The outback is a vast, sparsely populated region that is quintessentially ‘Australian’, deeply ingrained in our heritage, history and folklore. Sometimes referred to as ‘beyond the Black Stump’ or ‘back of beyond’ or simply as ‘The Never-Never’, the term signifies something a long way from anywhere, more remote than 'The Bush', which is closer to civilisation.
To be more precise, the Aussie outback spans 5.6 million square kilometres, nearly three-quarters of the continent, encompassing all of the Northern Territory, most of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, and the north-western corner of New South Wales. Fewer than one in 20 Australians lives out there, many of them Indigenous people whose ancestors have occupied it for at least 50,000 years.
The Australian outback is recognised globally as one of the largest unmodified natural environments remaining on earth. Reflecting extremes of climate and geography, this sprawling heartland comprises a rich tapestry of landscapes, places of wild beauty ranging from the bountiful tropical savanna of the Top End and Gulf to the stark, rainless deserts of the central inland and the inhospitable gibber plains and salt pans of the Channel Country. Here are some of my favourite places.
