A Broken Hill Road Trip is no doubt an iconic Australian travel experience. While we have travelled extensively throughout Australia, Broken Hill was a destination we had not visited. Yet, a visit to Broken Hill in Outback NSW was always on our travel bucket list.
Broken Hill Road Trip | A Plan Is Born
What about a Broken Hill Road Trip? When we were invited to join two other couples on a road trip to Broken Hill we didn’t hesitate. The two other couples are long term friends, but we hadn’t seen them all for a long time. So, the idea was born to all visit Broken Hill.
As many of you may know, we are big road trip fans.
Even after travelling Australia for 2 years, we still remain massive fans of road tripping. Yet, we usually travel alone. So travelling with friends on this road trip was going to be very special.
Planning for this trip was very fluid, perhaps some may say non existent. The only thing that was really planned was we were all going in caravans. Plus, a date was set for when we would be in Broken Hill – July 2019. Then bookings were made to stay at the Racecourse, Broken Hill.
Initially, it was thought we would all meet in Broken Hill. But, as happened throughout this trip, plans kept changing – at times outside anyone’s control. As it worked out, this proved to be a highlight of the trip. We all simply went with the flow, and made decisions on the go. While this may not work with every group it worked exceptionally well for us all.
About Broken Hill
Broken Hill is a remote Australian mining city.
It is located in the Far West of Outback NSW, close to the South Australian border. In fact, Broken Hill’s closest capital city is Adelaide. It is fair to say Broken Hill is a long way from anywhere.
Broken Hill Road Trip | 6 Road Trip Stops Via The Murray River.
1. Goulburn NSW | For a family farm stay
Our first stop on this epic road trip was Goulburn, on the Southern Tablelands of NSW. Many of our family members still live in the Goulburn district. We enjoyed a farm stay with relatives for two nights.
We were lucky to visit during lambing season. It was lovely to see such a good lambing season given the drought conditions (this area is experiencing a green drought).
We really began our Broken Hill Road Trip in Goulburn. This is where we met up with our friends from Queensland. It was mid winter, raining and cold. So, we simply waved at each other and hit the road. At that point in time we did not know which way we would travel to Broken Hill. We pulled into Yass for a cuppa and decided Lockhart would be our first destination.
Driving distance from Sydney – approx 195 km or 2 hours (dependant on Sydney traffic and on a good run)
2. Lockhart NSW | For Shady Verandahs, Sculpture Trail & Water Tower Mural.
We stayed at the Lockhart Caravan Park for one night. At this tiny caravan park we camped on the banks of the Brookong Creek. We enjoyed happy hour by the creek and watched the beauty of the sun setting over the water.
It was very cold. Fortunately, the caravan park has lovely big fire pits with FREE firewood. How RV friendly is that!
The next morning we enjoyed a wander around Lockhart. We were very impressed with the large shady verandahs along the Main Street.
Equally impressive were the multiple decorative iron work statues dotted around the town.
Plus the water tower mural looks fabulous.
Clearly Lockhart got a big thumbs up from us all. We were all impressed by the efforts this small town has taken to attract tourists. And in our opinion, the community has done a great job.
It was in Lockhart the decision was made to travel along the Murray River, onto Mildura, then Wentworth and onto Broken Hill. While this route had never been discussed before, it proved to be very scenic option. So, we set off towards Moama Echuca, via Deniliquin.
Driving distance from Goulburn to Lockhart – approx 327 km or 3 1/2 hours drive
3. Echuca Moama | Twin Towns Located On The Banks Of The Murray River.
Moama is the town on the New South Wales side of the Murray River, with Echuca is on the Victorian side.
We booked into the Merool Holiday Park, Moama, for 2 nights. This caravan park sits on a large bend of the Murray River. Therefore, it enjoys lots of river frontage. We walked down to the “beach” area to enjoy the sun setting over the river.
Echuca is the home to the largest collection of Paddle Steamers in the world. As you can imagine, we had no problem filling in a day inspecting the Paddle Steamers and exploring the Port of Echuca.
Our first stop was the Port of Echuca Discovery Centre. There we joined a walking tour of the Port of Echuca. This was really fun & very informative. The tour guide entertained us with wonderful stories about pioneering days and the history of the Port of Echuca in the late 1800s.
