The Basalt Byway is a four wheel drive track winding between the landscapes north of Hughenden. This track takes you on a journey through some amazing country, featuring rolling walls of basalt, creating deep meandering valleys. Excellent lookouts show the depth and length of many of the valleys you will wind through. One lookout in particular is over an open downs area with the township of Hughenden in the distance. These track travels through many grazing properties. These properties used to be mainly sheep stations but they've since changed to cattle grazing. History tells stories of pioneering families who lost everything in the great floods that swept through these valley areas many years ago.
In this park, towering sandstone cliffs and lush vine-forest fringing Porcupine Creek provide a striking contrast with surrounding flat plains. Porcupine Gorge is an impressive canyon that has been carved into the landscape by the eroding action of Porcupine Creek, revealing strata of sedimentary rocks spanning hundreds of millions of years. In the wider section of the gorge the creek has also created the Pyramid, an isolated monolith of multicoloured sandstone rising from the floor of the gorge, shaped as its name suggests. The gorge is a great place for viewing wildlife, especially birds. Take the 2.4 kilometre return walk along the track to the base of the gorge, to explore the sculpted sandstone and deep pools of the gorge floor. Enjoy the bird calls and look for wallaroos and red kangaroos. Take an easy walk through sparse open woodland to the Pyramid lookout for scenic views over the gorge. Set up camp in the camping area and enjoy the solitude of the outback.
Covering an area of 5410 hectares, Porcupine Gorge National Park extends for more than 25 kilometres along Porcupine Creek and includes surrounding open woodland and grassland. The creek has carved an impressive canyon that reveals strata of sedimentary rocks spanning hundreds of millions of years. In the wider section of the gorge the eroding action of the creek has also created the Pyramid, an isolated monolith of multicoloured sandstone rising from the floor of the gorge, shaped as its name suggests. Starting from the camping area, a gradually descending walking track leads to the bottom of the gorge, allowing exploration of the gorge floor. The return journey to the camping area, back along the same track, requires a moderate level of fitness as the track is relatively steep. Keep to the walking tracks at all times and heed safety signs.ou may encounter cattle. Do not startle or approach these animals. Never block their path. Grade: moderate. Distance: 2.4 kilometres return. Time: allow 1.5 hrs walking time.
This remote park has dry, flat plains criss-crossed by watercourses and covered in open eucalypt, paperbark and acacia woodlands and grasslands. Moorrinya is a wildlife refuge, protecting Australian icons such as kangaroos, koalas, emus and dingoes, as well as rare and threatened species such as the square-tailed kite, squatter pigeon and Julia Creek dunnart. Located in the heart of the Desert Uplands, Moorrinya National Park, initially established as the sheep grazing property, Shirley Station, today protects 18 land types in the Lake Eyre Basin, one of Australia's most important catchments. Set up camp near the old Shirley shearing shed. Much of the sheep station infrastructure, dating back to the late 1940s, remains as a reminder of the spirit and hard work of the people who lived in this remote part of Queensland. Take a short stroll on the Bullock Creek walk from the camping area to the creek and look for native fish and waterbirds. Enjoy birdwatching and wildlife spotting. Ride mountain bikes and trail bikes and drive four-wheel-drives on Moorinya's internal roads and firebreaks.
The Historic Coolabah Tree is situated past the causeway on the right as you head to the Hughenden Showgrounds. It is of immense historical importance as it is linked to two relief expeditions searching for the Burke and Wills Expedition. Both expeditions blazed the tree on the banks of what is now Station Creek. In 1861 Fredrick Walker led a team from Rockhampton to the Gulf searching in vain for the missing explorers. The following year Landsborough's search party passed through from the Gulf. These relief expeditions led people to become aware of the fertility and wealth of the plains adjacent to the Flinders River. Truly this tree should be preserved as a memorial to the brave explorers of this land. Two plaques have been erected near the tree as a tribute to them.