Outback New South Wales

The Far West of the state is the north western Outback part of New South Wales, Australia. The area is large and the population small: much of the area is arid land.

Summers are blazing hot and dry, and if the sun doesn’t get you, the flies will, so the best time to visit is between May and October. Winters can be surprisingly cold, though, and even a small amount of rain will close most unsealed back roads. Occasional flooding can close roads for days at a time.

Distances are huge. Even on main roads, towns can be 200km apart. On the back roads, you can drive all day and not see another vehicle.

This is a great experience of itself, but it comes with the risk that a breakdown will strand you for some hours, at least, and it should come as no surprise that you won’t be able to use your mobile (cellular) phone to call for help. It is always important to have filled up your car so that it has at least 350 km worth of petrol (gas) in it and you should always carry plenty of water supplies.

The towns are also generally very small, and have limited facilities. If you’re very lucky, there may be some live music at the local club, but generally, life in these remote areas tends to be very quiet. On the other hand, the scenery is exceedingly beautiful, and there’s plenty of it.

Lightning Ridge is a small mining town in the far north-western corner of the Australian state of New South Wales, best known for its opal industry.

Broken Hill is an historic mining city in the Far West (Outback) of the Australian state of New South Wales. Mining has occured throughout the entire life of Broken Hill since its founding in 1883. Australia’s largest mining concern BHP Billiton has it’s origins here with the initials BHP standing for “Broken Hill Proprietary”. The mining industry has declined in recent years however it still plays an important part in the story of the town with many tourist attractions associated with mining. The other main reason to visit Broken Hill is for the artists who have called the city home. There are many galleries around the city that are worth visiting.

White Cliffs is a small opal mining town in the Far West (Outback) region of the Australian state of New South Wales. White Cliffs can be reached from Wilcannia via a 100km sealed road. It is also possible to cross from Broken Hill via unsealed back roads.

Cities and Major Towns of Outback New South Wales

• Bourke
• Brewarrina
• Broken Hill
• Cobar
• Condoblin
• Lightning Ridge
• White Cliffs
• Wilcannia

Things to See at Outback New South Wales

• See the sunset in the outback, just out of town. There are a few favourite pieces of high ground where the sun looks like it drops off the end of the world. Truly spectacular.

• Miner’s Memorial. Located on the top of the mullock heap on the edge of the CBD is the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial and Visitors Centre.

• Pro Hart Gallery
• Mine tours. You can go underground in the mining shaft and get a real experience of mining.
• Cobar has an interesting mining museum on the highway at the eastern end of town. It covers much of the history of the town and its people, and will give you an idea of how hard life was when the first settlers arrived in the 19th century.
• The Cobar meteorological office is open to visitors most days, and if you arrive at around 10 am you’ll see the daily release of a weather balloon. The staff are friendly and happy to talk about their work.