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Drink yourself to sleep: Top 5 outback pub stays in Australia
The tradition of bunking on top of the boozer continues at these five heritage hotels
The Nindigully Pub, the oldest in Queensland where you can sleep off the biggest slabs of meat.Pubs have always been at the core of the Australian lifestyle.
They are not just places to unwind with mates, spin yarns, rest your elbows on a wooden bar and knock the head off an schooner of beer; many of these great Aussie watering holes were also once the only place a traveler could lodge for the night.
These days, staying at a fair dinkum pub and mingling with miners, cattle drovers and colorful local characters is one of the best ways to absorb the country's culture.
From the sun-blistered red earth of the outback to most isolated parts of the Aussie bush, here are five classic pub stays.
1.Nindigully Pub
The Nindigully Pub, where you shouldn't expect fast service.
On the banks of the Moonie River, it used to be shearers' accommodation in the township before getting its license in 1864.
It’s famous for frosty XXXX beer, Bundaberg rum, one-kiloT-bone steaks and the heart attack-inducing Roadtrain burger -- a monstrous, 5.7-kilo burger big enough to feed a family. It’s a cheerful, convivial place with a hotchpotch of well-worn Akubra hats and kitsch paraphernalia lining the walls.
Staying here will suit long distance road trippers, as caravans and campers can pitch up in front of the pub or alongside the river banks of the river. There, you can splash around and trap yabbies at your leisure.
There are two fuss-free double rooms and a bunk bed room but none of ‘em have an en suite -- everyone uses the pub’s public hot showers and dunny. Swags are also welcome on the verandas.
The
watering hole is a blissfully peaceful spot for a beer and a yarn most of the
year, except during the Nindigully Pig Races and Country Music Festival (held in November) and the New Year’s Eve fireworks, which draw several
hundred people. That’s a big crowd in the ‘Gully.
Nindigully Pub, Sternes Street, Nindigully, Queensland, +61 (0)7 4625 9637. Rates: Bunks $15, rooms from $40.
2. Prairie Hotel
Patrons at The Prairie Hotel swell the outback town's population above its baseline of seven.
This historic structure, with its corrugated-iron roof and hand-cut stone walls fronts the beautiful vista of the ranges and the burnt-red desert plains, sweeping toward Lake Torrens. At sunset -- or beer o’clock -- it’s a magical sight over a sundowner.
Little wonder the location is loved by the directors of films like "Rabbit Proof Fence."
Inside the pub, the bar is littered with historic memorabilia and artifacts like a collection of stockmen’s hats, an oversized buffalo head and for the art buffs, contemporary Aboriginal artworks from remote regions of Australia.
For an outback pub, the rooms are on the fancy side, beautifully refurbished with luxury linen, ensuite bathrooms and some with double spas.
Don’t leave without
sampling some so-called Flinders Feral Food -- like emu, camel sirloin or a
‘roo pie -- cooked up with native herbs.
Prairie Hotel, Corner High Street & West Terrace, Parachilna, South Australia, +61 (0)8 8648 4844. Heritage Rooms cost $145 single/$175 double, www.prairiehotel.com.au
