Unforgettable: Australia's 10 coolest outback towns you must visit

Coober Pedy, South Australia

Deep in the South Australian outback, Coober Pedy just so happens to be the opal mining capital of the world. If you want to try your own luck, there's a giant rubble heap in the centre of town you can rummage through – several opals have been found here. But Coober Pedy is most notable for being so hot that most people live underground in dugout cave homes. Some are open to visitors, but none are more spectacular than the subterranean Serbian Orthodox Church. See cooberpedy.com

Exmouth, Western Australia

The gateway to the Ningaloo Reef sits all alone at the end of a thirsty red dirt peninsula. In recent years, as swimming with whales and manta rays has joined the aquatic animal snorkelling opportunities once limited to whale sharks, Exmouth has started to become a proper town rather than a functional service centre. The resorts have upped their game and the Whalebone Brewing Company has brought in craft beer. The focus, though, is still on getting in the water with the big boys. See australiascoralcoast.com

Longreach, Queensland

Of all Queensland's outback towns, Longreach packages what it has together in the most tourist-friendly manner. There are two top notch attractions in the Qantas Founders Museum and the Australian Stockman's Hall Of Fame. There are also genuinely interesting accommodation options, such as the glamping at the Mitchell Grass Retreat. To top it off, Outback Pioneers offers a range of fun tours, whether Thomson River cruises or charging along dirt tracks on a stagecoach. See outbackpioneers.com.au

Winton, Queensland

If you like your outback towns a little weirder, Winton does the job nicely. The Royal Theatre is one of only two open-air theatres in the country, the Musical Fence is a wire fence that makes melodies when banged and twanged and Australian Age of Dinosaurs shows off the hundreds of dino fossils that have been found nearby. The highlight is the Waltzing Matilda Centre, however. Possibly the only museum in the world devoted to a poem, this tells the tale of how Banjo Paterson's poem became an unofficial national anthem after being set to music on the nearby Dagworth Station. See matildacentre.com.au

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kalgoorlie may be a little rough around the edges, but this is no fly-in, fly-out mining town. The town centre is lined with goldrush-funded heritage buildings, while the Museum of the Goldfields and Hannan's North Tourist Mine offer great insights into gold-digging, past and present. It's also the only place you can legally play Two-Up outside of Anzac Day.

Kalgoorlie's big attraction, though, is the Super Pit, one of the biggest open cast mines on earth. Kalgoorlie Tours takes you into the pit on a bus, which is dwarfed by the giant yellow diggers spiralling down into a staggeringly enormous hole in the ground. See kalgoorlietours.com.au

Katherine, Northern Territory

Primarily seen as a hopping off point for gorge cruises in Nitmiluk National Park, Katherine has a lot more to offer if you stay for a couple of nights. Try the Katherine Hot Springs for thermal bathing, the Katherine Outback Experience for bushmanship demos and the Top Didj Cultural Experience for Aboriginal art and insight. Oh yeah, and Katherine Gorge is pretty darned impressive, too. See visitkatherine.com.au

Charleville, Queensland

In the south-west of Queensland, Charleville provides an intriguing mix of experiences. The historic Corones Hotel ticks the heritage box, the Cosmos Centre offers space research and stargazing and the WWII Secret Base deals in war stories.

There's also a Flying Doctors base with a visitor centre, while South West Air runs scenic flights over the outback landscape. See outbackqueensland.com.au

Broome, Western Australia

Broome is so established as a resort town that we don't instinctively think of it as outback. One look at the red pindan dirt in the cliffs should provide ample reminder, as should a day trip up the Dampier Peninsula. But what makes Broome so great is that it is so unusual. You can go from riding camels down Cable Beach to seeing dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point, then drink fruitily tropical beers at the Matsos Brewery and learn about the town's pearling industry aboard the historic Pearl Luggers.

Disclosure: David Whitley has been the guest of Tourism Australia and the state tourism boards.

See also: Australia's weird, little-known third mainland territory

See also: Ten things I learned on a road trip from Melbourne to Sydney