The New South Wales Outback 2026

After breakfast and check out, our private coach will take us the short distance to Millthorpe, in the central west of New South Wales – a picturesque and historic village classified by the National Trust that has lovingly retained its 19th century charm with its cobbled, bluestone-bordered streets and heritage buildings. Here, there’ll be time to wander the heritage village and visit the volunteer-managed and run Golden Memories Museum, a significant repository of local history, showcasing the social, agricultural, and mining heritage of the area since the town’s establishment in 1867, before heading off to the very special Old Errowanbang Woolshed for a BBQ lunch. 

A heritage-listed shearing shed built in 1886 and first used in 1888, Errowanbang is one of the most significant and unique woolsheds in Australia, recognised for its architectural innovation and historical importance to the pastoral and woolgrowing industry of colonial and 20th-century New South Wales. Part of Errowanbang Station, originally granted in 1826 to William Lawson, a key figure in crossing the Blue Mountains, it saw a record 90,000 sheep shorn in 1888. Today, it preserves historical details, such as shearers’ names, hometowns, and sheep counts scratched on beams, including a 1907 Melbourne Cup betting list and a locked clock set at three minutes to twelve to prevent workers from tampering with it. Original hessian chutes and shearers’ felt moccasins remain intact, evoking the labor-intensive past.

After lunch it’s on to Canowindra and the Ages of Fishes museum, one of only two Devonian fish fossil museums globally, the other being its sister museum in Quebec, Canada. Established in 1998 it is home to a world-class collection of 360–370-million-year-old Devonian fish fossils from the Mandagery Sandstone, and has been deemed a National Heritage site due to its international scientific significance. The story of a roadworker’s discovery in 1955 is now on the world stage! 

You’ll then continue through the towns and villages of the Central West slopes to Parkes, named after the iconic statesman Sir Henry Parkes, the Father of Federation, and home to the famous annual “Parkes Elvis Festival”, and the Parkes Observatory, fondly referred to as “The Dish”.  

After checking into our accommodation, we’ll have some time to freshen up before dinner in the restaurant of our hotel. 

Overnight: Parkes International, Parkes (B, L, D)

This morning after breakfast and check out, our coach will be on hand to provide a ‘hop on hop off’ service to enable you to visit the various museums at the Henry Parkes Centre, including one dedicated to Elvis. Don’t miss the chance to visit the iconic CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, nicknamed “The Dish” due to its role in the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing and its depiction in the 2000 Australian film The Dish. There’ll be some time to have a quick lunch at leisure (or buy snacks for the train) before transferring to the railway station where we’ll board the ‘Explorer’ train to Broken Hill.

Spectacular scenery, classic red soil and deep blue skies are a constant companion as we roll across the plains past towns like Condobolin, Ivanhoe and across the Darling River at Menindee Lakes and on to Broken Hill, arriving at our centrally located hotel around 7pm. 

Dinner tonight is at leisure. There are numerous pubs and restaurants just a short walk away and a cleansing ale may be just the ticket to settle the dust.

Overnight: Red Earth Motel, Broken Hill (B)

Today is a full day of sightseeing in and around Broken Hill. We start by heading out to Mundi Mundi Plains and Silverton, billed as Australia’s liveliest ghost town. After the arrival of gold prospectors in the 1860s, a lode of silver was discovered in 1875, and Silverton was recognised as a town in 1880. Once a vibrant centre servicing these industries and the pastoralists of the region, Silverton is best known in modern times as a movie set, being seen in several productions, including Razorback, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Flying Doctors, Dirty Deeds, and the iconic Australian blockbuster Mad Max films. From a railway perspective, the area is well remembered for the historic Silverton Tramway, a 58-kilometre-long narrow gauge railway line constructed in the late 1880’s to connect Broken Hill to South Australia. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, it served the Broken Hill mines and Silverton area until 1970, when it was closed. 

Lunch today will be at the historic Silverton Pub, where you can check out photos of the many films, TV shows and advertisements it has featured in – you might spy some famous faces! 

Back in Broken Hill we continue our tour covering the main sights of the city starting with the very moving Line of Lode Miners Memorial, where you’ll hear about the enormous impact the ‘Silver City’ had on the development of our great country, and the human cost. We’ll stop in at the Sulphide Street Railway and Heritage Museum, and then take in the array of heritage buildings, churches, hotels, miner’s cottages and modern homes that make up this fascinating city. We’ll close out the afternoon with a sunset visit to one of Broken Hill’s most popular sites, the Sculpture Symposium, a renowned collection of twelve sandstone sculptures by well-known international and Australian artists who transformed 53 tonnes of sandstone from the Wilcannia region into iconic artworks set against the dramatic outback landscape.

Dinner tonight will be at the iconic Palace Hotel, made famous by the movie “ Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”.

Overnight: Red Earth Motel, Broken Hill (B, L, D) 

This morning after breakfast and checking out, we’ll visit a couple of the excellent art galleries, including the famous Pro Hart Gallery, and stop in at the Royal Flying Doctors museum. Early lunch will be at leisure before we reunite with our coach and go off the beaten track to Menindee Lakes and Kinchega National Park located on the banks of the Darling River. 

