The Living Desert, Broken HillCredit: Destination NSW
Man watching the sunset from The Living Desert Reserve in Broken Hill.
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Renew your love of art and discover a thriving gallery scene; explore the history of the region on an eye-opening heritage tour; ignite your sense of wonder with an unforgettable stargazing experience; recharge in the iconic Priscilla Suite or renew your view and sleep beneath your feet in an underground motel.
Recharge in the Priscilla Suite
Broken Hill has been associated with drag since the Australian movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was released in 1994. Scenes were filmed in the historic Palace Hotel, and you can book the same room that the characters stayed in, which has been renamed the Priscilla Suite and decorated flamboyantly. The pub has regular drag bingo nights, and each September the best queens from around Australia descend on the town for the Broken Heel Festival. Mad Max 2, released in 1981, was also shot around Broken Hill. Visit the Mad Max Museum in Silverton, a 20-minute drive to the north-west.
Discover outback art
The Broken Hill region has a long history of producing and attracting artists, inspired by the surreal landscape. Two of the best known painters were Pro Hart and Jack Absalom, both of whom have galleries in Broken Hill. The Willy Nilly Art Gallery houses the paintings of local artist Amanda Johnson, and the Broken Hill Regional Galley has an excellent calendar of exhibitions, a highlight of which is the annual Maari Ma Indigenous Art Awards, displayed between February and April. In Wilcannia, a two-hour drive northeast of Broken Hill, the Queens Head Hotel has been transformed into a gallery.
Head to the Living Desert
Photography enthusiasts will love capturing the golden light in the Broken Hill area — especially at the Living Desert State Park, with its 12 sandstone artworks created by artists from all over the world. Also in the reserve is the John Simons Flora and Fauna Sanctuary: 180 hectares of native plants and wildlife, with a cultural trail and Sturt’s desert pea wildflower display. You can stay overnight in the park at the Starview Campsite.
Explore an ancient history
Aboriginal culture is strong in the Broken Hill region: the Wilyakali people have occupied the lands around Broken Hill for thousands of years, while the Barkandji people are from the lower Darling River and Menindee Lakes. Explore Mutawintji National Park with Aboriginal-owned and operated Mutawanji Heritage Tours. Half-day tours visit restricted-access sites featuring different styles of Aboriginal art, including rock engravings and ochre stencils, and you can combine a tour with a bush tucker or art workshop.
Broken Heel Festival 2017 Credit: Destination NSW
Glamourous hosts Philmah Bocks and Art Simone roll through Main Street, Broken Hill during the Broken Heel Street Parade.
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Broken Heel Festival 2017 Credit: Destination NSW
Glamourous hosts Philmah Bocks and Art Simone roll through Main Street, Broken Hill during the Broken Heel Street Parade.
Mutawintji National Park, Mutawintji Credit: Destination NSW
Mutawintji National Park tour guide Keanu Bates showing visitors Aboriginal rock art at Mutawintji Historic Site.
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Mutawintji National Park, Mutawintji Credit: Destination NSW
Mutawintji National Park tour guide Keanu Bates showing visitors Aboriginal rock art at Mutawintji Historic Site.
Dive deep underground at White Cliffs
The outback is opal country, and the oldest commercial opal field is at White Cliffs, a small town about a three-hour drive north-east of Broken Hill, known for its ‘pineapple’ opals with a spiky shape. Many dwellings here have been built underground to escape the heat. A White Cliffs Bus Tour will give you a good overview of the town and its history. If you want a subterranean sleep, stay at the White Cliffs Underground Motel, which provides a honeycomb of whitewashed rooms.
Soak up the night skies
Outback skies are something to behold. Make sense of what you see with Outback Astronomy. Just outside Broken Hill, the venue offers Sky Shows that introduce you to stars and constellations through knowledgeable guides. You can also stay in a glamping tent made for two (loan of binoculars included), and join a Dinner and Sky Show event, such as the Moon Graze, which combines dinner at the on-site Sky Dome Café with telescope and binocular gazing at the full moon.
