Stations & Dinosaurs

9-10 Day Loop From Brisbane

Start: Brisbane

Finish: Toowoomba

Duration: 2725 kms – 9-10 Days

Highlights

• Meet Cooper - Australia's largest dinosaur at Eromanga.
• Visit the birthplace of Qantas in Longreach.
• Cruise the Thomson River on the Drover's Sunset Cruise.

Day 1: Brisbane to Toowoomba

Duration: 140 kms - 1.75 hrs

Travel along the Warrego Highway to the Garden City of Toowoomba, follow an avenue of trees to Picnic Point Lookout for panoramic views of Main Range and Lockyer Valley. Head to the Cobb + Co Museum, home to Australia’s finest collection of horse-drawn vehicles – a collection of nearly 50 vehicles! Make time to discover Toowoomba’s arty laneways, superb coffee and vibrant cultural scene.

We recommend: Stay overnight at the Quest Apartments or Potters Boutique Hotel in Toowoomba.

Day 2 & 3: Toowoomba to Bonus Downs Station

Duration: 480 kms - 6 hrs

Heading west, see cotton fields lining the highway as you arrive in Chinchilla famous for its melons, fossicking, fishing and bushwalking. Take a relaxing soak in the mineralized thermal waters of Mitchell’s Artesian Spa before arriving at Bonus Downs Station. Join in the daily station activities, tour the property and enjoy the warm hospitality of your hosts. Watch a spectacular sunset at the water's edge as 9-10 day itinerary includes outback station stays, dinosaurs and wide open spaces you savour the Bonus Downs Sundowner’s Dinner including a two-course spit roast, under the stars.

Day 4 & 5: Bonus Downs Station to Eromanga

Duration: 530 kms - 6.25 hrs

Make a morning tea stop in Charleville then continue driving to Quilpie. Enjoy a picnic lunch under a shady tree beside the Bulloo River and make time to see St Finbarr’s Opal Altar for a truly beautiful display of Australia’s Boulder Opal. Drive another 107km along a fully sealed road to Eromanga, Australia’s furthest town from the ocean and home to the Eromanga Natural History Museum. See real bones of ‘Cooper’ Australia’s largest dinosaur and the world’s largest marsupials - massive 80,000-year-old Diprotodons, that carried 70kg joeys in their pouches! Join a guided tag-a-long tour to one of the few working dinosaur dig sites.

We recommend: Stay 2 nights at the onsite Coopers Country Lodge in Eromanga.

Day 6 & 7: Eromanga to Longreach

Duration: 450 kms - 6.5 hrs

Wake up to a beautiful outback sunrise and drive along the Diamantina Development Road northeast to Windorah in the heart of the Channel Country. Pass through everchanging landscapes to Jundah and keep your eyes peeled for the Native Well just out of town. Late afternoon in Longreach, join the Drover's Sunset Cruise on the Thomson River. Board a Cobb & Co stagecoach for an exhilarating gallop through the bush, watch the entertaining Stockman’s Show at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and join the Jets Tour at Qantas Founders Museum. Meet the Walker family on the Camden Park Sunset Dinner Tour, a working sheep and cattle station. Choose to stay another day in Longreach and take a day trip to Winton’s Australian Age of Dinosaurs to test out the new Dinosaur Canyon attraction.

We recommend: Stay 2 nights at the Longreach Motor Inn or Kinnon & Co Lodges in Longreach.

Day 8: Longreach to Charleville

Duration: 515 kms - 5.5 hrs

Head east to Barcaldine and visit the Tree of Knowledge Memorial where once stood the ghost gum significant to the Shearer's Strike in 1891. Visit the Blackall Woolscour, the only fully intact steam powered wool-washing plant in Australia and see a teddy being made at the Tambo Teddies workshop. In Charleville, get up close and personal with one of Australia’s most endangered species at the Bilby Experience and view the stars like never before at the Cosmos Centre’s Night Telescope Observatory Session.

We recommend: Stay overnight at The Rocks Motel in Charleville.

Day 9 & 10: Charleville to Toowoomba

Duration: 610 kms - 7 hrs

Travel east along the Warrego Highway and take a break in Roma, home of the Big Rig. Continue onto Miles Historical Village , its ‘streetscape’ of 30 buildings breathing life into a bygone era. See the heritage-listed Woolshed at Jondaryan, the largest and oldest operating woolshed in the world, before arriving back in Toowoomba. Choose to end your drive in Toowoomba or stay another night before returning to Brisbane (156km).

We recommend: Stay overnight at the Quest Apartments or Potters Boutique Hotel in Toowoomba.

This road trip was provided by Queensland's Big Sky Country Drives.

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