All Right on Alroy

Tucked away in Queensland's south-west corner, Alroy Station offers a genuine taste of outback life

- JOHN DENMAN

About 60km northwest of the village of Eulo sits Alroy Station - a 24,000ha (60,000-acre) working sheep and cattle property run by husband-and-wife team Mac and Mary Haig.

The Haigs are old-school bush people, but they understand the need many of us have to get away from the crowd now and then, so they've set aside part of the vast property where visitors can get a real taste of what the outback is all about - space to camp pretty much wherever you want, with no signs telling you what you can't do.

The thing with Alroy is that you can stay as long as you like. For some travellers, Alroy is the destination, for others, it's an overnight stop, or anything in between.

You can't help becoming a birdwatcher here - the birdlife is everywhere. I didn't have a bird book, but a fellow traveller wandered by the camp, binoculars in hand, and seemed to know every species.

Yowah Creek flows right through the campground, and there's a fair chance of pulling a yabbie or two if you remembered to pack a trap. We missed out this time, but it was fun having a go. There's no shortage of walking options either, and if fishing's your thing, you might even be lucky enough to hook a yellowbelly.

COMFORT AND CHARACTER