Name: Overlander's Way
Location: Queensland Australia
1,550km driving adventure across the breadth of Queensland
What's it like?
Linking the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef to the wonders of the Outback, the Overlander's Way is a 1,550km driving adventure across the breadth of Queensland.
Beginning at either the tropical city of Townsville or Tennant Creek in the heart of the Northern Territory, the Overlander's Way offers sealed roads all the way for modern adventurers to travel with ease.
You'll follow the paths of our droving heroes who brought vast herds of live cattle from the east Kimberleys to the coast. The Overlander's Way, which also served as an important supply line during World War Two, takes in the Outback towns of Charters Towers, Richmond, Cloncurry, Mount Isa and Camooweal on the Queensland-Northern Territory border. Make sure you explore the side roads and Outback towns along the way to discover the real character of the Outback.
From the vast rugged cattle plains to dramatic basalt landscapes, spectacular gorges and prolific wildlife, the Overlander's Way promises a journey where each day is filled with discovery, nature's beauty and the genuine, open friendliness of the locals.
The route is enriched by the Queensland Heritage Trails Network, helping you discover each town's unique heritage as part of your trip.
Some of these attractions on the Heritage Trail are brand new, such as Outback At Isa, while others such as Kronosaurus Korner (formerly the Richmond Marine Fossil Museum) have been upgraded by adding interactive displays and improved visitor facilities.
Before starting off on the Overlander's Way, there's much to see and do in Townsville, Australia's largest tropical city. A multi-million-dollar redevelopment of The Strand has created one of the best inner city beachfronts in the world.
Stretching 2.2km, The Strand offers beautiful parks, three swimming beaches, and trendy restaurants and bars sitting above the waves of the Coral Sea.
Be sure to visit the Museum of Tropical Queensland, adjacent Reef HQ coral aquarium and North Queensland Military Museum. Magnetic Island is a fast catamaran ride away, while there's a whole range of day trips to the Great Barrier Reef.
Heading inland 134km is Charters Towers, once the second largest city in Queensland and site of a massive gold rush in the late 19th century. At the height of the gold rush era, Charters Towers was known as 'The World', which again will live on in the town's new heritage trail attraction, Charters Towers: The World.
The World conserves some of the state's most beautiful heritage buildings as a living history of the era and links several of the town's most important heritage sites, including the historic Stock Exchange Building and Tower Hill, a historic World War Two site. Visit an operational gold mine or take a guided tour of the Venus Gold Battery, which features new interactive displays.
Leaving the Great Dividing Range, the Overlander's Way enters the massive cattle and sheep grazing plains. Along the way you'll pass through historic communities of Homestead and Pentland, named after stations settled in the 1850s and 60s.
From nearby Prairie, take a detour to the unique basalt landscape of Kooroorinya Falls, a welcome respite offering canoeing, fishing and swimming. Hughenden, on the banks of the Flinders River, boasts no less than four National Parks within easy driving range. The brilliantly coloured volcanic basalt countryside and sandstone rocks of Porcupine Gorge offer the perfect setting for bushwalking, bird watching, swimming, or sharing a few yarns with fellow adventurers.
From Hughenden, it's just over an hour's easy driving to Richmond, which was once part of the Ancient Inland Sea. Here you'll find the Queensland Heritage Trails Network's Kronosaurus Korner and its world-renowned collection of marine fossils, including two 100 million year old dinosaurs discovered locally. Kronosaurus Korner also offers the chance to watch a paleontologist at work in a fossil preparation area, as well as a visitor information centre, cafe and children's discovery area.
Next is Julia Creek, home of the Dirt and Dust Festival, and Cloncurry, best known as the destination of the first regular Qantas flight and birthplace of the famous Royal Flying Doctor Service. Well presented local museums, including John Flynn Place pay tribute to the town's fascinating legends and copper mining heritage.
The Overlander's Way winds its way through the spectacular Selwyn Ranges where rugged red hills contrast to huge white gum trees to the mining city of Mount Isa. As part of the heritage trails network, a new attraction, Outback At Isa takes visitors 14m underground to clamber aboard massive mining equipment, tour 800m of tunnelling with mining guides and view displays of mining over the years.
Other must see attractions include the Riversleigh Fossils Display Centre, Royal Flying Doctor Service Base and School of the Air. Located 250km north-west are the World Heritage-listed Riversleigh Fossil Fields, described by Sir David Attenborough as one of the three most significant fossil deposits in the world. Access is recommended by 4WD or with a local tour operator. Don't miss the stunning Lawn Hill Gorge, a spectacular rainforest area fed by permanent spring waters which is an ideal spot to break your journey.
From Mount Isa, it's 118kms, again through the Selwyn Ranges, to the border town of Camooweal. Once a droving camp, the town is now a gateway to the Northern Territory.
The Overlander's Way meets the Explorer Highway at Three Ways, where the Three Ways roadhouse offers a refreshing stop. To the north are Katherine and Darwin and to the south, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. You'll find there's a story to be told in every town along the journey that's the Overlander's Way.
- By Sue Fuller
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