The sunbaked country that forms the Sunshine State’s spine, a laid-back location where winter never arrives and the average temperature hovers around 30C, is waiting to be surveyed by Aussies keen to uncover an untamed landscape.
Sunlover Holidays is uniting with Tourism & Events Queensland, QantasLink and Outback Queensland Tourism Authority to craft “adventure and discovery experiences of a lifetime” with amazing deals now available to agents.
“We’re delighted to be partnering on this campaign to bring more visitors to an incredible region,” explains Cinzia Burnes, executive director of Sunlover Holidays’ parent company Helloworld Travel.
“Sunlover is a Queensland specialist, recently celebrating 35 years of award-wining product and services in the region, and we know Outback Queensland offers unique experiences so we’re thrilled to be encouraging more visitors.’’
Agents savoured a slice of coastal Queensland earlier this year when Global Stars flew them to Hamilton Island for two days of beach, sunshine and cocktails and now it’s time to discover the state’s most remarkable inland settlements.
ROMA
Guided walk, Moss Garden
Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
When it comes to remote Roma is big, boasting a population of 7000 locals, with the destination that’s considered to be the gateway to Queensland’s ochre interior the place where the “biggest and best outback adventures start’’.
The highlight is the Carnarvon Gorge National Park where jagged escarpments, shady gorges and hidden waterholes entice visitors into an ancient landscape still showing signs of the original indigenous inhabitants with Sunlover Holiday’s Discover Carnarvon Ranges tour showing the best of the sanctuary’s natural and cultural history.
CHARLEVILLE
Surveying the night sky at Charleville’s Cosmos Centre
An easy three-hour motor takes travellers from Roma to Charleville with the destination an astrology-lovers paradise – the flawless night sky isn’t dulled by light pollution allowing visitors to spot all sorts of lofty lovelies – and the place to uncover a top-secret chapter in Australia’s World War Two story.
Sunlover Holiday’s Stars & Secrets itinerary starts at the Cosmos Centre & Observatory to spy the sun through a special solar telescope before roaming the remains of what was a clandestine American airbase during the Second World War and then return to the stargazing facility after dark for a private session gazing at planets.
MOUNT ISA
Mount Isa Rodeo.
Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
Mount Isa is closer to the Northern Territory border than the Queensland coast but the settlement of 18,000 residents, that’s home to the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere and a mining tradition spanning a century, is proudly Sunshine State.
Locals call their home turf the “oasis of the outback’’ – the town sits in the shadows of the Selwyn Ranges on the banks of the Leichhardt River – with Lawn Hill Gorge in Boodjamulla National Park and the Riversleigh Fossil Field the top tourist attractions.
LONGREACH
Thomson River.
Credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
Discover Australia’s proud pioneering history in Longreach with the town that’s home to 3000 hardy souls the place to ride a dashing Cobb & Co stagecoach, cruise a waterway that provided a lifeline to early pastoralists, stand on ground that inspired famous bush poets, and linger beneath stars that guided explorers.
Sunlover Holidays’ Outback Escape Tour visits two of Longreach’s most famous addresses, the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Qantas Founders Museum, before boarding a Thomson River paddlewheeler.
WINTON
Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. Credit: Tourism & Events Queensland
The sleepy settlement that’s home to just 900 people is Australia’s dinosaur capital and the only place on the planet to see evidence of a dinosaur stampede with 3300 footprints set in stone 95 million years ago at what’s now the Lake Quarry Conservation Park.
Sunlover Holidays’ Romancing the Bone & Jurassic Warzone is an excursion taking in the stampede ground before stopping at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum which boasts the globe’s most extensive collection of Australian fossils and invites visitors to help prepare prehistoric bones for display.
Discover the beauty of Outback Queensland now
Experience Outback Queensland with 3 Nights in Roma including return economy airfares flying Qantas (Brisbane to Roma return) from $375 per person twin share. Valid for travel 31 August 18 – 31 March 19 (unless otherwise stated in the terms and conditions). Check out all the Sunlover Holidays Outback Queensland deals here.
READ: Queensland’s first winery glamping experience & it’s as beautiful as it sounds
READ: Battle of the States: QLD vs NSW, which is best in the eye of the traveller?
What’s your favourite part of Queensland?
Written by Sarah Nicolson, KARRYON contributor
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