Trip to Central Queensland

November isn't the best time for these places. Many of the locals go east to get some relief from the heat around Xmas :))
Mitchell...nice spot worth say 2 or 3 days max. Van park was Ok and the first motel on the left was great also. Good bakery but not much happening except the pubs after dark.
Charleville...hmm...great spot with quite a few attractions, but 1 week or less will see you outta there. Don't miss the star place (too late at night to remeber the correct name)
Blackhall...nice little spot with the emphasis on little LOL
Longreach...they charge like a wounded bull for accom and it needs booking as it's a happening place. The Hall of Fame is a must see along with the RFDS place and possibly the (expensive) Quantas museum. And that's just the start.
Winton..now you're taking. Nice pubs, campgrounds and has a welcoming feel. Others have recommended various accom there but I've never really stayed.
Why not go the whole hog and aim for Boulia and the Min Min lights ? If you go there , check road conditions beforehand as some spots can be cut for a few days if it rains. Check the road conditions before you go.
Backtracking from there ....follow your nose as I usually go home the reverse way, through Auguthella etc.
Disclaimer.........My thoughts only.

A far as 'town' attractions go ........ Longreach / Hall Of Fame - could easily make a day of that one - they have a pass out, for day two even .....Rusty Frame's droving show outside was a bit of quality fun too ....... Qantas museum well worth the $ - lots too see - plus 2 big planes to tour through - half a day there easy ...... we stayed in the huge caravan park just across from the Qantas museum - very good standard and tolerable rates IMV. Winton / Lark Quarry - 100km away but a 'dead set must see' - excellent Vis Info centre in the main street, but we didn't tap into anything else there on our 07 trip.... will do next time......... we stayed at the Matilda Country Tourist Caravan Park on the top edge of town... the much awarded Milton Taylor [ http://www.abpa.org.au/Bush_Poetry/Modern_Poetry/Milton_Taylor.html ] is the resident bush poet.... highly recommended (he may not be there in NOV though !)..... some interesting buildings in the main street and a real, old time general store too........we go bush camping too, so went down to Isisford for a quiet few days on the banks of the ol' Barcoo - excellent. Re Barcaldine ..... recommend Norm's Top Tourist park on the Blackall road - good price and very well kept. Pity you can't sweep north to the dinosaurs around Hughenden and Richmond - you can even fossick for your own 90M year old pieces ! Have a good 'un.

Where to start. Plenty to see.
Not in order.
Highlights as we can see are:

Miles - historical village
Chinchilla - great little park on the left after you cross the railway line. Good for lunch or morning tea and good swings etc for the kids.
Mitchell - the spa, town c/park on the east side of the river or the free camp just up the river. The pubs for a meal. Good butchers. Buy some steak and go and have a BBQ down near the river.
Roma - the big rig, the vineyard just out of town. Has a maccas if you must. Have a walk around town late in the afternoon. Actually, we like doing this in most towns we stay at. Just go for a walk for an hour or two around the main streets. Look in the shop windows etc.
Charleville - the cosmos centre, the local park on the east side of town with the vortex cannons, go for a walk along the river.
Augathella - didn't like the place the first couple of times. It seems a bit rougher than the rest but we like it now. Bit more of a cattle town bypassed by the tourists.
Tambo - picturesque town. Two caravan parks now. Some good architecture in the old buildings.
Blackall - growing quick. The wool scour, the black stump.
Barcaldine - the tree of knowledge (remains) , the workers centre. Just a walk along the main street and do the historical tour. The old theatre in the side street. Sit in the park near the railway and watch all the grey nomads roll through. Not a bad bakery either, grab an apple turnover.
Illfracombe - got to stop for the old machinery, and the pub.
Longreach - the usual as mentioned above, tour on the river. Walk through town.
Winton - one of our favourite places where it is not as hyped as Longreach. The new matilda centre (well, new to us since our first visit 20 years ago), the old general store which is almost a museuem, the open theatre, the pub and the wall behind the pub. The water tanks on the outside for town for cooling the water, the bore is piped straight to the hot water taps, and cooled for the 'cold' water. Outside Winton is Lark Quarry (40 mins?), the dinosaur foot prints. Ask in Winton, I don't think you can just turn up any more.
Emerald - well the fossicking fields before town. Try the Willows field, or go to Anakie and do a mine tour and buy a bag with some planted chips to see what you are looking for.

