Quilpie - Windorah and wider arrea - good camping spots and highlights?

Stockmans Hall of Fame excellent, provided kids are old enough to spend time looking at exhibits, and able to conceptualize the "past". Have you got 4WD? If so, investigate Diamantina NP - can camp at Hunters Gorge, on Diamantina - big waterhole, scenic, not crowded. Cooper Creek camp areas, near Windorah, should have water. Kids might enjoy the whole Min Min Light thing over at Boulia? Lark Quarry/Winton is also very interesting. These ideas might give you some ideas for a circuit trip.Don't know where you are coming from, but a circuit round that way might take you through Tambo - Tambo teddies - as in bears - if the kids are of that age.

The banks of the Cooper Creek just out of Windorah are great. Long areas of free camping there.

Longreach is good with the Hall of Fame, but also the Qantas Museum.

One of the great areas for kids if you don't mind driving to Winton is to go Lark Quarry. 110kms South is a prize as the story of the dinosaur foot prints in a stampede. The interpretation there is fantastic and if you have seen Jurassic Park, the movements and stance of the larger dinosaurs was all learnt from Lark Quarry research. Fantastic translation by Dinosaur Bill there. Shows at 10am, 12pm and 2pm and no other viewings.

There is another camping spot near water just 70kms away.

Liz and Dave,
Not sure how far west you are planning to go but there are some great spots on the Diamantina River both in the National Park and at Old Cork Station. We were out there last holidays and had a great time through this area. The other points worth considering are the dinosaur dig at Lark Quary and the Waltzing Matilda Centre at Winton. There is a good camping spot at Winton out of town on the 2 mile water hole on the stock reserve. The other spot we liked was Isisford. Good camping areas there along the Barcoo river (the is a weir pool at Isisford). Also worth going for a look at the Isis Downs wool shed. Hope this is of some assistance.
Simon.

Camps Australia Wide is your friend. Get yourself a copy.

Some of the entries I can vouch for (was out there a couple of months ago) are:

Q614 - Lake Houdraman -7 km NE of Quilpie. Long lake with plenty of space on the northern side. Some shade. No facilities.

Q 371 - Cooper Creek - 10 km E of Windorah many spots along the creek. Plenty of shade. Generally permanent water stretch. Composting dunny at bridge.

Q353 - Longreach Waterhole - 4 km N of Longreach near the old highway bridge across the Thomson River. Flush dunnies, can get crowded.

Q626 - Barcoo River Nature Park - Isisford 120 km by road S of Longreach. $2/night, facilities in town, permanent water behind weir. Greatest collection of vans out west I saw, all their for the yellow belly fishing.

PeterD

DB,
The free camp spot at Coopers Creek, 10k's east of Windorah is a good place! And I agree with others about Lark Quarry, it's well worth the drive out there. The QANTAS Founders Museum is interesting.
I would be hesitant to do both the Stockmans Hall of Fame at Longreach and the Matilda Centre in Winton in the one trip. We did them last year, one day apart and found it a bit overwhelming. Of the two, personally I prefer the Matilda Centre, it has an old world charm that the Hall Of Fame misses out on, although both are very good!

Cheers

Brian

In Longreach take the kids along to the School Of The Air. See how the outback kids learn.

HI Liz and Dave,

You must not miss the free camp maybe 4km east of Quilpie at Lake Houdraman beside the Buloo R north of the highway. I was put onto it by the Quilpie Info centre. The lake last year was idyllic. Quiet, water birds, water lillies, one other camper when we were there, lots of room, shade and flat sites along water line.

Cheers
Chris

If you are coming from the East, the Ward river 20km.W Charleville is great fishing and camp spot.
Lake Houdraman (as pointed out) anther top camp, but no fish. The Bulloo river will have decent fishing and the channels plenty of yabbies.
If you travel straight ahead to Eromanga the kids will see oil well pumps working and the refinary there. Travel north on the road past the pub you come to the Kyabra waterholes, a vast expanse where you can catch yellowbelly and black bream. Continue on this road and it comes back onto the main Quilpie/Windorah road at Thylungra.
As also pointed out the Cooper at Windorah is another top camp spot. Its worth going up there to look at the new solar power station supplying the town electricity needs.
From Windorah to Jundah is a fairly "arid" drive, but there are top camping and fishing spots on the river. From there you can take the Winton road to go up to Lark Quarry, Winton, Longreach etc.
Good camp spots and fishing all along the way, some just take a bit of looking for.
furph