Longreach to Uluru road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The best stops to add to a Longreach to Uluru road trip itinerary are Winton, Mount Isa and Alice Springs. By car, the distance from Longreach to Uluru is 2,283km, with a driving time of around 24 hours.
Planning a Longreach to Uluru road trip itinerary
A Longreach to Uluru road trip is one of the epic Australian journeys, featuring a host of quirky outback towns and stunning natural attractions. Most people passing along this route will be on a longer road trip from Brisbane to Uluru.
To investigate the best Longreach tour and activity options, head this way. To pick the right Longreach accommodation, nosey around here.
Uluru in the Northern Territory, meanwhile, offers a guided base walk around the rock, the Field of Light installation and clear sky skygazing after a memorable dunetop dinner. To explore a full range of Uluru tours and activities, come this way.
There’s an awful lot to see along the way, though. This expert-researched guide should help you plan your perfect Longreach to Uluru road trip itinerary.
Longreach to Uluru distance and driving time
Using the quickest route by car, the distance from Longreach to Uluru is 2,283km. That makes for a driving time of around 24 hours.
The best road trip stops to add to a Longreach to Uluru road trip itinerary include Winton, Mount Isa and Alice Springs.
Longreach to Uluru road trip: Longreach to Cloncurry
Longreach is full of attractions. The Qantas Founders Museum looks at the story of Australia’s oldest airline. The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre has great evening shows. And a Thomson River cruise is a lovely way to enjoy the sunset.
4 Longreach experiences to book before you arrive
- Starlights river cruise – take in sunset along the Thomson River aboard a paddlewheeler.
- Cobb & Co stagecoach experience – travel along an outback dirt road pulled by galloping horses.
- Wildlife and woolsheds tour on a double decker bus through Nogo Station.
- Dinosaur-packed day tour to Winton.
Longreach accommodation picks
Longreach offers a surprisingly interesting range of accommodation. The options particularly worthy of consideration are…
- For central location and a pool: Abajaz Motor Inn or Longreach Motor Inn.
- For luxury glamping: Mitchell Grass Retreat.
- For charm and character: Saltbush Retreat.
Winton, the next stop along the Landsborough Highway, also brims with attractions. Australian Age of Dinosaurs looks at the wealth of dinosaur fossils found around Winton. There’s also the Waltzing Matilda Centre, which celebrates Australia’s national poem, composed by Banjo Paterson nearby.
4 Winton experiences that will make your visit better
- Day tour to Carisbrooke Station and the ancient dino footprints of the Dinosaur Stampede.
- Sunset tour to the outback rock channels of Rangelands Station.
- 3/4 day tour to the Dinosaur Stampede and Merton Gorge.
- Half day tour to the Age of Dinosaurs Museum – or make your own way and visit the fossil preparation laboratory.
Winton accommodation recommendations
Australian hotel specialist Wotif offers accommodation in Winton for from $138 a night. Search the options here.
But the best bets are…
- For best quality: Winton Outback Motel.
- For best value (and a pool): Boulder Opal Motor Inn.
- For families: Hamilton Retreat.
- For heritage: North Gregory Hotel.
Moving on north towards Cloncurry, there are a couple of famous pubs. The Blue Heeler in Kynuna, on the Diamantia River, plus McKinlay’s Walkabout Creek Hotel are good slices of stereotypical Australia.
Things to do in Cloncurry include the John Flynn Place Museum, devoted to the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and fossil-fancying Cloncurry Unearthed.
Cloncurry accommodation options include the personality-packed Gidgee Inn and the solidly decent Leichhardt Hotel Motel.
Longreach to Uluru drive: Cloncurry to Camooweal
On the way from Cloncurry to Mount Isa along the Barkly Highway, decent stops include the Burke and Wills Memorial, the Corella Dam swimming hole and the eerie ghost town at Mary Kathleen.
Mount Isa, the last proper-sized town in Queensland has several attractions. These include the Riversleigh Fossil Centre, the 4.2km walking track up Telstra Hill, and underground tours at the Hard Times Mine.
7 great Mount Isa experiences you really ought to know about
- Hard Times underground mine tour – led by a miner.
- Riversleigh Fossil Discovery Centre tickets – with optional laboratory tour.
- Combo ticket for Isa Experience Heritage Display, Outback Park and Rodeo Hall of Fame.
- Small group scenic flight – flying over the vast mines.
- Lake Moondarra sunset tour – with drinks and food platter.
- Pay a visit to the bizarre World War II era Underground Hospital.
- Mary Kathleen abandoned mine and ghost town tour.
Mount Isa activity options include the two hour best-of Mount Isa tour, outback scenic flights, a sunset tour to Lake Moondarra and a fascinating visit to the abandoned Mary Kathleen uranium mine.
For Mount Isa accommodation, try the peppy four star Copper City Motel, the centrally-located Icon on Isa and the roadtripper-friendly Discovery Parks Argylla.
The next stretch from Mount Isa to Tennant Creek is a long 661km slog, requiring careful use of fuel stops. The only town on the route is Camooweal, just on the Queensland side of the Northern Territory border.
Things to do in Camooweal include finding out about cattle droving at the Drovers Camp, and admiring the cave mouths in Wiliyan-ngurru National Park.
Camooweal is also the gateway to Boodjamulla National Park, home of Lawn Hill Gorge.
Click through for the next section: Queensland border to Tennant Creek.