Day 2: Just ‘down the road’ in country miles, call in for a ‘cuppa’ at Jericho and take a stroll around the vintage machinery in Railway Park. Next stop is Barcaldine, known as the Garden City of the West. The town’s most famous tree, the Tree of Knowledge, was a 180-year old ghost gum, celebrated as the site for the 1891 Shearer’s Strike. Sadly the tree was poisoned in 2006. It has been preserved under an eye-catching timber structure, impressive by day, but magnificent when viewed at night as the original tree canopy is recreated by clever lighting. Spend time at the Australian Workers Heritage Centre where the stories of Australia’s working history come to life, then test your musical skills on the large scale outdoor instruments of the Thong-a-phone and Marimba. In Longreach, be sure to download the Longreach Regional Council App to get a heads up on the best things to see and do. Make sure that you arrive in town by early afternoon with time to join one of the popular Thomson River cruise and dinner options, the Drover’s Sunset Cruise or the Starlight’s Dinner Cruise.