Satiate your hunger
The Silly Goat café is an on-trend spot for breakfast, with a frequently changing menu that might include granola bowls and smoked salmon bagels. Bread comes from the nearby Sufi Bakery. Trinders Restaurant at The Astra has a modern Australian menu as well as more casual tapas and gourmet pizza. It’s also home to the Red Lush cocktail bar. You’ll find upmarket pub fare at The Palace Hotel and The Broken Hill Pub. For a classic Aussie milk bar, head to Bells Milk Bar — it’s been open since 1892 and much of the décor remains the same as it was in the 1950s.
Dream outback dreams
In Broken Hill, stay in a stone miner’s cottage at A Miner’s Rest, enjoy deluxe or superior rooms at the Art Deco Royal Exchange Hotel, sleep at The Astra, in a restored 1890s heritage building in the centre of town, or in a restored 1911 church: Broken Hill Outback Church Stay. The Broken Hill Outback Resort just out of town has spa cabins, caravan and camping sites, a bistro and restaurant.
You could also stay at the iconic Silverton Hotel, 20 minutes out of town, or at Eldee Station farm stay, 45 minutes north of Broken Hill. The historic homestead Bindara Station is two hours south of Broken Hill.
Or spend a night or two in the region’s national parks. In Paroo-Darling National Park, three hours north-east of Broken Hill, explore the Darling River and stay in the Coach and Horses bush camp. The Kinchega Shearer’s Quarters in Kinchega National Park, an 80-minute drive south-east of Broken Hill, offer basic but air-conditioned guest rooms and a fascinating insight into Australia’s pastoral history.
Outback Astronomy, Broken Hill Credit: Destination NSW
Couple star gazing beneath the Milky Way at Outback Astronomy, Broken Hill.
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Outback Astronomy, Broken Hill Credit: Destination NSW
Couple star gazing beneath the Milky Way at Outback Astronomy, Broken Hill.
Silverton Hotel, Silverton Credit: Destination NSW
A vintage Mad Max inspired VW Beetle outside the Silverton Hotel in Outback NSW.
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Silverton Hotel, Silverton Credit: Destination NSW
A vintage Mad Max inspired VW Beetle outside the Silverton Hotel in Outback NSW.
More Inspirational Stories
Look At Me Now Headland, Emerald BeachCredit: Destination NSW
See wildlife in a whole new way in New South Wales.
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NSW’s animals are as welcoming as its locals. From kangaroos to snoozing koalas — and everything furry or finned in between — Australia’s wild animals are as unforgettable as the land they call home. Here’s where to find these incredible creatures in their natural habitat across New South Wales.
See kangaroos by the sea
Thrill to the sight of kangaroos, one of Australia’s most iconic native animals, in the wild all across Country NSW. Keep an eye out for eastern grey kangaroos at beautiful Diamond Head Beach in Crowdy Bay National Park on the Barrington Coast, a 3.5-hour drive north of Sydney. Let the unforgettable sight of a mob of ’roos backdropped by the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean put a spring in your step as you stroll along the 1.6km loop trail at the Look At Me Now Headland in the Moonee Beach Nature Reserve, at Coffs Harbour on the Mid North Coast. And refresh with a dip in the ocean as curious eastern greys look on from grassy clearings at Depot Beach and Pebbly Beach in Murramarang National Park, a four-hour drive from Sydney on the spectacular NSW South Coast.
Gaze up at koalas
Discover the eucalypt forests around eastern NSW and you may well spot a koala snoozing among the gum-trees. Marvel at these tree-dwelling marsupials from viewing platforms in the stunning bushland at Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, less than an hour’s drive from Newcastle, or three hours north of Sydney. Then settle into your four-star glamping tent, studio room or deluxe suite at the sanctuary for a night among these iconic creatures. Head to Guula Ngurra National Park, an easy two-hour drive south of Sydney in the Southern Highlands, to hike through some of the 3,358 hectares of protected koala habitat in the recently created park (Guula Ngurra means “Koala Country” in the local Gundungurra Aboriginal language). Or hone your spotting skills at Narrandera Koala Reserve, around an hour’s drive from the regional town of Griffith in the Riverina region in the state’s southwest, where more than 200 koalas live among river red gums.
