It was difficult to drag ourselves away from the peace and tranquillity of Oondooroo station but there are loads of other places we wanted to see and we didn’t want to delay too long in case we had to rush later. So onwards to Longreach it was.
Our original plan was to stay outside the town itself on another station but when we called to book they told us that they had shut for the year. The storms had been an early warning and the mercury was definitely rising so we will have to keep half an eye on the weather as while I would love to see the rain out here I am am not sure I want to be in a camper trailer while it’s falling!
Another reason for us to stay in town was finding out our niece Jordan was going to be in town for the weekend so we decided to head off and enjoy a couple of cold beers with her at the pub.
Longreach itself is a larger town than those around it boasting a high street with pubs, cafes, grocery stores and other shops. It also has two main tourist attractions, the Stockmans Hall of Fame and the Qantas museum. The place was busy enough with a mixture of tourists and locals and overall it had a friendly feeling about the place.
We had had to book a time to visit the Stockmans Hall of Fame and when we arrived we were treated to a great experience. The museum told the story of the original stockmen who drove cattle around Australia and as we walked around the place looking at artefacts we were listening to stories about people who had actually lived during the time. It was all pretty fascinating and really nice to experience a museum in a slightly different way. The anecdotal stories really made a difference.
The inside of the Stockmans Museum. 
A map of the old stock routes 
It wasn’t that we weren’t looking forward to staying at Longreach but we had a sense of going there to “stock up” before we headed off again but I have to admit it was actually a very nice place. Our campground was absolutely massive boasting over 250 sites and they did a great job of spreading us all out. While there were few trees for shade the breeze and the swimming pool kept us cool.
Our campsite. 
A male Emu with 11 chicks! Just crossing the road in downtown Longreach! 
Griff didn’t notice the Emus but really didn’t know what to make of this statue!
The other bonus the campground had was a half price deal at its restaurant so we tucked into steak and chips for both nights while we were there!! It wasn’t a place we were going to hang around in for long though and were both looking forward to our next adventure as we would cross into South West Queensland. T
I am loving reading your blogs and looking at the photos. Would love to mirror your route but fear that experience has passed us by.
Thanks Mike! Plenty of people your age out here exploring! Xx