Statistically, Queensland's outback cannot really be counted as "inhabited". There is only one road leading to the border of the Northern Territory, the Barkly Highway, and not many other paved roads at all. Most of the way, the Barkly Highway crosses a completely flat and seemingly uninhabited landscape, although there might be farms beyond the horizon, larger than some small countries in Europe. The towns of the outback are either mining towns, like Mount Isa, or farming towns. Most are small and carry a strange old-times feeling - the shops are decorated like in a former communist eastern European country, and the motels and bars make a run-down impression.