LONGREACH is at the heart of the Queensland outback. It’s a place where the vast arid plains stretch to the west and the waters of the mighty Thomson River shimmer to the north, where the starry nights encourage stargazing, sing­alongs and campfires and sunny days are perfect for picnic races, rodeos, meeting friendly people and discovering life on a property.

Longreach is home to the famous Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Qantas Founders Outback Heritage Museum, Powerhouse Mu­eum and Australian Agricultural College Longreach campus. An unforgettable moment in a visit to Longreach is when a horse-drawn ride becomes a gallop through the scrub. Another memorable activity is to watch the sun set across the river from on board a paddle wheeler.

See the birdlife at Lily Lagoon, view the Thomson River and learn about Captain Starlight, the character in Rolfe Boldrewood’s novel, “Robbery Under Arms.” This character was largely based on a real person, Harry Redford, who was responsible for the most daring cattle duffing exercise in the country. Longreach remembers him with a hill which has been dubbed Starlight’s Lookout (although it’s officially Cassidy’s Knob) because legend has it Redford posted a lookout on this hill while the cattle were being gathered for the journey. The lookout is about 56km from town.

Iningai Nature Reserve, situated on the Longreach Town Common on the Jundah Road, is named after the traditional owners who lived along the Thomson River in the Stonehenge to Muttaburra region before European occupation. The reserve takes in Gin Creek, its waterholes and floodplains, and gives a good introduction to western eco-systems ranging from Mitchell grass downs to coolabah-fringed waterholes to clay floodplains.

Take one of the walks and see the native vegetation, wildlife and birds which inhabit the area. Keen ­walkers might like to do the town loop, which is 9.3km. Other options are the Wilga Loop (5.2km) or a part of that loop known as the Coolibah walk (3.7km).

While driving around Longreach, you’ll no doubt notice that the streets all seem to be named after birds. But there’s even more to it than that. The streets that run east-west are named after waterbirds and those that run north-south are named for land birds.

Visit a working property and learn a little of the lifestyle in the west. Or take a look into the past through the arts with a visit to an outback theatre.

Go fishing. The Thomson River has some great fishing spots, and to make sure you have everything you need, drop in to the Longreach Outdoors Centre. You can buy rods, reels, lures specifically for this area (as well as saltwater lures for coastal fishing), bait and ice. The store also has a huge selection of camping gear including mattresses, campovens, tents, furn­iture, lamps, 12 volt gear and also toilet chemicals for caravanners.

Stock up with groceries and all supermarket lines at the Longreach FoodWorks - they even have bait!

And don’t forget to put your numbers in for the Gold Lotto at Barkers Newsagency. Rob and Leanne Luck run the shop, so maybe their surname will rub off and be ‘lucky’ for you!

Find out everything you need to know about Longreach by going to the Longreach Visitor Information Centre, situated in a building which is a replica of the original QANTAS booking office.

The centre is owned and operated by the Longreach Regional Council and is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm and on weekends from 9.00am to noon.