What is the outback, and where does it begin?
The 16,000-hectare wilderness of Carnarvon Gorge National Park is located 700 kilometres by road north-west of Brisbane. It's a long bus drive from UQ, but such is the scale of the Australian continent that this journey only takes us to the outlying edges of the vast Australian outback.
Carnarvon Gorge is a spectacular sandstone ravine carved by a permanent creek whose waters nourish an oasis of life. Surrounded dry country, it's a haven for kangaroos, echidnas and platypus.
The national park also protects exceptional rock art sites, which are important to the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Karingbal and Bidjara peoples.
Hundreds of kilometres from the nearest city lights, Carnarvon Gorge is one of the best places in the world to stargaze.
Image: Stephanie Hammond