Undoubtably, an absolute must when in Echuca is a Paddle Steamer ride along the Murray River. We took a one hour ride on the the PS Alexander Arbuthnot. This paddlesteamer is 96 years old. We were in awe watching the original steam engine (late 1880s) and it’s paddle wheels at work. Equally of interest was seeing life along the Murray River. The banks of the Murray River are high and dotted with beautiful River Gums. Plus, we enjoyed looking at all the house boats moored along the River and homes along the banks. Truely, there was never a dull moment. Cost – Adult $27.00 & Concession $24.00 per person.
Driving distance from Lockhart to Moama – 250 km or nearly 3 hours.
4. Swan Hill, VIC | For More Paddle Steamers & A Great Pioneer Village
We luckily received word of mouth recommendations about what to do and where to stay in the Swan Hill area – and all proved top recommendations.
First stop was a visit to the Pioneer Village. This museum provides a glimpse into life on the Murray in the 1830 – 1930 era.
We immediately joined a guided tour of the 1876 Paddle Steamer, the PS Gem.
Then we explored many of the replica buildings (there are about 50), including church, school, shops… basically everything a community needed during this era.
Additionally, all visitors to the Pioneer Village can take a free vintage car ride and a free ride on a horse drawn coach.
After a couple of hours of exploring the Pioneer Village we still didn’t see it all. We were very impressed with the informative and helpful volunteers. All in all, we really enjoyed our visit.
Entry fee, includes 2 consecutive days – Adult – $30.00, concession – $26.50 per person.
Then we went onto the recommended pub stay at Beverford Tavern, in nearby Beverford. Here we enjoyed a lovely meal, in a refurbished pub, with very friendly staff. It was a very cold evening and sitting around the wood fire was very much appreciated.
Our third recommendation was a visit to the Andrew Pearce winery, which was on our way to Mildura. Fortunately, the Cellar Door was open at 9.30am and we stocked up on some lovely Merlot’s.
Driving distance from Moama to Beverford – 173 km or a 2 hour drive.
5. Mildura, VIC | A fabulous food and wine region
The drive along the Murray Valley continually changed and is very scenic. As we approached Mildura the scenery changed again.
Mildura and the surrounding districts is Victoria’s food bowl area. Furthermore, this area produce a large proportion of Australia’s dried fruit, grapes, citrus fruits (especially oranges), almonds, pistachios, plus various vegetables. We enjoyed pulling into roadside stalls and stocking up super fresh produce.
The weather on this trip was very cold, with three winter blasts of southerly air blowing through. While the cold weather didn’t stop us, in Mildura we were looking for indoor activities. We chose a visit to the Sunraysia Cellar Door. This was a great choice as we found a huge range of wines on offer, sourced from 22 Murray Darling wine producers. We also discovered this wine region is a major international exporter of Australian wines.
At Mildura, the Murray River looks very different. The river is wider and the banks not so high. Large paddle steamers and house boats are moored along the city banks. We enjoyed visiting the Murray wharf and surrounding parkland area.
Driving distance from Beverford to Mildura – 208 km / 2 hours 20 minutes.
6. Wentworth NSW | Where The Darling & Murray Rivers Meet
We were excited to move onto Wentworth to met up with the couple who suggested the Broken Hill Road Trip. As you can imagine we had lots to talk about.
Wentworth is another historic port. And have a guess what? To our surprise, there were more paddle steamers.
We stayed at the Willows Bend Caravan Park, where we enjoyed absolute river frontage on the Darling River.
Directly opposite our campsite was Junction Island. On one side of the island is the Darling River, and on the opposite side is the Murray River. We walked along Junction Island to see where the Darling River merges into the Murray.
Travel time between Mildura and Wentworth is 25 minutes – 33 kms.
Broken Hill Road Trip | The Last Leg From Wentworth
The last leg on our Broken Hill Road Trip was from Wentworth to Broken Hill. Wentworth is known as the “Gateway To The Outback”. And let me tell you, it was like driving through a gate. The landscape completely changed, basically as soon as we left Wentworth. From Wentworth to Broken Hill we were driving in desert country.
And, very interestingly, the desert landscape continually changed. This made it a very interesting drive.
Wild goats habitat the area. They were often grazing beside the road, so we had to be careful as we drove along.
Along the way we pulled up and got a load of wood. We were all looking forward to sitting around campfires in Broken Hill.
Travel time between Wentworth & Broken Hill – 2 3/4 hours / 268 km approx.
In conclusion, our detour on the Broken Hill Road Trip was a great success!
Without a doubt our Broken Hill Road Trip was a ripper! It was a success in every way. Admittedly, we did not take the shortest route. Nevertheless, our detour took us on a more scenic trip with far greater diversity to enjoy. Indeed, if you are travelling from Sydney, and have the time, we recommend this way as a great Broken Hill Road Trip option.