Dive in with wild dolphins
Come fin to fin with wild dolphins with Dolphin Swim Australia in Port Stephens, just an hour’s drive north of Newcastle or three hours from Sydney. Feel a surge of adrenaline as a catamaran tows you through the ocean among these playful creatures. Prefer to stay dry? See Port Stephens’s resident pod of bottlenose dolphins, many of them so friendly that the locals know them by name, on an outing with Imagine Cruises. Or head south for close encounters with dolphins in sheltered Jervis Bay, on the NSW South Coast, with Dolphin Watch Cruises Jervis Bay and Jervis Bay Wild.
Shoal Bay, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Dolphins swimming in Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.
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Shoal Bay, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Dolphins swimming in Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.
Whale watching, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A whale breaches out of the water off Sydney waters.
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Whale watching, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A whale breaches out of the water off Sydney waters.
Let whales stir your spirit
Marvel at the majesty of humpback whales as they travel along the New South Wales coastline from May to November each year. Embrace the sublime as you witness some of the 40,000 humpback and southern right whales that make their way along on the ‘Humpback Highway’ from Antarctica to the warm waters of their breeding grounds in the north. Clamber aboard a boat for an unforgettable day of whale watching in Sydney, join a cruise from seaside towns or find the perfect vantage point on land to see these magnificent creatures leap from the water all along the NSW coastline.
Meet a Tasmanian devil
Get up close with free-roaming Tasmanian devils without leaving mainland Australia at Aussie Ark’s wildlife sanctuary in the rugged Barrington Tops, a five-hour drive northeast of Sydney. Feel yourself moved by the stories you’ll hear on Aussie Ark’s 2.5-hour guided Devils in the Wild tour — the team behind this conservation initiative is breeding a wild population of the endangered carnivores to ensure their survival. And be astonished as you see Tasmanian devils thriving in the wild and, if you visit in breeding season, dote on super-cute devil joeys exploring their surroundings.
Play with seals
Come alive with a sense of joy at Montague Island Nature Reserve, a revered wildlife destination that’s home to little penguins, a huge colony of Australian fur seals and 90 types of birds just 9km off the town of Narooma, in the South Coast’s Eurobodalla region. Be delighted by their playfulness as you discover why friendly fur seals are called the puppies of the sea on a seal snorkel with Narooma Charters. Or delight to the sight of penguins waddling back to their nests after a day of fishing on a sunset tour with Montague Island Discovery Tours.
Montague Island Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Be immersed in wildlife experiences off Montague Island.
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Montague Island Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Be immersed in wildlife experiences off Montague Island.
Be captivated by a platypus
Be rewarded for your patience when you spot a platypus in the wild: while platypus inhabit a number of regions in NSW, these shy little icons can be very tricky to find. Increase your chances by visiting Bombala, about an hour’s drive from Cooma in the Snowy Mountains — it’s known as ‘Platypus Country’ because a large number of these mysterious monotremes (egg-laying mammals) live there. Practise mindfulness at the Bombala Platypus Reserve, 4.5km outside of town, where a viewing platform over the river makes spotting them easier. Or try a guided Platypus Walk with Vision Walks Eco-Tours near Byron Bay, on the far North Coast.
Bliss out with turtles
Discover the underwater wonderlands of the North Coast at Cook Island, less than 1km offshore from Fingal Head, just south of Tweed Heads on the far North Coast of New South Wales, to encounter astonishing numbers of green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles. Deepen your respect for the incredible beauty of the underwater world on a memorable snorkelling tour with local operators such as Watersports Guru or Cooly Eco Adventures.
Take off to an island of seabirds
Look at the skies with awe as hundreds of thousands of seabirds wheel above you on Lord Howe Island, 700km northeast of Sydney in the Pacific Ocean. Fill your diary with sightings of the 130-odd permanent and migratory bird species found on the country’s premier bird-watching destination. Come in winter to see providence petrels circle in spectacular courtship rituals during their breeding season, while shearwaters return in awe-inspiring flocks at dusk each day from spring to late autumn (September to May).