Roam across New South Wales’s wild west on the Silver City Highway, a 683km stretch of road linking the Murray River town of Buronga to Broken Hill and beyond to the state’s northern border. Once best suited to off-road vehicles, the highway is now sealed all the way. So no matter what kind of car – or campervan – you drive, head west for an unforgettable outback adventure.

Day 1: Buronga to Broken Hill 

Contemplate the way the landscape changes from lush farmland to the red earth of the outback on the three-hour drive from the NSW border town of Buronga to the ‘Silver City’ of Broken Hill that gives the highway its name. 

Just outside of Buronga, commune with the oldest known mallee eucalypt, believed to be about 2,500 years old, at the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens – the first semi-arid botanic gardens in the southern hemisphere. Refresh with a glass of just-squeezed orange juice after a tractor-train tour through the citrus orchards at nearby Orange World. Or make a detour to Outback Almonds, around a 50-minute drive from Buronga, to join a weekday morning farm tour complete with almond tastings and morning tea.

When you arrive in ‘Silver City’, stop in at the Broken Hill Visitor Information Centre and pick up a map of the Heroes, Larrikins & Visionaries Trail to follow in the footsteps of this mining town’s most colourful characters. Pause for a moment of reflection at the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial, a dramatic structure that commemorates more than 800 miners who perished on the job in the area.

Get a sense of the rich culture of the region via works by Aboriginal and other local artists at the Broken Hill City Art Gallery. Savour the visual feast of iconic outback artist Pro Hart’s painted Rolls-Royce and his vivid paintings and sculptures at the Pro Hart Gallery. Venture 9km out of town to the Living Desert State Park to marvel at the trail of 12 sandstone sculptures dotted around the sandy landscape.

A trip to Broken Hill isn’t complete without a visit to Bells Milk Bar, where you can sip sodas, spiders (ice-cream floats) and milkshakes amid lovingly restored 1950s decor. And after appearing in the iconic film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Palace Hotel now has a glamorous Priscilla Suite that’s fit for a drag queen, along with more traditional rooms. (Note that for a couple of weeks each September, the Palace is usually booked out by visitors attending the Broken Heel Festival, which celebrates the Priscilla movie with a glittery drag festival.)

Surround yourself with other reminders of yesteryear by booking one of Broken Hill Heritage Cottages’ historic properties, such as its centrally located Miner’s Cottage. Take a comfortable cabin at the Broken Hill Outback Resort, or ease your campervan or caravan into a powered site at the resort’s caravan park. 

Day 2: From Broken Hill to Tibooburra  

Watch the outback roll by as you head towards Corner Country in the far northwest of the state. The drive to the iconic outback town of Tibooburra will take around 3.5 hours. Keep an eye out for wild goats and their cute kids – if you’re lucky you may even spot an emu or two. 

Stretch your legs and grab a bite to eat at Packsaddle Roadhouse, 175km from Broken Hill. Soak up the atmosphere of the roadhouse’s outback-themed dining room, with its corrugated iron, lights decorated with cowboy hats and old saddles adorning the walls. (If you haven’t filled up in Broken Hill, this is the only fuel stop along the way to Corner Country.)

Imagine gold rush life in the 1880s in the tiny town of Milparinka as you visit the heritage precinct, just over an hour (120km) from the roadhouse. Refresh with a cold beer and a tasty pub meal at the Milparinka Hotel (also known as the Albert Hotel), which opened its doors in 1882 and is the last of the four gold rush hotels still standing in town. You can also overnight here in the original rooms or motel-style cabins. Alternatively, spend the night in bunk-house accommodation or take advantage of the powered caravan sites at Milparinka Caravan Park, which adjoins the Milparinka Heritage Precinct.

If you’ve pushed on to Tibooburra, enjoy a sundowner at the Family Hotel as your eyes dart from wall to wall adorned in colourful murals by renowned Australian artists who came to stay in the 1960s, including Russell Drysdale and Clifton Pugh. Then check in to one of the Family Hotel’s pub rooms and motel rooms. Or get a taste of outback homestead life at the Mount Wood Homestead in Sturt National Park, which offers self-catering accommodation from March to November each year just 20 minutes out of Tibooburra.

Spare a thought for Captain Charles Sturt and his expedition team in Tibooburra’s Pioneer Park when you see a replica of their whaleboat. They dragged the original whaleboat all the way from Adelaide so they could cross the inland sea before realising it didn’t exist. 

Day 3: Exploring the Tibooburra area 

If you’re travelling in a car that can leave sealed roads behind (ideally a four-wheel-drive), now’s the time to explore the far western corner of NSW. Just remember to check the conditions before you set off for the day, as some roads can be cut off in wet weather. 

Look for wedge-tailed eagles soaring above and red kangaroos and emus amid the 450-million-year-old granite boulders and rolling red sand dunes in Sturt National Park, which stretches out from just outside Tibooburra to the NSW northern border. Seek out the park’s section of one of the world’s longest structures, the historic Dingo Fence that stretches more than 5,000km. Built in the 1880s the fence was designed to keep dingos out of sheep grazing territory. 

See another side of the outback at the 153,415-hectare Narriearra Caryapundy Swamp National Park, a 70-minute drive east of Tibooburra. A national park created by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service’s largest-ever private land purchase, Narriearra Caryapundy Swamp is home to a series of sprawling, semi-permanent lakes filled with waterbirds.

Near the entrance to the park you can wander around the ruins of a 19th-century hotel on the Whittabrinnah heritage walk, then thrill to the sight of pink-eared ducks, blue-billed ducks, black-winged stilts and Australasian grebes from the park’s Caryapundy tank bird hide.

Be prepared for visiting remote outback NSW national parks by checking the latest updates from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service before you set off.