Planning to head outback? Here's some great NSW destinations which are relatively easy to reach and explore. In most cases you don't need a four-wheel drive.
They reckon the outback proper starts west of Bourke, so that's where we'll begin.
Bourke is 780 km north west of Sydney via Dubbo and Nyngan. It is worth a couple of days in its own right, with a 150 km round trip to Mt Gunderbooka, an important aboriginal art site, some beautiful nineteenth century buildings in town and many relics of its days as a riverboat port. Pick up a Bourke Mud Map tours brochure at the visitor centre.
Bourke to Tibooburra, in the north west corner of the state, is a long (420 km) lonely drive, via the village of Wanaaring. If you have never before visited an outback pub, here's where you'll get the taste.
West of Wanaaring, you cross the Bulloo River Overflow, a dry floodplain. If the area has had recent heavy rain, you won't.
Approaching Tibooburra, you'll start to see "jump ups," ancient flat topped hills, while Tibooburra itself is surrounded by weathered mounds of granite.
You can also reach Tibooburra via Broken Hill, from where you head north on the Silver City Highway, which today is a 340 km drive on a well maintained, though mostly dirt, road.
Tibooburra is well serviced with food, fuel and other supply outlets, and a National Parks office/visitor centre.
Tibooburra is the gateway to Sturt National Park, which occupies over 310,000 hectares and adjoins the SA and Qld borders. Sturt has four campgrounds with gas barbecues, drinking water and toilets.
A couple of easy half day drives cover the jump up country, gidgee woodlands and gibber plains on the eastern side of the park.
The 140 km drive to Cameron Corner, where the SA, Qld and NSW borders meet, is a beauty. You reach the eastern edge of the Strzelecki Desert on this drive, so you'll see some stunning red sandhill country.
At Cameron Corner, open the gate in the dingo fence (don't forget to close it afterwards) and head up to "The Corner Store" for a beer. Fuel and food are also available.
Bourke is also the best starting point for a trip down "The River Road" which follows the Darling River for 350 km south west to Wilcannia.
Camping by the Darling, amid beautiful old river red gums, is the main attraction on this drive. You can also wet a line, but the dreaded European carp are much more common than native species like yellowbelly these days.
Camping is tolerated by most property owners. The road runs very close to the river so it's easy to find a good spot. Just follow any side track to the right for a few hundred metres and you'll come to the riverbank. If you see a 'No Trespassing' sign on the track, go elsewhere.
You'll pass through two tiny riverside towns en route to Wilcannia. Louth has the famous Shindy's Inn, with a terrific display of photographs from the riverboat days, while the Tilpa Hotel is a corrugated iron parody of the bush pub.
The River Road continues to follow the Darling south of Wilcannia (there's another track which runs along the western bank) for 140 km to Menindee, a substantial town by bush standards where you can pick up supplies.
You can also reach Menindee from Sydney via Dubbo, Cobar and Menindee on the Great Western and Barrier Highways. Sydney-Wilcannia is 956 km.
Maiden's Hotel at Menindee is where Burke and Wills stayed in 1860 on their fateful trip to the Gulf. It has a pretty courtyard, surrounded by rooms, and meals are available.
Menindee adjoins Kinchega National Park, where the Darling flows into Menindee and Cawndilla Lakes.
The Menindee Lakes are birdwatchers and photographers paradise. The surrounding country is also home to a large population of magnificent red kangaroos.
There's some fascinating history here as well. The old Kinchega Woolshed has been faithfully restored, and the ruins of Kinchega homestead are nearby.
Kinchega has several wonderful riverside and lake shore campgrounds. The sites on the Darling are individually located on each of the river's meandering bends.
Pooncarie is 120 km south of Menindee on the road to Wentworth. Thirty kilometres south of Pooncarie, turn left and follow the track for 70 km track to Mungo National Park.
This is a mystical, desolate place where the Walls of China, a series of crescent-shaped sand dunes, rise spectacularly from the ancient dry bed of Willandra Lakes.
Mungo preserves the longest continuous record of aboriginal life in Australia - 60,000 years ago to the present.
Today, the Walls, eroded into strange, fragile formations, are a chronicle of their lifestyle, disgorging remains and artefacts as the wind blows away the layers of sand. Sunset and sunrise bring out a wild variety of colours on the Walls - take your camera and a tripod.
The Mungo visitors centre is open every day. You can stay at two campgrounds, the old shearer's quarters (beside the original 1869 woolshed) or the privately owned Mungo Lodge, adjacent to the park.
You can also reach Mungo from Sydney. It is 147 km north of Balranald, which is 852 km south west of Sydney on the Mid Western Highway via Cowra and Hay.
Important note: When it rains, many dirt roads are closed and it is an offence to drive on them. Check with local police, visitors centres or National Parks offices, or the Central Darling Council 24 hour hotline: (08) 8091-5155.
National Parks and Wildlife Service: 1300 361 967; or visit www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au Visitors Centres: Bourke 6872-2280; Tibooburra (08) 8091-3308; Wilcannia (08) 8091-5909; Menindee (08) 8091-4274; Buronga (for Mungo National Park) (03) 5021-8900.
4WD
