New South Wales - Australia
General | Travel Planning | Suggested Tours
|
Escape to the New South Wales Outback |
Turn your back on the stresses of big city life and take a trip to the wide open spaces and pure air of the New South Wales Living Outback.
Say Outback Australia and what automatically comes to mind? Most people would immediately think of Ayers Rock. Certainly Uluru, as it is known in
the local tongue, is an inspiring Australian icon - a mysterious monolith in the central Australian desert. But what is not so widely known is that there
is another Outback experience that is much more accessible to the city dweller.
The Living Outback in the heart of the New South Wales’ far west is just a three hour flight from Sydney. A fascinating region, it offers a diversity
of red-earth desert beauty and cleansing air, wildlife, history, extraordinary characters and startling artworks.
This is where miners over the past two centuries once flocked from all over the world to make their fortunes and where today artists flock to draw inspiration from the vast space and magic light.
Flying in from the big city, the first thing the visitor learns is to cast off old stereotypes about country living. Broken Hill, in the heart of the Outback, is a true oasis in the desert, a sophisticated place of friendly folk, wide streets and heritage homes; the encroaching desert kept at bay by a protective reserve which completely surrounds the city.
And what better way to get to know the place than to go down a 100-year old mine? At the Day Dream mine on the edge of town, when the temperatures soar even the kangaroos wander down into the shaft to escape the heat. Kevin White, who operates tours down the mine, explains that dust killed many of the early miners who worked in intolerable conditions, digging the ore by hand in candlelight.
Back in town again for a touch of culture. Surprisingly, there are 30 art galleries in Broken Hill and many of the artists have international reputations. The most famous of all is Pro Hart. His gallery at first sight is an unassuming building but a stroll inside reveals one of the finest private art collections in Australia. Where else in the world can the visitor inspect an original Picasso, Rembrandt or Constable at close quarters - no glass, no fence, no security guards.
This experience at Pro Hart’s Gallery is one which permeates the Outback. It’s all so open, friendly and accessible and this is what makes the region so special. Part of the experience is to visit one of the region’s fascinating National Parks. On the way, spend the night underground at White Cliffs, an opal mining town so hot that most residents choose to live underground in caves clawed out of the soft rock, known as ‘dugouts’. A strange – and cool – experience. An early start the following day, a quick fossick for opal in a lunar landscape where it’s possible to stake your very own claim, and then its time to head out into the desert.
First choice of National Park would have to be Mutawintji, which was handed back to its traditional owners in 1999 – the first national park in New South Wales to do so. Today, descendants of those first Aboriginal inhabitants guide the visitor on a special walk across rocky ridges, dry sandy creek beds and mulga-clad sandstone rock, identifying historic sites, paintings and rock engravings. Take your own water but if the going gets really rough, your guides will point out an assortment of life-saving edible bush plants and wild fruits.
On the drive back to Broken Hill, stop to slake the thirst in one of Australia’s most celebrated Outback pubs at Silverton, a ghost town with a present-day population of 47 including a well-known artist couple. Enter the Silverton Hotel and you can see why the region has been dubbed the Hollywood of the Outback. The pub walls bear testimony to a string of popular films made here, such as ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’.
Once the long-distance travelling is out of the way it’s time to get to know the locals. Take Darryl Ford, ex-miner and now a Council ranger responsible for the Living Desert Reserve just six kilometres out of town. At sunset Darryl puts out food for the wild kangaroos who come down out of the hills to nibble at slices of bread which they hold up between their front paws. Or Adelaide Demain who teaches catering skills to local Aboriginal people and once a month holds exotic food nights at her restaurant in the art gallery she owns with her painter husband.
Always charming, always a surprise, if you don’t give yourself five days in the Living Outback you’re cheating yourself. Leave with reluctance and hold onto the experience because - just three hours later - you can be back in Sydney, back in the traffic, noise and fast pace of a big city.
Getting There
Broken Hill is located 1150km west of Sydney in the centre of the New South Wales Outback. Hazelton Airlines flies to Broken Hill from Sydney every day except Saturdays. Countrylink operates daily trains to Dubbo which connect with a daily bus service to Broken Hill, while the Indian Pacific provides a direct overnight train service between Sydney and Broken Hill on Mondays and Thursdays.
WHAT TO DO
A range of heritage drives, walks and tours are on offer to enable visitors to explore Broken Hill and surrounds. The Visitor Information Centre can provide details of the diverse attractions in and beyond Broken Hill.
(Copyright New South Wales Tourism)
General | Travel Planning | Suggested Tours
Call us on 0870 1999 038 for further details
|
