The Outback Way Podcast

Coming to you live from Laverton in Western Australia, Helen speaks with Julie and Christine about the Laverton Aboriginal Art Gallery. There is a great diversity of artwork on display and all of it is authentic and carefully sourced from the local and regional Aboriginal Art scene. Julie and Christine tell us about the art gallery, and where they source the artwork from. The Laverton Aboriginal A...

Helen speaks with Louise Murkins, who has been travelling Australia in a caravan for 8 years. She shares her experiences and the highlights from her time on the road. Louise explains what led her to making the decision to travel full time with her partner John, about her set up, and her tips and tricks for life on the road. You can find all notes and links on our website, www.outbackway.org.au whe...

Helen speaks with Patrick Hill, Chairman of the Outback Highway Development Council and Shire President of Laverton in Western Australia. Patrick explains how the Outback Way came into existence and walks us through the history and development of this project. This episode is a replay of the second episode of the Outback Way Podcast, however it's such an important story we felt it warranted being...

Helen speaks with Martin Chambers, author of 7 books including 'Car Wrecks of the Great Central Road.' Martin tells Helen about the trip he took with his family years ago where they counted 375 car wrecks and why it was such a feature of the trip. He then shares where the idea for the book came from, and how it ended up having a much deeper meaning than just the stories of car wrecks. Martin also...

Helen speaks with Justin Hales, the CEO of recreational vehicle sharing platform, Camplify. Dubbed the "Air BnB for caravans, motorhomes and camper trailers", Camplify provides everything the customer needs to hire out their recreational vehicles, from payment processing, holding a bond, supporting both sides of the transaction and providing insurance too. For the renters, there's also roadside as...

Helen speaks with Robyn Stephens, the event coordinator for the Winton Outback Festival. Beginning in 1972, and being held biennially since 1975, the Winton Outback Festival is celebrating its 25th Festival this year! Robyn tells Helen a bit about the history of the festival and the impact it has had on Outback Queensland tourism, as well as how she became involved. Helen and Robyn cover how the f...

Helen speaks with Peter Abbot, the copartner in the Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Experience in Central Australia. Located at Wanmarra Community in King's Canyon Watarrka National Park, 450 km South West of Alice Springs and adjacent to King's Creek Station. Helen and Peter discuss where the idea came from for the cultural tours came from, and how Peter and his partner Christine put it together. Pet...

Helen speaks again with Boulia Shire Councillor Jack Nielsen about the great events happening in July in Outback Queensland, including the Big Red Bash, the Boulia Camel Races and the Outback Queensland Golf Masters. Jack shares his experience at the Big Red Bash last year and a list of excellent tips and tricks to really make your experience at the event as enjoyable as possible. This year the Bi...

Helen speaks with Ann Britton, a from Ann Britton Photography and join owner of Goodwood Station at Boulia. Ann tells Helen how she became passionate about photographing outback Australia and recording history by capturing the lifestyle of how people live everyday and the amazing landscapes in all extremes. Ann shares her story of how she came to be at Goodwood Station, what daily life is like and...

Helen speaks with Luke Bates from Golfing Australia about the Outback Queensland Masters and the Million Dollar Hole-in-One Challenge. Taking place across six locations, Roma, Charleville, Longreach, Winton, Boulia and Mount Isa in June and July 2019, the Outback Queensland Masters will be a great opportunity for golfers of all persuasions to experience the great facilities in these rural towns in...

Helen speaks with Australia's Golden Outback CEO Marcus Falconer and Marketing Coordinator Gabby Simoni. Australia's Golden Outback is an areas that covers over 54% of Western Australia and offers a huge range of fascinating and contrasting experiences for tourists. Helen and Marcus discuss some of the different self-drive routes, including the Great South West Edge (Perth to Esperance), the Road...

Helen speaks with Jack Neilson and Krystal Stanley about their new tourist venture and on finding love in the outback. Born and bred in Boulia and Winton respectively, Jack has a cattle station near Boulia and Krystal is the local state school Principal. The pair are passionate advocates of rural and regional life and with their accommodation they want to give visitors to Winton a personalised and...

