Spring has sprinkled her magic over Nardoo station, fox tail wild flowers blow cunningly in the warm breeze and baby lambs bellow the change of seasons.


Old man emu and his six chicks cast proud, black silhouettes against the thirsty earth - an Outback omen there could soon be rain.

Emus, the male of which looks after the You ng, rarely nest unless they believe rain is imminent.

Nardoo voodoo, perhaps, but the 110,000 acres of open Mitchell grass country west of Charleville is as parched as a summer shearer.

Nardoo, named after the poisonous plant which saw the early demise of Burke and Wills, has an average rainfall of 16in but in the past three years has witnessed just 8in of water drop from the startling signature skies of the Outback.

In bush parlance, station life is a mug's game, but David Meurant, who manages the southwest Queensland property with his wife Carmel, says it's the lifestyle that keeps them there.

So fierce is the Outback hospitality, that David says a one and a half hour drive can take him between five and seven hours as passing neighbours keep pulling up for a good, old fashioned chin-wag.

It's when the mulga trees start talking to You , that it's time for a break in the city, according to David.

The hospitality at Nardoo station is rivalled only by Carmel's creative cooking and her latest dish, Yabby Dabby Do - yabbies fresh from the Paroo, and drenched in garlic, tomato paste and cream, is worth shouting about.

Nardoo is also famous for its bore water spa baths which gurgle at around 36 degrees and are said to have healing properties.

And a new addition to this Outback day spa, is the “sheep dip” - a jet stream of hot water sprays and pure heaven for the weary traveller.

About an hour further west, in eclectic Eulo, Nan and Ian Pike have been growing dates for the past 20 years and turning them into dry, medium and sweet wines at Australia's most remote winery.

According to Ian, there is no wastage in their product, as what isn't turned into wine, becomes food product such as date chews or moisturising creams.

“What gets away here is about bugger all,” Ian says. “Dates are a lot easier to muster than cattle and sheep, I'll tell You .”

If the Eulo date farm is Australia's most remote winery, than it is also Australia's most remote health retreat as Nan and Ian now turn their minds to mud which is for ced up from the shales on their property.

The dynamic duo have branched into the beauty business with charming claw foot baths the setting to soak in mud which Ian believes has all the “You -beaut qualities of dead-sea mud”.

“I'd been eyeing it off for a long time,” Ian says. “It makes You feel a hell of a lot better. It has a very similar effect to high sulphur pools in New Zealand.

“It will take the bend out of corrugated iron.”

Eulo is also home to the annual World Lizard Races which started in 1967 and attracted up to 5,000 people, prepared to bid up to $1,500 for a racing lizard.

These days, the event attracts more modest numbers, and lizards go for around $10 at the pre-race auction where shinglebacks, it is fabled, race better than frilly necks.

While in Eulo, meander into the Eulo General Store, where live bees take pride of place among every John Williamson tape ever recorded.

Back in Charleville, visitors take a star trek to the Cosmos Centre which combines innovative interactive day-time displays with night-time shows of the sky.

The centre hosts Symphony Under the Stars each November. Coming up in early June this year is the Transit of Venus. By early 2005, the Cosmos centre hopes to be in possession of its $80,000 telescope which will drop images on to the internet to be beamed around the globe.

The night sky at Charleville is considered particularly spectacular, as the township sits at latitude 26, has a totally flat horizon and low light pollution.

Cosmos Centre Manager Jane Morgan says during the appearance of Mars last year they were conducting three shows a night.

“Nobody talks at a high level here, we keep it simple. People can't just simply grasp 14 million light years,” she says.

“I think what we've got now is a very high level of acceptance of the Cosmos Centre. “We like to use a lot of Outback humour here.”

Indeed at the Cosmos Café, You can order a Light Year Latte, Cosmic Cappuccino, Mercury Muggacino or a Terrestrial Tea.

And if You think this part of the Outback is light years away, think again. Brisbane visitors can board a Qantas flight around 1:30pm on Friday, take in Charleville, Eulo and Nardoo station, all at a leisurely pace, and be back on the plane around 6pm on Sunday evening.

Outback Queensland… beam me up.