Outback Evening: Thomson River Sunset Cruise

Experience an evening of outback tradition and legend on the Starlights Cruise. Cruise down the Thomson River, enjoy a stockman’s dinner, watch a spectacular sound and light show, and end the night with tea and damper under the stars.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Thomson River - Delight in a serene sunset cruise along the magnificent Thomson River, where birds gracefully return to the riverbanks. This is Longreach’s original Thomson River Cruise and remains a must-experience for every visitor to Longreach. Capture endless photos and enjoy insightful commentary as you glide past natural wonders.
    Cruise…
What's Included
  • Dinner
  • Tea and coffee
What's Not Included
  • Alcoholic beverages
Additional Information

An evening filled with outback tradition and legend awaits.
Set sail on the magnificent Thomson River at sunset aboard one of our historic vessels. Observe the birds returning to their nests along the riverbanks and discover the local flora, fauna, and history. (Light snacks provided, bring your own alcohol)
As night descends, the boat docks at Outback…

Location
Thomson River
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(368 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Sdscuderi
Oct 11, 2025
Western Queensland has so much history to share. - What an amazing experience. I have been recommending the Starlight Cruise to family and friends since returning home. From the pickup at our Motel to the drop at the end of the night the history of area was shared. Loved the whole lot, bus trip, paddle boat, and the lovely Bush Poet lady was very entertaining. The bush tucker food, Camp oven stew, was delicious, I even bought the tea towels with the recipe for my daughter and daughter in laws, the next day at the Station Store. The movie clip of the two young gentlemen was a highlight, explaining how the Starlight Cruise Experience eventuated. Also, the history of the area was explained through a reenactment of times gone by. Western Queensland has so much history to share.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heather_m
Oct 10, 2025
A must do in Longreach - this was a wonderful afternoon out. cruise was so enjoyable and the dinner and show afterwards topped off a great day.
Review provided by Viator
Annette_l
Oct 3, 2025
My grandson enjoyed the... - My grandson enjoyed the river cruise and loved the poetry and enjoyed trying the food although he didn't eat it. He did eat the damper and went back for seconds. the team were awesome
Review provided by Viator
Allan_g
Sep 29, 2025
This was an awesome... - This was an awesome experience, very unexpected in outback Queensland. We had a great time and the entertainment was great
Review provided by Viator
Dawnb369
Sep 28, 2025
Starlight's cruise - A fun night , chilling and a beautiful setting. We really enjoyed our trip and the entertainment around the camp fire. Tea was yummy. A great fun experience - I highly recommend. Boat trip was awesome.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G3947dksharonj
Sep 26, 2025
Lovely package worth the money - Enjoyable evening with the cruise down river,seats a little uncomfortable on boat. Loved the campfire meal and movie. Even saw a possum. Pick up and drop off very convenient.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
298haydenr
Oct 5, 2025
Camp meal and presentation made up for underwhelming cruise - Cruise was underwhelming with uninteresting/overwhelming commentary and a bad audio system. I'd rather learn about the birds, turtles, ecosystem surrounding the river than a detailed recount of how the watersports club was built. However I did enjoy the camp and meals afterwards. I do think that the background music could be more reflective of the 1880s-1920s period. It would also be great if there was acknowledgement of the Iningai people, their Country, and Aboriginal stock workers in the region. Lane gave a very good presentation with great character.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R9080eujohnb
Sep 25, 2025
Lived up to the outback experience. - Thoroughly enjoyed the Starlight Cruise, dinner and entertainment. It was a true outback experience. We chose this excursion because of the paddlewheeler. The dinner was a genuine stewed steak meal, and the meat was very tender and delicious. I am very fussy with my steak and to get my approval, it has to tick all the boxes. The Bush Poetry and movie about the Bushranger Captain Starlight were also in keeping with the atmosphere of the old times and enjoyed them as well. Service and organisation was excellent and we were picked up and dropped off in comfort and efficiency. Overall it lived up to its reputation in reproducing the feeling and atmosphere of days gone by, which is exactly what we wanted. Initially, I was a bit concerned regarding the price but became to appreciate that there is quite a lot of labour and costs involved and feel it was good value for money. I have no hesitation in recommending the experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Minminlite
Sep 27, 2025
TripAdvisor info wrong - We booked this cruise based on the TripAdvisor description stating that the paddle wheeler was designed for small groups, to a maximum of 12 people. The competition's description stated it was for up to 48 people, so we chose this one as we prefer smaller groups. It was with great disappointment then that we ended up with a group of at least 40. And this turned out to be a classic example of why we don't like large groups, there's always at least one loud obnoxious clown who spoils it for everyone else. During the cruise the captain's commentary was continually drowned out by one particular voice, and that really put a dampener on the whole experience. The rest of the night was ok and loudmouth seemed to pull his head in, but there was always the concern that he would start up again, and that made it difficult to enjoy much of the evening. I don't know if the incorrect description is the fault of TripAdvisor or the tour operator, but it needs to be fixed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
812juttac
Sep 23, 2025
Great poetry recital. - Fun night out. Food was good The poet was superb, and certainly knew her stuff. Well done. Would have loved to see the projected show, but there was a malfunction with the sound.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $116
up to 8 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).