Australian Outback

The Australian Outback has inspired poets and artists, such as Banjo Paterson who composed Waltzing Matilda (the melodic song that is Australia’s unofficial national anthem). The choices of things to do, places to stay and Outback adventures are as extensive as the area itself. You can camp under the stars, stay in small towns or experience sleeping at outback stations.

Best of all are the experiences you’ll have, from making friends with Outback Australians to photographing Outback windmills at dusk. The outback is also home to many well-known historic and natural Australian landmarks. Here are some inspiring ideas about the Australian Outback. 

The Australian Outback

Australian Outback windmills

Windmills have become iconic with Australia’s outback.

They are a familiar sight, a stand signalling a watering point crucial for the survival of stock, wildlife and man.

Photographing Australian Outback windmills is something I love doing and it’s fascinating to learn about the stories behind these windmills.

For over a century they have generated the means to bring the water of the Great Artesian Basin, the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, above ground.

Stretching over 1,700,000 square kilometres, the Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of arid inland Australia.

This windmill is on Norley Station, west of Thargomindah, Queensland, owned by Sir Sidney Kidman, a cattle Baron who once possessed the greatest extent of pastoral properties by any one man in Australia and hence he became known as the ‘Australian Cattle King’.

Slowly windmills are being replaced by more modern equipment and the decline of windmills across the outback is apparent.

Here on Bunginderry Station, 100 kilometres west of Quilpie, an old, broken windmill stands nearby a smaller functioning one.

Bunginderry Station is owned by Annabel and Stephen Tully.

The Tully family are pioneers of the Quilpie area and Annabel runs artist retreats so others can enjoy their amazing outback landscape.

Australian Outback windmills history

In Australia, the Griffiths Brothers from Toowoomba were manufacturing windmills from 1876, with the trade name Southern Cross Windmills in use from 1903.

The other well-known historic windmill brand is Comet which was founded in 1879 by Mr Sidney Williams in Rockhampton, Queensland.

The windmill below is on Tickalara Station in the far south-west of Queensland.

It is the only station remaining in the corner owned by a family and not a company.

How does a windmill work?

A number of blades turn slowly with considerable torque in low winds while being self-regulating in high winds.

As the sun sets south of Winton, Queensland the blades of this large windmill turn to generate the power to bring fresh water above ground.

Windmills make great photographic subjects and a fabulous addition to any holiday album. My photo tips: Isolate your windmill from other subjects and from the horizon.

Being such a graphic shape it photographs well as a silhouette and forms a strong focal point.

Look for different angles.

Try zooming in on a part of the windmill as below.

This windmill is in the main street of Boulia, Queensland allowing all visitors to the town an opportunity to capture one of those iconic outback images! 

Don’t overlook photographing a windmill in the middle of the day.

This windmill on Norley Station with the old bough hut next to it gives a feeling of desolation and harshness to the outback.

But what a remarkable landscape it is!

Outback Australians

The characters you meet along the roads and tracks through Australia during any trip into the outback forge memories and reminiscences to be recalled over BBQ’s and dinner parties time and time again for many years afterwards.

Here are some tips on how to capture great photographs of Outback Australians.

Outback Australians are very special people. 

Each is an ordinary person that does extraordinary things within a very small, isolated yet large and distanced community and they ask for no thanks.

Take the time to stop and meet them on your next trip west.

It could be the lady pumping your fuel, the backpacker behind the bar with a rich Irish accent or the bloke painting the council seat in the local park who also does the mail run: each has a story to tell.

Without a doubt, the rugged and vast outback has inspired many a story, and myth, and helped to define Australia’s identity as a harsh continent with those that survive being the toughest of the toughest.

It is claimed that in 2009, a mere 5 years ago, that the arid zone of Australia supported ‘180,000 people, about one per cent of the population.

The semi-arid zone supports 394,000 people, about two per cent of the total population.’

Most of those are in regional towns such as Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Mount Isa in Queensland and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, where industries such as mining boom.

Find out more about the Northern Territory by reading things to do in Alice Springs and waterfalls in Northern Territory. 

Many Outback Australians are now well entrenched third, fourth and going into fifth-generation outback families.

They know the top spots for everything if you just take the time to listen and ask a few questions. 

How to photography Outback Australians

Our top photo tip: more often than not the camera is a ‘secondary’ thing when we meet a ‘local’ in the outback.

First, say g’day then try and get to know the person by asking them questions.

They see the camera – how could they miss it – that big black DSLR – it always draws attention.

Give it time and when they are ready to pick up the camera, ask politely with a big smile and have fun with them.

None of us likes our photograph being taken so remember what it is like for you if you were the subject on the other side another ‘ordinary’ person.

For more tips on capturing images of people in the work environment please visit our Environmental Portrait Photography post.

10 Australian Outback TravelTips

The Queensland Outback is vast and will take weeks to explore.An adventure into the Queensland outback is one journey you won’t forget.

You’ll visit historic pubs, see spectacular sunsets and gape at star-studded night skies.

