Ten Great Outback Pubs in Australia

[hampster 0]

Ten great outback pubs :energetic:

Story by Kim Wildman

There's nothing we Aussies like more than to crack open a "cold one" on a hot summer's day. But when you're in the outback, stopping at a welcoming watering hole to wash down the taste of dust with an ice-cold beer is the closest sensation to heaven as you're likely to get.

The Prairie Hotel, SA

You can't get more outback than the famous Prairie Hotel in South Australia. Built back in the 1890s, the pub attracts visitors from all over the world. So, what's its charm? Maybe it's the hotel's accommodation, or maybe it's the renowned Australian native cuisine, otherwise know as Flinders Feral Food. Or perhaps it's simply the bliss of having a quiet one while drinking in the magnificent Flinders Ranges in the distance.

Where: CNR High Street and West Terrace

Parachilna, SA

Phone: (08) 8648 4844

Website: www.prairiehotel.com.au

Tilpa Hotel, NSW

One hundred and thirty kilometres north of Wilcannia, in tiny township of Tilpa in far west New South Wales there's a classic outback pub: the Tilpa Hotel. The interior of the 100-plus year old corrugated pub is plastered with graffiti from its many adorning fans. For a $2 donation towards the Royal Flying Doctor Service, you too can leave your mark on the pub's tin wall.

Where: Darling Street, Tilpa, NSW

Phone: (02) 6837 3928

Fax: (02) 6837 3965

Blue Heeler Hotel, Qld

Next time you're in travelling along the Matilda Highway through outback Queensland be sure to stop at the Blue Heeler Hotel in Kynuna and drink a toast to Australia's hardest working dog — the blue heeler. The 100-year-old hotel is also where Banjo Patterson observed the champagne being handed through the window to end the angry shearers strike of the 1800s. The famed billabong featured in our unofficial national anthem — the Combo Waterhole — is 20km south of Kynuna.

Where: Matilda Highway, Kynuna, Qld

Phone: (07) 4746 8650

Fax: (07) 4746 8643

The Daly Waters Pub, NT

This colourful pub, clad in corrugated iron, is crammed with decades of Australian memorabilia and quirky nick-knacks. Once a popular drover's rest, the pub gained fame again as a stopover for pilots and passengers arriving on the new Qantas airline in 1934. Today, it is a pit stop for thirsty tourists travelling the Explorer's Way between Alice Springs and Darwin.

Where: Stuart Street, Daly Waters, NT

Phone: (08) 8975 9927

Pub in the Paddock, Tas

Sitting smack-bang in the middle of a paddock in the Pyengana Valley, Pub in the Paddock has been a Tasmanian institution since 1880. Offering hearty country meals and comfortable accommodation, it makes a great stop en route to St Columba Falls. Today, the pub is more famous for its beer-drinking pig, Priscilla, who can scull a watered-down stubby in seven seconds. Also on standby is PB — Priscilla Babe — who eagerly laps up the attention.

Where: St Columba Falls Road, Pyengana TAS

Phone: (03) 6373 6121

Fax: (03) 6373 6178

Innamincka Hotel, SA

Want to get in touch with your inner explorer? Then head to the Innamincka Hotel at Cooper Creek in South Australia. Right in the heart of Burke and Wills country, it once played host to early drovers who brought cattle down the Strzelecki Track. Nowadays, the pub's convivial 'Outamincka Bar' has become the stuff of bush legends and is must stop for anyone travelling in these parts.

Where: South Tce, Innamincka, SA

Phone: (08) 8675 9901

The Pub With No Beer, NSW

As Slim Dusty once lamented, "There's nothin' so lonesome, so dull or so drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer". But as legend has it that's exactly what happened at this historic pub in Taylors Arm on the north coast of New South Wales. While the debate still rages as to whether this pub was in fact the inspiration for the song, one thing is for sure — with the addition of a new brewery the pub's valuable liquid asset will never run dry again.

Where: Taylors Arm, NSW

Phone: (02) 6564 2100

Fax: (02) 6564 2105

Website: www.pubwithnobeer.com.au

The Grand Hotel, WA

While over the years, the small goldmining town of Kookynie 200km from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia has declined to fewer than 10 people, the town's 1894 vintage Grand Hotel with its big verandahs and spacious rooms continues to survive. Once the favourite watering hole for local prospectors, it's an ideal base to explore the sites around the township including Niagara and Niagara Dam.

Where: Railway Street, Kookynie, WA

Phone: (08) 9031 3010

Mungerannie Hotel, SA

The Mungerannie Hotel in South Australia sits peacefully on the edge of the Sturt Stony, Simpson, Tirari and Strzelecki deserts and is nestled beside the Derwent River. This pub is an oasis in sharp contrast to its surrounds and is the only stopover on the 528km Birdsville Track.

Where: Birdsville Track, Mungerannie, SA

Phone: (08) 8675 8317

Fax: (08) 8675 8388

Birdsville Hotel, Qld

Without a doubt one of Australia's most legendary watering holes is the Birdsville Hotel. Built in 1884 it has been witness to history being made, yarns being spun and the survival of Australian mateship. It epitomises the essence of the outback.

Where: Birdsville, Qld

Phone: (07) 4656 3244

Cheers

Paul

Edited October 26, 2006 by hampster

[hampster 0]

Please check out the Menu at the Prairie Hotel......

http://www.prairiehotel.com.au/menuframe.htm

Cheers

Paul...

P.S. hope you all got your appetites