Helen speaks with John Elliott, Tourism and Event Manager for the Winton Shire Council, about the upcoming Way Out West Festival which runs from 25th - 28th April 2019 in Winton, QLD. John has a longstanding passion for the music industry in Australia and has written a book about his time on the road with Slim Dusty. In this episode he shares how the Way Out West Festival came to be, to coincide w...

Helen speaks with Lester Cain, from the Middleton Pub. Lester tells us where Middleton is (170km from Winton and 190 km from Boulia), a bit about the town's history and how he came to be there. Helen and Lester discuss what's on offer at the pub, in the local area and the events that bring visitors to Middleton. You can find all notes and links on our website, www.outbackway.org.au where you can s...

Helen speaks with Lara Franko, the administrative support and cultural centre officer at the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku. Lara is from Colombia but has been in Australia for 3 years now and she tells Helen how she lived and studied in Melbourne before moving to Warburton community. Helen and Lara discuss the lovely Warburton Art Centre and the vibrant community of Warburton Artists, as well as what's...

Can you believe it is February already? This year in Queensland it is the Year of Outback Tourism. In WA it is all about the Road Trip and with Central Australia being the adventure capital of Australia, you better make a plan, pack up your family or travelling buddies and head across Australia from Winton, QLD or Laverton, WA right into the centre, the heart of Australia. In this episode, Helen r...

Helen speaks with Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Michael McCormack about his background and the life experiences that influenced his step into politics, as well as why he is so passionate about regional Australia. Recorded after the 2018 AGM in Alice Springs of the Outback Highway Development Council, the conversation also covers the importance of better connectivity (of road, rail and telecommunicati...

Helen speaks to Tim Casey, the owner of Casey Australia Tours, based in Perth. The Casey family has been bumping around outback roads behind the wheel of a bus for decades now, starting with Tim's father and a combi van tour in 1973. Tim shares how the combi van gradually turned into 4 coaster buses and then coaches. Tours have always and continue to be a great option for folks who want to travel...

Helen speaks with Graham Reid, the owner operator of Travel West, a professional tour operator and licensed Travel Agent. Graham and his wife Deb also run the Charleville Bush Caravan Park. Graham tells Helen a bit about his background and how he ended up in the tourism industry in Australia. Helen and Graham then discuss the Tagalong Tours that Travel West operate in the Simpson Desert, around Bi...

This episode John Gaynor from Central Desert Regional Council discusses the Plenty Highway Tourism Masterplan which is being finalised. The untapped potential for tourism development is discussed from Gem Tree-NT to Boulia-Qld.... from pastoral heritage, dinosaurs, gems fossicking, 4WD tracks, communities, artwork, the landscape and the need for accommodation. We look at what could be developed an...

A good discussion with Peter Homan CEO Outback Qld Tourism- about the value of going into Visitor Information Centres to get the local tips and tricks about the local area- which google doesn't have. Join the Outback Mates passport programme and get great deals throughout Outback Qld. We chat about 2 new experiences on offer, that are well worth while... at Charleville and Julia Creek... By visiti...

Stephen Schwer- CEO Tourism Central Australia shares his highlights, unearths the gems and talks about what is coming to Central Australia. A great chat about the development of tourism in the heart of our nation. https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com #redcentre on Instragram From across the Outback Way we acknowledge the Koa People, Pitta Pitta People,  Wangkayuju People, Wangka...

Helen speaks with Kate McMaster, owner operator of the iconic road stop Gemtree on the Plenty Highway. Located 140km North-East of Alice Springs, Gemtree is a welcome port of call for young and old travelling the Outback Way. With accommodation options ranging from camping and caravanning to cabins, you can enjoy an extensive range of activities and attractions including fossicking and Kate's Camp...

Helen speaks with Gary Proctor, the Coordinator of the Warburton Arts Project and Curator of the Warburton Collection and Tjulyuru Regional Gallery. He shares an insight into the history of the Warburton Arts Project and how he came to be involved. Gary explains how the Warburton Collection came to be, the one painting that began it all 3 decades ago and how it's now grown to over 900 paintings. H...

Helen speaks with Cy Starkman, the General Manager of Red Hot Art and the Coordinator of the Desert Festival, which is happening in Alice Springs from the 31st August to the 30th Oct 2018. In this episode, Cy shares a bit about the background and history of the Desert Festival, and why it's an incredible time to be in Central Australia. Besides Desert Festival there are 11 other festivals and even...