“Bridge the gap between country and city.”
This has been Robyn’s motto for working in tourism. She has always tried to show visitors the difference between traveling and experiencing. Now she’s continuing the tradition through Charlotte Plains, previously owned by her parents. In a piece of land that is the size of half of Singapore, they used to have 60,000 sheep in the flourishing days. Now they only sheer about 7,000 sheep per year, but Charlotte Plains is a home to horses, camels, cattle, and variety of wildlife in the Outback.
Charlotte Plains is about an hour’s drive away from Cunnamulla. It’s a great place to experience what it is really like to live in the Outback and understand the history hands on. There are endless things to do here including wildlife watching, photography, station work, history tours, bathing in the Great Artesian Basin bore, and more. The Cunnamulla region was one of the first to successfully pipe the Great Artesian Basin bore. Charlotte Plains had their own bore since 1982, feeding the entire region ever since. You can dip your body into the 43 degrees (Celsius) of hot water. Dipping into the hot water in hot Outback weather might not sound attractive but trust me, it is surprisingly pleasant and peaceful. The water contains multivitamin and minerals that soothe and heal.
This place had been gone through many owners before Robyn’s family took over. She started the tour from a small graveyard where she buried her husband several years ago. From there we passed a lot of animals including camels and brolga birds. There is simple but clean accommodation for visitors, and tents are always welcome. Camping under the southern Milky Way anyone? Robyn also created a small historic museum in one of the buildings. She arranged big and small historic monuments. Old jockey uniforms, swimming medals, books, old suitcases, dolls, photos… it’s the memorabilia of Charlotte Plains.
Visiting stations in the Outback is one of the best ways to get to know the region. If you are in Queensland’s Outback, make sure to visit Charlotte Plains!