There’s the excitement of seeing bucking broncos at a rodeo or searching for an ancient fossil.

Queensland’s outback extends from the far south-west corner through to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

It’s a huge area encompassing a large portion of the Sunshine State.

From the south to the north it’s almost 2,000km and was once part of the Great Inland Sea.

It’s now one of the richest regions for dinosaur discoveries in the world. Queensland’s outback is also the birthplace of Qantas and the Royal Flying Doctor.

Here are a few tips to help turn your Outback adventures into an experience of a lifetime.

1- Visit an Outback pub

Pubs are more than a watering hole, they’re also a meeting point in Outback Australian bringing people together.

The local pub is a great place for a yarn and the community news.

You’ll meet outlandish characters and hear ribald stories. Some of the jokes may not be what you’d call appropriate for re-telling around the dining table back home though!

So what is my favourite outback pub? That’s a hard one as I have more than one.

Middleton Hotel, Toompine and Birdsville would have to be top three on my list.

Middleton and Toompine as the characters that run the pubs are hilarious and Birdsville because it must be Australia’s most iconic hotel.

2- Outback events and festivals

Check out the events in the area you’re visiting as this is a terrific way to experience the outback culture, be immersed in their environment and have a load of fun!

Plus you’re guaranteed many memorable moments. Mix with the locals.

Strike up a conversation by saying g’day, how are you mate (everyone is everyone’s mate in the outback).

From there the chat will flow.

3- Buy local for food

Once you leave the city, you are travelling through some of Australia’s premier food-producing areas.

Bread and meat from local bakeries and butchers is usually a much better quality – as the local blokes preparing it only use the best and freshest ingredients.

Vegetables depending on the season can be expensive but that is the same rule for anywhere.

• Mitchell Bakery is renowned for its tasty bread. 
• Quilpie Butchers is one we always pull into – if you phone ahead they’ll have your meat ready for you and their sausages are brilliant. 
• Birdsville Bakery has an amazing array of pies all prepared by Dusty who is a bit of a character himself. My favourites are the Kangaroo and Claret pie and the Curried Camel. Dusty’s latest is the Ale + Tail pie which I’ve added to my list to try next visit.

4- Buy local fuel

Fuel is a big-ticket item on any road trip and it may cost less to buy your fuel as you travel than to carry it.

Do the maths on carrying a load.

By buying locally you keep these special places in business for those of us next to pass through.

Take the time to plan to top up your fuel at every available location.

Many outback remote pubs like the Hungerford Hotel also sell fuel.

5- Your Transport

Before any long trip, have your vehicle serviced.

Not having to think about your vehicle is one of the advantages of going on a tour, as it’s all taken care of and not your problem.

That’s one item you can tick straight off your list.

If you are driving make sure to check your tyres, insurance and communication.

The majority of outback towns have mobile phone coverage (some providers are better serviced than others) but it’s worth looking at carrying a satellite phone.

I personally travel with a UHF radio and Spot Gen 3 tracking device as I travel often alone.

The tracking device works a treat and someone at home can watch my travels knowing I am safe on my Outback adventures.

6- Fly nets – will there be flies and do I need one?

Well, that depends on the season. Sometimes there may be hardly any and at other times they can be thick covering your back.

Fly nets won’t win you a fashion award, however, they are light and easy to carry.

Most outback stores and roadhouses stock them.

A small branch with leaves is another good fly-swatting device.

7- Outback National Parks

Remote national parks and reserves provide fabulous camping grounds and lots of things to see.

All Queensland park details are online, making it easy for more information.

There are 24 parks in outback Queensland and two of my favourite are Culgoa Floodplain National Park and Currawinya National Park which is about to double in size with the acquisition of three neighbouring properties.

It’s also home to the bilby.

For more information on Queensland, parks visit Queensland Parks and Wildlife

8- Plan, plan and plan and allow some extra time

Plan your trip ahead and know what is worth to explore along the way.

You don’t want to come home to discover that you have missed a landmark you always wanted to see and you drove past it.

Allow extra time for detours along the way, as there sure may be one (or two).

9- Have a flexible schedule on your Outback adventures

It’s a great idea to talk to others who have done a trip into the outback.

Their experiences will probably save you some hassles.

If there is something they did not like then work out why before you leave to avoid it.

Plan a few extra days in case a road is closed – usually due to rain – or you might fall in love with a certain area and decide to explore a little longer.

10- Drive to conditions and during the day

Avoid driving at night as kangaroos are very difficult to see and the last thing you want is to hit one and have an expensive trip to the panel beater when you get home.

Or worse still, the damage to your car may not allow you to continue your journey.

During the day emus, often referred to as bush chooks, run across the road and you may even see a lizard or snake basking on the warm roads.

Wedgetail eagles are often seen gorging on roadkill carcasses and they become so full they can hardly fly.

Always check road conditions before you set off on each leg.

Roadhouses, police stations, fellow travellers and often the publican will be able to assist you.

Have an awesome trip!