Channel Country, Outback Queensland, Australia

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From parched to pastoral. Channel Country, Australia

Narrow waterways run like veins through the Australian Outback's Channel Country, a sprawling, ancient flood plain named after its crisscrossing river channels. The huge flat area is transformed from a parched desert canvas to a vibrant tapestry of wildflowers when rainfall is abundant. Indigenous Australians have lived off this land for tens of thousands of years and some offer tours and classes about how to survive in the Outback. This unspoiled region is also home to a bonanza of wildlife—kangaroos that bounce along the plains, strutting emus, and preening purple-crowned fairywrens. If you're lucky, you might even spot a bilby—a nocturnal marsupial with rabbit-like ears. So, are you ready to 'channel' your inner explorer?