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Wishing you happy and safe travels.
From Estelle & Greg – Retirees Enjoying Travel.
I enjoyed reading this account of your adventures to Broken Hill, especially as we have also driven along some of the same routes, but always in a hurry to get from A to B. The information you share is useful such as how long it takes from town to town. Nice photos!
Thank you so very much Elizabeth for your comment. I appreciate your feedback, particularly about the comments between towns – I have never added the distance and time to travel before 😊
What a fabulous road trip and how special to share it with friends/like minded travellers. Free firewood! That’s a rarity these days! Love all of the areas you visited Estelle, it’s paddle steamer country for sure and brought back many wonderful memories for me too. Did you get to Silverton whilst you were in Broken Hill?
Hi Miriam and thanks for your lovely comment. Yes we enjoyed the most fabulous road trip with dear friends. And we were so pleased we decided to detour along the Murray. I’m pleased this post bought back many wonderful memories. And yes, of course we visited Silverton! Isn’t that a must? 😂
It looks as if you had quite the adventure. We have traveled with friends a few times and always enjoyed the experience, but 98% of the time we travel on our own. I think we’re too independent for our own good. And, traveling with others is a completely different experience.
We’d love to return to Australia one day and explore more. The country is so large our visit to Sydney and Melbourne was just a drop in the bucket but we definitely left wanting more.
I’d also love to visit the outback but you’ve got some serious creepy crawlies and I’m not sure I could handle being introduced to any of them. 😉
Thank you Patti for your comment. We too usually travel alone, and this is our preferred way to travel. But on this road trip we were delighted to be in the company of our dear friends, and we all couldn’t have got on better. It is true it makes for a very different trip.
I hope you get to return to Australia one day. Yes it is a large country, and far less populated than the USA. So, road tripping is likely more an adventure (we only did a tiny amount of road tripping in the USA in 2018). Patti, don’t be put off by the creepy crawlies. You could come and not see any?
We did a similar trip last year in our caravan and visited heaps of places along the Murray River then returned home to Queensland via Broken Hill. There is so much to see once you head inland.
Hi Kathy and thanks so much for your comment. I totally agree there is so much to see inland. The Murray River area is a delight to visit. And like you, after leaving Broken Hill we travelled north, but didn’t go as far as Queensland.
We love the Murray and that part of Australia. I’ve been to Broken Hill previously & we have driven along the river & I really enjoyed seeing the region through your eyes – fantastic pics – traveling as a group across country looks like a lot if fun & a great way to go
Hi Dave and thanks for your comment. Yes we too love the Murray River region. It was a fabulous detour to take on our way to Broken Hill. And, while we usually travel alone, travelling wi5hour dear friends got a massive thumbs up – so much fun 😃
What a fabulous post. So incredible in depth detail! I particularly enjoyed reading about Wentworth and Mildura where we have stayed and enjoy a paddle streamer trip up the Murray. I will always remember Broken Hill as we were there in a red dust storm – we had driven out to Silverton with our pushies to ride around when the wind and storm hit. We dived into the Silverton Hotel that was packed because it was Melbourne Cup Day – LOL. My horse didn’t win! Congratulations on this post I hope many people far and wide appreciate the effort it takes to produce such a masterpiece. 🙂
Hi Joycee and thanks again for leaving your lovely comment. You are too kind calling the post a masterpiece! The blog simply reflects the road trip we took and the wonderful places we visited.
You made me laugh talking about the dust storm & going into Silverton Hotel – On Melbourne Cup day! It would have been packed LOL!!! The pub is only small inside, and there is always a crowd visiting each day, without it being Melbourne Cup day. Such an iconic memory. Only in Outback Australia!
Sounds like it was a great road trip Estelle! I particularly loved the pics and info about Lockhard as I spent the first three years of my life there!
Hi Jenny & thanks for your comment. Yes we did enjoy a great road trip. Lockhart impressed us a lot, for a tiny rural town. If that is from where you originate Jenny I’m guessing you come from very good stock (as some of us say in country Australia) 👍😃
What a grand adventure, Estelle! Almost wish that I could come live in Australia for a few years. It is wonderful to travel with friends and share the experiences. I am unfamiliar with all of the places you mention, yet I am drawn to your outdoor experiences that you have shared here. I hope to visit Australia one day.
Thanks Georgina. The road trip was such fun. We love outdoor experiences and look forward to more in the future. I hope you get to Australia one day soon.