Holiday and Travel information for Outback Australia

The Australian Outback is home to some of Australia’s most important tourist attractions. This vast arid region stretches into almost every state of the country and ranges from complete desert through to Spinifex grasslands and salt pans. Hidden away, thousands of kilometres from the coast are some if the tourist icons of the world. The region is home to many of Australia’s Aboriginal people, many of whom still live in their traditional ways and their culture has been unchanged for thousands of years. Aboriginal rock art adorns the walls of caves and rocky overhangs, right across the outback region and records the history of these ancient people and displays their culture and the dreamtime significance of their surroundings.

The Northern Territory is the most popular state to visit when looking to explore the outback. Here you will find such tourist icons as Alice Springs, Kakadu National Park, Kings Canyon, Litchfield National Park and the magnificent Ayers Rock or “Uluru” as it is known to the Aboriginal people. Most people enter the Northern Territory through Darwin in the states north, which has an international airport and is also well serviced with modern accommodation and is the base for a huge motorhome and campervan hire industry. Many tourists commence a circumnavigation of Australia from Darwin and after visiting The Alice, Kakadu and The Rock, then proceed into Western Australia to see the Kimberley region. Once again iconic rock structures like the Bungle Bungle ranges with their fantastic bee hive shaped sandstone ramparts attract almost everyone. Western Australia accounts for a huge section of the great outback and much of it is inaccessible. Mining towns in the Pilbara and Kalgoorlie also attract thousands of tourists.

In South Australia, much of its northern regions are deserts. A great way to experience the Outback is to take the “Ghan” which is a modern passenger rail journey from Adelaide through the center of Australia to Darwin. Towns like Coober Pedy with its opal mining history are popular destinations. Broken Hill, which was once a huge mining town has now become a haven for artists and sculptors and many famous people in the art world live here. In Queensland the outback regions are huge. From places like Longreach with the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas museum through to the massive mining operations around Mount Isa, and the rich fishing of the Gulf of Carpentaria there are a thousand must see destinations in this incredible region.

If you are planning an Australian Holiday, then you must spend some time in Australia’s Outback regions to get a feel for the real Australia.