Swing south through Springsure and Rollestone for something different.

Charleville - 'Evening Star' is a farm about 7k's out of town. It has excellent facilities and loads of space for vans / campers. Do the tour of the Corones Hotel.

Blackall - has an olypmic size swimming pool fed by the artesian basin along with a spa. Lovely warm, clean water and cheap. Worth a visit if you want a swim. Great free camp area with hot showers. Ask at the pie shop.

Longreach - over commercialised, over-rated and over-priced. Try and stay at Ilfracombe, which is a 27k drive into Longreach but worth it. The Ilfracombe van park is terrific - happy hour is very entertaining.

Winton - great dinner and beers at the Tatts Hotel. Matilda Centre is very good. We thought Lark Quarry was just OK. I echo the thoughts of another post on this topic - the amount of roadkill between Longreach and Winton was staggering. Drive with your air vents shut.

Emerald - just like an outer Sydney suburb. Three great little villages on the way into Emerald from the west - Anakie, Sapphire and Rubyvale.Well worth a night or two. Otherwise Fairbairn Dam just to the south (about 15 mins drive).

Alpha - super little spot between Longreach and Emerald. Best pie shop ever! Try and time your drive so you are there for lunch!

Cheers

When in Chinchilla , check out the museum next to the Cypress Pines Caravan Park , one of the best country museums around , also , stop at the one at Morven , very unique . When in Ilfracombe , check out the Wellshot museum , plus the House of Bottles ....it has far more than bottles . Don't forget the Bilby Centre in Charleville ...very interesting ! The School of the Air in Longreach is a "must" , so is the Powerhouse Museum . When in Roma , visit the Ace Drapers ....a craft person's heaven and a singular curiosity , there are shops number 1 and 2 , see both ! When in Emerald slip out to Fairbairn Dam , or stay there , and try Redclaw trapping , delicious on the BBQ with a little garlic butter .In Barcaldine have a look at Roses and Things , a little oasis , and also a large museum here too . If you get a chance , you can slip up to Aramac to the Tramway Museum . Ooops ...If you go to Isisford , drop in and see the Isis Downs shearing shed ...different !
It took us more than two months to see the above , plus what others have suggested , so not sure how much you can cram into 10 days , though we do travel leisurely and we returned to Brisbane via Carnarvon Gorge rather than Gladstone .
Enjoy it whatever you do ... it is a great country out there.
Charles.

Rubyvale - what a great place!

Noone has mentioned the steam powered Wool Scour at Blackall, we found it to be extremely interesting> There are hour long tours every hour, and we nearly went round again.

Bruce,

Better put in a vote for Winton, though most of the others have stolen my thunder.

Have lunch @ Waltzing Matilda centre, as well as checking out the art gallery & the displays inside.

Lark Quarry is just over 100 clicks south of town, on the Jundah road. Is open @ 10am, midday & 2pm only. Seems to have lost its visual appeal since the new shed went up, but its still worth seeing, if only to prove to yourself that these big suckers did exist back then.

Luckily the site was found in the early '60's by opal miners, because these days most opal miners use machinery like D9's & 30 tonne excavators to ply their trade.

Have an evening meal @ Tatts & sit out on the footpath, sipping a coldie & watching minimal traffic pass by your table.

Other things to see in town are Arno's Wall, Corfield & Fitzmaurice(the museum), Truck Museum, Musical Fence, site of old meatworks, gypsum loading areas, view from Rangeland hills @ sunset. Don't forget a visit to Searle's Menswear in main street. Even get your Lotto tickets there. Plenty of interesting statues etc in the main street.

The road up to the new Dinosaur Museum, about 10km east of town has been put in, but am unsure if it is open for public to travel, at this stage. Would be a magic view from up there, looking north towards Hughenden, and back to Winton.

Don't forget Bladensburg Nat park, about 15 km south of town, bit a drive through there too.

Fuel is often cheaper in Winton than at Longreach too.

Hooroo,
Bob