One pub. Two people. Hundreds of kilometres of outback highway. Thousands of stories.

Lester and Val Cain are the sole residents of Middleton in western Queensland and, despite being nearly 170 kilometres from the nearest town, they keep busy.

"[Running the pub] is a bit of hard work and a lot of talking," Val said.

Travellers driving the Kennedy Developmental Road between Boulia and Winton could be forgiven for thinking they're passing through the setting for an old Western movie.

That is, until the 143-year-old hotel breaks through the distant mirage.

The Middleton Hotel is a long way from the nearest towns. ( ABC Rural: Melanie Groves )

Middleton was built as a changing station for Cobb & Co horses in the 1800s, but now the hotel, a campground (nicknamed the Middleton Hilton), and a disused dance hall are all that's left.

Tourists, predominately grey nomads, are the main patrons of the pub, where locals are now few and far between as cattle properties expand and stations need fewer staff.

The pub offers a cold beer and hot meal to those passing through.

Phil Duncan has spent the past 10 years on the road with his caravan and said the Middleton pub was a favourite place to stop.

"The hospitality has always been exceptional. I guess it's a typical outback pub," he said.

"It's a good feel-good place to be."

The pub was built as a changing station for the Cobb & Co postal service. ( ABC Rural: Melanie Groves )

Land of the Min Min light

While the landscape and pub look like something out of a movie — and several films have been shot in the region over the years — Lester and Val said the reality was far more ordinary.

Even though, if pressed, they have one or two ghost stories to share.

Our best stories in your inbox Subscribe to Rural RoundUp: Get our best stories from rural and regional Australia every Friday.

Val said the only times the old pub felt haunted was the night before major events, like a near miss when a truck nearly crashed into the building.

"I usually hear noises … just rattling, you know, doors opening and shutting.

"Last night a tap kept turning on, and I thought, 'Oh, don't tell me something's going to happen'.

"It doesn't scare me though."

The open plains are also renowned for sightings of the Min Min lights, an unexplained light phenomenon with a history in Indigenous stories since long before European settlement.

Lester and Val Cain say they do have a few spooky stories to share. ( ABC Rural: Melanie Groves )

Lester said while he hadn't spotted Min Min lights at the pub, in years gone by he'd seen them several times while working cattle nearby.

"I suppose we should believe Dr Karl [Kruszelnicki]," he said when explaining his theory behind them.

"He maintains when you get a sudden change in density in the air, like if you're walking along and come through a bit of cold air, he maintains that can deflect light, and this light is coming from 40 or 50 kilometres away."

Highway robbery

The influx of strangers can have its own problems for such a remote outpost, as Lester remembered a robbery gone wrong.

"I once had a bloke pinch my car from out the front of the pub," he said.

The short chase that ensued has since become pub legend, a story Lester recounts with sincerity, despite the outrageousness of the tale.

"We went around the back and got my son, and we jumped in the helicopter and went down the road and got in front of him," he said.

"We blew a bit of dust and he pulled up, I got out and walked over.

"And I said, 'Righto mate, jump over, I'm driving', and I brought the car back."

After nearly two decades running the remote pub, Lester and Val are nearing retirement. ( ABC Rural: Melanie Groves )

The man had allegedly arrived at the pub in a stolen vehicle that was having engine issues.

"So we put a bit of pepper in the radiator and patched it up a bit, gave him 20 litres of water and sent him on his way," Lester said.

"There was a German tourist couple here at the time and they're saying to me: 'He stole your car and you're still helping him?'

"And I said, 'Well, I want to get rid of him, and I've got to fix his car if I want to get rid of him'."

They alerted police in Winton after the man left and the alleged car thief was eventually caught.

The future of Middleton Hotel

Lester and Val are the first to admit they won't be able to keep running the pub forever, and are now speaking to parties interested in buying the historic hotel.

"Old age has caught up with me … and I think our days of running the pub are about gone," Lester said.

"We'll sell the pub, someone will buy it, and it will go on."

He's optimistic the pub will remain relevant as it is situated along the highway that cuts through Queensland en route to Alice Springs.

"It won't be long until the road will be bitumened right across to Alice Springs, and when that happens the trucks will come this way and there ought to be more passing trade."

Several movies have been shot in the area's spectacular surrounds. ( ABC Rural: Melanie Groves )

But what will retirement look like for a couple who have spent years running one of Australia's most remote pubs?

"What are we going to do, read a book or something? I don't know. I don't know how we're going to put our days in," Lester said.

"I guess retirement to me would be the end of an era; I don't really see it as something to look forward to."

But the pub's popularity with tourists remains somewhat of a mystery to Lester, despite running it for the past 14 years.