boasts a program of cultural events including artist talks, dance, music, food and the hugely popular Country to Couture runway show (below left). And the best thing about DAAF is that it gives art lovers the chance to buy Indigenous art in an ethical and responsible manner, with 100 per cent of the money raised from the sale of artworks (both at the show and as part of its new online program) going directly to the artists and their communities. The 2022 fair will take place from 5–7 August.

Darwin Aborigional Art Fair — DAFF is the country’s largest and most significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts event.

The Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash

This is the country’s newest outback festival, and in 2022 it will be held twice – from 21–23 April and 18–20 August. From the organisers of the Big Red Bash, the action takes place on the Mundi Mundi Plains with the Barrier Ranges in the background. The line-up for the family-friendly, all-ages festival includes Paul Kelly, Ian Moss and John Williamson in April and Busby Marou, Jon Stevens and Daryl Braithwaite in August.

More than just a stopover, Albury Wodonga is an elevated city escape immersed in nature.

Perhaps best known as a road trip stop between Sydney and Melbourne, Albury Wodonga offers a combination of natural beauty, cultural experiences and a vibrant food scene that make it well worth its own journey.

Nestled on the banks of the mighty Murray River and surrounded by famed wine and gold rush regions, this riverside town packs a broad punch. Discover how best to spend your days on the border.

Exploring the Murray River

1. The Crossing Place Trail

woman looking at sculpture along Crossing Place Trail loop — Admire sculptural works from local Indigenous artists.

Head to the original crossing places of the Murray River since 1848 – at the junctions of Bungambrawatha Creek and Oddies Creek. Today, these crossings are still used by cars and cattle, but the five-kilometre Crossing Place Trail loop connects the two bridges for bike riders and walkers.

Wander through gum trees, and maybe even spot local platypus and birdlife. Stop along the way to admire sculptural works from local Indigenous artists, see evidence of a scar tree and learn about the importance of this billabong environment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

2. Canoe The Murray

two people kayaking along the murray river at Noreuil Park — Hire canoes or kayaks and get out on the river.

What better way to get a feel for the Murray River than by getting out on its waters? Hire canoes or kayaks from Canoe the Murray , then explore solo or join one of the offered tours. Get up early for a Sunrise and coffee tour, watch the sun dip below the water on a sunset tour or choose one of several daytime trips.

Stand-up paddleboard hire and other water sports, fishing and swimming are also available to river explorers.

3. Noreuil Park Foreshore

aerial of Noreuil Park albury wodonga — Cool off at Noreuil Park Foreshore. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Just outside Albury’s CBD, the riverside Noreuil Park becomes a hub of activity as the weather heats up. Set up on picnic tables under shady trees, use the public barbecues (or pop into the nearby cafe) and cool off with a float down the river.

4. Mungabareena Reserve and Water Works

Mungabareena Reserve albury wodonga — Spend time at Mungabareena Reserve. (Image: Visit Albury Wodonga)

Delve into nature and culture at the beautiful Mungabareena Reserve . Recognised by state law as a ‘Declared Aboriginal Place’, it was once a historical meeting point for trade and journeys to Mount Bogong for the local Wiradjuri people and still holds deep significance.

It’s another popular spot for fishing, swimming and picnics, while the nearby Water Works area is a great place for spotting wildlife. Try your luck seeing platypuses, wood ducks or rainbow bee-eaters.

Adventuring on Lake Hume

1. Walk the dam wall

parent and child look at the view from the damn wall walk at lake hume — Enjoy the view from the dam wall. (Image: Visit Albury Wodonga)

The majestic Lake Hume – a massive man-made reservoir on the Murray River – was once the largest dam in the Southern Hemisphere.

A great way to get acquainted is by walking along the dam wall, taking in views of outflows, electricity turbines and the transmission plant from above. Not to mention vistas of the lake and the Murray. It’s a particularly gorgeous spot for sunsets and sunrises.

A wide sealed walkway gives easy access to the wall, and informative signs and displays along the way educate on the dam’s construction.

2. The High Country Rail Trail

This 44-kilometre trail hugs the shoreline. Stop along the way at the historic town of Tallangatta, relocated to its current position in the 1950s after its original location was flooded. Cross the lake over the bright red Sandy Creek Bridge. Enjoy a lakeside picnic or go for a swim at Ebden, Ludlow’s or Huon Reserve.

3. Water sports

two people watching SUP boarders and a boat our on the water at lake hume — Dive into water sports on Lake Hume.

Lake Hume is a popular local spot for boating, fishing, and swimming. Drop a line or dive right into the clear waters.

Sip and Savour

1. Dux Albury

two people sitting at counter drinking wine inside Dux Albury — Sit down to delicious meals and wine at Dux.

Those looking for a high-end dining experience need to book a table at Dux Albury in the heart of Albury Wodonga. Sit down for curated wine lists, cocktails and share plates. Think starters like burrata with beetroot, chervil, caper berry and sherry, mains like Wagyu sirloin with Café De Paris, red wine and caramelised onions and all manner of fresh seafood.

2. Murray Towns Brewing Co.

people being served lunch at Murray Brewing Co. — Recharge at Murray Brewing Co.

Perched on the banks of the river, Murray Towns Brewing Co . has come a long way since two mates started experimenting in their backyard chook shed. With all beer brewed onsite and a sun-drenched beer garden to drink them in, it’s a perfect stop along a bike ride or walk.

3. Temperance and General

Step into Albury’s original laneway bar, Temperance and General . Set inside a historic building, but offering a modern vibe, the bar is locally famous for its cocktail list. Stop in before or after dinner for a creative tipple.

4. BeanStation Cafe

two people drinking coffee at Bean Station albury wodonga — Dine on a modern Australian menu.

Dine on a modern Australian menu , inside the historic Wodonga train station building, dating back to 1873. Pop over in the morning and line up with the locals for great coffee and all-day brekkie, or head over after midday to swap the beans for local wines and Aussie boutique beers.

5. River Deck Cafe

waiter holding two dishes at Riverdeck Cafe albury wodonga — Soak in views and good food at Riverdeck Cafe. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Another dining destination next to the Murray, the award-winning River Deck Cafe provides a large deck covered in dappled sunlight that makes for the ideal long lunch spot. Here, menus focus on natural, native and local ingredients sourced from regional farmers and producers across Albury Wodonga and surrounds.

Museums, murals and more

1. Albury Wodonga Public Art Trail

Gain a sense of Albury Wodonga’s vibrant arts community while wandering the Public Art Trail. Works range from sculptures and murals to wrapped infrastructure. Be sure to check the council map before you head out, so you don’t miss a thing.

2. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA)

couple admiring the art at Murray Art Gallery — Stop into one of the most visited galleries outside of Sydney. (Image: Visit Albury Wodonga)

MAMA forms the heart of art and culture in Albury Wodonga, some may say the entire Murray region. In fact, it’s one of the most visited galleries outside of Sydney. What makes it so lauded? The museum has earned a reputation for curating innovative, original exhibitions from some of the best contemporary Australian and international artists.

3. HotHouse Theatre

Originally built in 1928 as the Butter Factory Theatre, HotHouse Theatre has been a home of performance since 1997. Stop by to see the best of new Australian theatre. Continue to explore unique architecture on the Historic Building Walking Tour of Albury, the perfect way to round out your stay.

Start planning your Albury Wodonga getaway at visitalburywodonga.com.