Western Queensland Road Trip #8
Covering vast distances, Australian country roads are wide, flat and often without a bend in sight.
The journey east starts here on the Warrego Highway, connecting Charleville to Brisbane 721 km away.
Once off the main roads, bitumen is replaced by dirt and the windows stay closed to keep the red bulldust out.
In tiny outback towns like Wyandra, the roads are wider than the house blocks.
Outback roads – often unnamed, not on any maps and going nowhere in particular.
Joining in with Becky’s October Lines and Squares
The Eternal Traveller 
Our longest road isn’t even half the distance of this one!
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And it only covers a small part of one state in Australia. The outback is so vast.
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Love those wide roads, red earth and big blue skies.
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The colours are so beautiful out there.
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Now, that is interesting. In New Hampshire, the roads are very curvy because of all the trees, and they are barely two lanes wide. In the Midwest, the roads are straight as an arrow but still none as wide as some of yours.
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Many of these very wide rural roads were constructed wide enough for a bullock team to do a full turn.
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All that amazing space! It’s just the dust that gets kicked up that’s called bulldust, not the red earth itself, right? I’ve never heard that word before.
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Yes, it’s the dust that blows up behind a vehicle. You do not want to be behind another car with your windows down!
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Amazing roads going through some really interesting places. Must be a real adventure and a challenge driving the whole length.
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We love doing this kind of road trip and there is always so much to see. We tend to stop a lot along the way.
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Road trips where you aren’t on a tight schedule are one of our favourite experiences. So good just to be able to stop when you like and go as you please slowtime.
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Absolutely the best way to travel.
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That’s some road! Really brings home the idea of how much space you have.
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And that is just in part of one state!
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Wow 721 kms away! That seems like an eternity…
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It can be done in a day, but there’s so much to see along the way and a few days is good.
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I loved driving on those roads in Australia. Except the corrugated ones, they were somewhat uncomfortable!
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They can be uncomfortable and noisy.
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Ah yes, it’s been a while since we ventured off the bitumen, maybe next year.
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There’s nothing more fun than a good off road adventure.
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Glad I’m not walking it! 🙂 🙂
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Now that would be a feat!
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I can’t imagine driving on a road of that length, with nothing much to see, not even a bend! It must be a major feat to keep concentration.
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It’s surprising how much there is to see along the way. There are often expedition markers and historic landmarks and sometimes wildlife too.
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That’s not so bad then, if there are things to keep your interest up. 🙂
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Driving these roads must be a hypnotic experience!
Regards Thom
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It can be, especially in summer when the road is swallowed up in a mirage.
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So much wide open space in Australia. I think I would be frightened that I’d get lost or not have enough gas to get to the next service station.
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It would be much the same in Canada wouldn’t it? Your distances can be quite vast too. We do have people, especially tourists, who get lost in the outback.
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Nice pics and interesting information. The length of Finnish national road is 1235km / 805mi long. It passes thru many towns from which I have made posts.
In our television I have seen how long distances are in Australia. Few years ago, there was presented also long train trip. Thank you for this post.
Have a wonderful day!
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I’m pleased you enjoyed this post Matti. This very long road only passes through a few towns, with a long distance in between each one.
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These pictures remind me of roads I have travelled on.
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We love this sort of driving.
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Love the open road, but without other cars. That dust would be difficult if following another vehicle. Those bright blue skies are beautiful. We also love road trips.
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You need to keep your distance from the car in front if you’re on a dirt road, otherwise you visibility is limited.
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Did I tell you my daughter lived in Mt. Isa for a month wth her now husband, working in a lab? She said I would love it there during the winter. Maybe some day I’ll go visit, but not by car.
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I didn’t know that. Winter would be good to visit, warm days but very cold nights. You should consider driving – you’ve driven across Canada and the US. You would enjoy the drive, there’s so much to see and the scenery is quite different.
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So many unpaved roads. I was going to say when I first read this that the long straight and flat roads reminded me of roads in the Dakotas, where I was in September. But most of them are paved, except roads leading to individual farms. Some of these roads are very wide indeed!
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We have many unsealed roads, but they’re not main roads. Off road driving is very popular here and lots of fun.
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I bet it is. I love an off-road adventure, and I had many great ones in Oman, and out west here in the U.S. It helps to have the right kind of vehicle. 🙂
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