How we learnt to love the Outback
AN epic 3000km inland road trip from Sydney to Adelaide is an eye-opener for a city-dwelling, sushi-loving family.
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IT was a mere 3000km from Sydney to Adelaide via Dubbo, Bourke and Broken Hill, but along the way we learnt about explorers, pioneers, bushrangers, farmers and miners who had all carved out incredible lives in this fierce but fragile landscape.
We wanted to show our two sushi-loving boys there was more to this country than beautiful beaches and city life. This was our adventure:
Day 1: Worried about fresh food in the outback, we bought a $20 crate of apples from the roadside in Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains. In our borrowed 4WD, the polystyrene squeak became our trip’s soundtrack. At Barcoos Barn Farmstay, in Perthville, near Bathurst, we slept in the original farmhouse, built from mud from the fields.
Day 2: After tucking into home-cooked bread on the veranda overlooking the train track, which would later bring us home on the Indian Pacific, it was time to feed the animals. The kids gave the chooks porridge from wooden spoons and we handed cows hay from the back of a ute.
Next stop was Bathhurst racetrack, which you can drive round for free, at 60km/h.
In Orange, we pulled into Philip Shaw’s vineyard to stock up. The chardonnay went down nicely after we’d unpacked at our cabin at the Big 4 Holiday Park in Forbes.
Day 3: Forbes, a pretty town, was home to Australia’s first official bushranger, Ben Hall. Pop into the museum to see a display about his life. His well-tended grave is in the cemetery.
North is Parkes, home to the radio telescope which sent images of Neil Armstrong on the moon around the world and featured in the film The Dish. The museum is small but fascinating. We drove on to another Big 4 holiday park in Dubbo.
Day 4: Most people spend two days at Dubbo Zoo – our schedule allowed two hours. Cycling around was great fun though.
Dubbo Gaol is a must. Packed with history, you can read about the eight people hanged there, the last in 1904.
In Bourke, four hours away, we stayed at Kidman’s Camp, a tranquil setting. The town still has a touch of romance, summed up by the “Bard of Bourke”, Andrew, who hosted an evening of outback poetry around a campfire.
Day 5: A two-hour bus tour with another proud Bourke son, Stu, taught us more about the town – where the population is about 2000 and the average house costs $75,000 – and a lot about the cotton industry – we even picked some. Then, it was time for our first experience of driving red dirt roads as we headed west by the Darling River. Louth’s population is less than 30. We were welcomed with smiles by locals sipping beers on the Shindy’s Inn porch.
Day 6: Within minutes of leaving town, we spied our first kangaroos on the road. The packet chicken burgers didn’t match the hospitality of the Irish girls running the Tilpa Inn, and they weren’t big on directions either, so it was with trepidation we raced dusk towards White Cliffs through Paroo-Darling National Park. Our underground motel, with whitewashed, craggy walls, was the most unusual of the trip.
Day 7: We thought a trip to the opal fields would be quick but hadn’t reckoned on the mining bug. A chat in the Fossickers’ Den with Brad put us in the mood and we turned up a few stones but nothing to retire on.
We joined the Barrier Highway and arrived at Broken Hill. Mobile reception returned, we spotted cafes and pulled into a smart motel, Red Earth. Later, we dined in the decadent atmosphere of the Palace Hotel, visited in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Day 8: In Kinchega National Park, again beside the Darling River, we swatted flies as we tasted billy tea and johnny cakes with an Aboriginal elder. Much of Menindee Lake is dried up, so we continued to Pamamroo where red gums stick out of the water. The Maidens Hotel, where Burke and Wills caused a scene in 1860 with carts and camels, is a good place to catch up on some history.
burkewillsmenindeemotel.com.au
Day 9: Many films have been shot in Silverton, including Mad Max 2, which has a museum dedicated to it. Day Dream Mine offers hour-long tours taking visitors 30m below surface.
Day 10: We took off early for Adelaide, a six-hour journey. Eventually the flat landscape was replaced by green hills.
Day 11, 12: Swapping servo lunches for the luxury of the Indian Pacific made our journey home sweeter. The train took the same route we’d driven but this time we could enjoy the scenery over a gin and tonic.
Waking up to the Blue Mountains was spectacular. Before we knew it, we were rolling into Sydney’s Central Station, with suitcases still covered in red dust and fabulous memories of a real Aussie adventure.
To book Indian-Pacific tickets, visit greatsouthernrail.com.au
Originally published as How we learnt to love the Outback
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