Leichhardt Highway
From Goondiwindi to Yeppoon

Trip Length: 2 days  Total Distance: 678 km  Road Conditions: All sealed roads

Goondiwindi

The Gums

Miles

Taroom

Banana

Rockhampton

Yeppoon

Blaze a trail in the steps of Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, more commonly known as Ludwig Leichhardt or L.L., and travel the Leichhardt Highway a 678 km highway, from the vibrant border town of Goondiwindi in Queensland's Western Downs to the heart of the Capricorn Coast, Yeppoon.

It's over 160 years since Leichhardt, armed with few provisions and plenty of determination crossed the Great Dividing Range, however his courageous journeys filled with excitement and discovery can be relived by today's traveller in modern day comforts along the well kept historic route.

The Prussian born scientist delivered back from his epic journey notebooks filled with graphic descriptions of everything he saw - Aboriginal cultures, botanical, geological, and topographic data, absolutely all was written down, even to what type of dogs were used by farmers, designs of yards and sheds - nothing was left unnoticed. No wonder so many attractions have taken his name and in Queensland where Leichhardt made so many valuable discoveries, his name appears the most. At each of his campsites, Leichhardt would blaze his initials L.L. and the year into a tree - check out the Leichhardt tree in the main street of Taroom - you won't see a better example.

The Leichhardt Highway stretches north through quaint country towns, over rivers brimming with freshwater fish, by tranquil lagoons, through mining towns where opulence was once flaunted in grand architecture left for us to admire today, into the Beef Capital of Australia, Rockhampton, to conclude on the beautiful Capricorn Coast at Yeppoon, where the outback meets the sea.

You could achieve the drive in a day but that would mean no time for stopping and you would miss the full splendour of what is to offer along the Leichhardt Highway.

Magnificent wildflowers blooming in forests, historical villages, understanding our Aboriginal culture, entering the once 'world's greatest gold mine' or just sitting at a bar and meeting the locals always appreciative you've dropped by. So why not 'blaze a trail' as Ludwig did and start your motor running for a fantastic journey northbound following the steps of one of Australia's most energetic and devoted explorers.