How about swapping bunnies for the real thing - Charleville bilbies - this Easter in Queensland's Outback?

Help save endangered Bilbies in Charleville, line your pockets with opals in Quilpie, take in the majesty of the red sand dunes and catch a feed of fish in Windorah and, if you time things right, enjoy opera and a taste of Easter in the Outback at Longreach.



In just four days, visitors can take in all of these experiences, with an easy drive between Charleville and Longreach.

Charleville, 750km west of Brisbane, is where local legends the ‘Bilby Brothers', Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's (QPWS) Peter McRae and Frank Manthey started the Save the Bilby Fund.

They set out years ago to save the cute-as-a-button, endangered marsupials and have made large steps towards doing just that. Take in a show at the local QPWS facility, learn about the plight of the Bilbies and make a donation to help keep them in the wild.

Hop along 200km west to Quilpie for some fossicking fun. Queensland is the world's only producer of ironstone boulder opal, and here's your chance to strike it rich with one of the region's tour operators or grab a permit and see what you dig up. You might even pay for your trip if you're lucky!

Head 250km north from shining opals to the stunning-ochre vistas of the red sand dunes near Windorah. The giant monuments are just west of the town and are about as ‘Outback' as you can get.

Stop a while at Cooper's Creek in town for free camping and fantastic fishing and bird-watching!

This is the heart of the famous ‘channel country' where the flood waters travel up to 100km before spilling into Lake Eyre.

Finally, travel 300km north west to Longreach arriving in time for the Easter long weekend.

Over the three nights of Easter (Saturday, April 15 to Monday, April 17) you can catch ‘Opera at the Hall'. The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame is regarded as the Opera House of the Outback and the South Australian Opera Company - Co-Opera will perform Don Giovanni (in English). You'll never sit in an "opera house" quite like it - with a ceiling of Outback stars.

There are heaps of other things happening in town over the three days. Take in a relaxing nature walk, the food and wine festival or an historic pub crawl. If you like a bit of drama, Murder in the Museum is a special tour of the Longreach Powerhouse Museum with heaps of audience participation!

Don't forget that Longreach is full of Outback lore and legend with its Stockman's Hall of Fame, Qantas Founders Outback Museum, Longreach Pastoral College, Longreach Powerhouse Museum and many other attractions.

A ‘must do' while in town is the Qantas Founders Outback Museum's ‘Wing Walk', where you can walk on the wing of their decommissioned Boeing 747 while attached by a cable.

So, get to Queensland's Outback and put an Australian twist on your Easter!

If you can't get to the Outback this year, pick up a chocolate Easter Bilby from Darrell Lea, as a percentage of their profits go to the ‘Save the Bilby Fund'.

Travel facts

Getting there