Upon arrival in Menindee, we’ll check in to our motel accommodation before we head out for a sunset Wetlands cruise on the incredible ‘Menindee lakes’, a spectacular lake system more than three times the size of Sydney Harbour. Originally a series of nine natural, shallow ephemeral lakes that filled during floods and drained back into the Darling, they were modified in the 1950s and 1960s by the NSW Government with weirs, levees, canals, and regulators to create a managed storage system. Completed in 1968, the system primarily serves to supply water to Broken Hill, support irrigation, stock, and domestic needs for farms and orchards (e.g., grapes, rockmelon, tomatoes, apricots) along the lower Darling, and supplement the Murray River system under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. 

Our boat, the River Lady, is a purpose built vessel designed with a shallow draft to facilitate the access required to fully appreciate the abundant bird life and other natural wonders of this extraordinary water system. Upon our return to town, we’ll all head across the road to the Maidens Hotel for a good old pub dinner together.  

Overnight: Burke and Wills Menindee Motel (B, D)

After breakfast provided by the local CWA, we’ll depart Menindee and head south, following the course of the Darling River to Pooncarie and on to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Lake Mungo, one of the most significant archaeological sites in the world. Situated within Mungo National Park, this dry lakebed, part of a chain of 17 ancient lakes, offers a profound window into Australia’s Indigenous history, human evolution, and environmental change, and is best known for the discovery of Mungo Lady (1969) and Mungo Man (1974), the oldest known human remains in Australia, dated to around 42,000 years ago, recognising both the world’s oldest known ritual cremation (Mungo Lady) and burial (Mungo Man). The site has revealed artefacts like stone tools, ochre, hearths, and middens, indicating continuous habitation for over 50,000 years. Evidence of fishing, hunting (e.g., kangaroos, wallabies), and gathering (e.g., emu eggs, mussels) showcases a resilient culture adapted to a once-lush environment. 

Upon arrival, we’ll enjoy lunch in the restaurant at Lake Mungo Lodge while we wait for our rooms to be ready. After checking in, we’ll meet our expert guide and embark on an exploration of this incredibly special area, including watching the sunset at the captivating “Mungo lunette” (Walls of China), a 33-km crescent-shaped dune, home to most of the artefacts, uncovered by centuries of erosion exposing the ancient layers.

Back at the lodge we’ll enjoy a hearty dinner and a relaxing evening in the heart of the isolated NSW Outback.

Overnight: Lake Mungo Lodge, Lake Mungo (B, L, D)

This morning after breakfast and check out, we leave Lake Mungo and travel south to the border of Victoria and the vibrant city of Mildura. We’ll check out some local sights along the way into town and arrive in time for you to have enough time to explore the town on foot and have some lunch at leisure before boarding a relaxing mid-afternoon cruise on the mighty Murray River. Australia’s longest river at 2,508 km, the Murray is a vital lifeline of the Murray-Darling Basin, spanning New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia and the traditional lands of over 40 Indigenous nations, holding profound cultural, spiritual, and economic significance, with evidence of human habitation for over 40,000 years. 

Upon our return to town, we’ll check in to our hotel and enjoy some free time to relax before regrouping for dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight: Quality Hotel Mildura Grand, Mildura (B, D)

We’ll be off early this morning on our journey to Griffith, stopping first in Balranald for a morning coffee break and a look at the Murrumbidgee River, one of the Murray’s major tributaries, before getting to Hay in time for lunch and a shearing demonstration at Shear Outback. Then it’s a bit of an exploration of this important colonial city, significant first as a transport hub for the river trade and later in the nineteenth century, the railway. Hay was significant for another reason too. In May and June 1940, Winston Churchill’s government detained thousands of ‘enemy or dangerous aliens,’ previously determined not to be a risk, in the belief that this would stop any spies among them from forming a ‘fifth column’ in the event of an invasion by Germany. Most were German or Austrian, and most were Jewish, having fled to Britain in the 1930s to escape Hitler’s Reich. They were to be interned in Britain or deported to Canada or Australia, where they would be held for the duration of the war. 1,984 of these poor souls were interned at the Hay Internment & Prisoner of War Camp. While many of these men survived the camp and went on to become valuable members of the Australian community, Churchill later described the arrest and internment of these men, now commonly known as the ‘Dunera boys’, as ‘a deplorable mistake’. 

After leaving Hay, we’ll pause for a leg stretch at Darlington Point, a quiet little historic town on the Murrumbidgee. Like many destinations in the Riverina, ‘The Point’ began its life as a river-crossing town before being developed into an agricultural hub, producing fruit, vegetables, grains and rice.

Upon our arrival in Griffith we’ll take a short city tour, check in to our hotel for some time to relax and freshen up before a short walk to a popular local restaurant for our special farewell dinner including drinks. 

Overnight: Gem Hotel, Griffith (B, L, D)

This morning after an early breakfast and checking out, we’ll walk across the road to the railway station and settle into our first class seats on board the Explorer train for our journey back to Sydney. Over the course of this journey, we’ll traverse a great chunk of the state, with the changing landscape through your window revealing the extraordinary nature of NSW. Lunch can be purchased onboard at leisure. 

We’ll arrive in Sydney in the late afternoon, where we’ll say goodbye to our fellow travellers and new-found friends until the next great journey together. 

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