Adelaide to Townsville road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

Charleville to Barcaldine drive

The distance from Charleville to Barcaldine is 409km, with a driving time of around four hours and 17 minutes.

The drive quickly meets the Landsborough Highway just south of Augathella. In Augathella, you can admire the murals along the main street and be somewhat puzzled by the Giant Meat Ant Statue.

If planning to stop overnight, Augathella accommodation ideas include the Augathella Palms Motel and Augathella Motel and Caravan Park.

The next town is Tambo, where there’s a bird-watching hide at Tambo Lake, and a surprisingly successful outback teddy-making business.

Tambo Teddies began as a way of using excess wool from the local wool industry.

Things to do in Blackall, Queensland

You can learn more about that wool industry in the Blackall Wool Scour, a museum devoted to the subject.

There are also are installations and sculptures all around Blackall, which regards itself at the Art Capital of the Outback.

The most tempting attraction, however, is the Blackall Aquatic Centre. Here, the heated outdoor pool is fed by an artesian bore.

You’ll leave the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine, where the top attractions are the Australian Workers’ Heritage Centre and the Tree of Knowledge. The latter is generally accepted as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party.

For Barcaldine accommodation, try the solid Barcaldine Country Motor Inn.

Click through for the next section: Barcaldine to Townsville.