Mrs. Doubt and I will be in Sydney this fall (Australian spring) for about ten days and we’re thinking of trying to schedule a trip into the interior for an “outback” experience. We’ve come to grips with the fact that we’re not going to get to see as much of Australia as we’d like, we’re not going to Ayers Rock or any of the other cities. We will be doing a day trip or two to the Blue Mtns.
We’ve seen a number of tour companies online offering tours to/out of Broken Hill. We’re ‘outdoorsy’ and active, not really that interested in history and art, more into nature, hiking and bird watching. We’d probably prefer to fly rather than drive so we don’t spend the whole trip on the road.
Any suggestions of places to go or tour companies to use?
Broken Hill is about twelve hours from Sydney by rail or road. This is a long time, but it might be short enough that it’s do-able and you get to appreciate the distances and the “nothingness”.
For driving, Australian roads aren’t as good as those in the US (and you’ll have to adapt to driving on the left), and driver fatigue is a big issue, on those gun barrel, long outback highways. So you may or my not want to do that. Rail is a good option if you want some time to sit back and watch the landscape. There is the luxury Indian-Pacific train, or the regular Countrylink service (even the latter has food and drink available). Trains from sydney to Broken Hill pass through the Blue Mountains, so you could probably combine the two into one journey.
While in the mountains, a day trip to Jenolan Caves is a must (the caves are spectacular, but there are also lots of amazing places to go hiking in the vicinity).
Or you could fly there, but that seems a bit of a waste, in a way.
Jenolan Caves is a fantastic destination. I love visiting show caves, and they’re some of the best I’ve seen. I don’t know if it qualifies as “outback”, though. You’re still in the Blue Mountains–it’s pretty lush compared to the the barren desert you might be looking for. You can visit Jenolan Caves as a daytrip from the Blue Mtns. Once you get there, you might wish you had made reservations in the Lodge. It’s a pretty cool place.
En route from Sydney proper to the Blue Mountains be sure to stop in to Featherdale Wildlife Park, it’s compact, well presented, and you get to actually walk with, see and touch the animals and birds. You will LOVE the birds there. The Sydney Aquarium is also very good, and I believe is the attached wildlife park although I haven’t been there. And Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
As for the hiking, you can have it to your hearts’ content in the Blue Mountains, as long or short as you like.
Hiking and birdwatching will be virtually nil at Broken Hill - what is it that made you pick there? It’s a mining town in the middle of the desert in the middle of a record drought, and a long way from anywhere.
Here is some bushwalking far nicer than a stroll in the desert. The Great North Walk which can actually done in bits and pieces in easy day trips from Sydney. Or the North Sydney harbour walks. And the Bondi to Maroubra walk along the coast in suburban Sydney is great as is the free walk across the Harbour Bridge.
Broken Hill is a good idea (my wife and I went there on our honeymoon), but given your limited time, I’d fly there from Sydney.
Dubbo is closer, accessible by train or bus, and worth spending a day or two at. If you go there, rent a car and go to the Western Plains Zoo. (It’s hard to get around the zoo on foot).
Admittedly, my last trip to that awesome zoo was in 1981, but they hired out bicycles (incl. tandems). Was the best method to get about the joint, IMHO.
Just a quick note on the Blue Mountains - it can be chilly at any time of year (yes, there have been Australian white Christmases there). Or not. Dress in layers. Remote areas can be cold at night at any time of year too, even after 110 degree Fahrenheit day.
Thanks so much for the replies. The Jenolan Caves sound great and we’ll definitely be checking them out.
Good question. I’m actually trying to see whether we’d get a good backcountry/outback experience, or at least that is what my wife envisions, maybe even backity-back… I picture desolation and not much else then a long ride back the same way. I’ve done my share of four wheeling and long distance driving, but your post seems to be the most blatantly honest.
Do you guys that live nearby Sydney think we could spend just as good a time kicking around the Blue Mtns. area? Would Mrs. Doubt be able to see kangaroos or wallabies? As I understand it they are not rare. I, on the other hand, will spend most of my time on vehicular bric-a-brac marveling at your various exotic late 90s HiLuxes and Utes not available stateside.
I guess overall I’m wondering if it’s silly to try and get an “outback” experience for a day or two out of Sydney?
Basically, yes. The “real” outback, to the extent it exists any more, you can only get in the centre; while Broken Hill is there it’s an exception as it’s a mining town not a natural rural community. Alice Springs is much more like it but you ruled that out in your OP. You could perhaps contemplate a Farmstay experience not too far from Dubbo (see below) for some nights, for example this one specifically mentions birdlife, and combine that with a trip to the Western Plains Zoo.
As I mentioned, if you want to meet ‘roos et al go to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. It’s in Sydney, about 1.5 hours’ drive west of the city centre. And great birds there, you will not be disappointed I don’t think. Animals like that au naturel are harder to come by, someone upthread suggested the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo (maybe 4 hours’ drive from Sydney) and that’s probably a good option. But they do have a lot of African animals there which you might find incongruous.
And for hiking (or bushwalking as we call it) areas nearer to Sydney are much better; the Blue Mountains, Royal National Park, the city-based walks that don’t ask linked upthread (Sydney is quite large for its population and we have a surprising amount of bush in and near the city) are all good and could keep you walking for a year.
It’s hard to quantify the rarity of kangaroos in terms of visibility to tourists (in general terms, the things are ubiquitous, and the population of them is higher now than at the time of European settlement).
OK, so you’re on the Straight Dope, which is a sign you’re smart enough not to expect the things hopping across the tarmac when your plane touches down in Sydney (sadly, some folks aren’t). For our purposes, let’s assume you won’t be satisfied with seeing them in captivity (though that is good if you want semi-tame ones you can see up close and even hand feed). I’ll generalise and say there are ZERO kangaroos within the Sydney basin (50 miles of the airport). I’d not call the Blue Mountains 'roo centrale either. They exist there, but it’s not known for it. Your best bet is to hire a car or get a ride in one from a local, and to do this anywhere west of the Blue Mountains (past the town of Lithgow and preferably past Bathurst). Get off the main road, get onto pretty much any dirt road anywhere, and do so at dawn or dusk. You will be almost guaranteed marsupial eye candy. Be warned though, you will be actively doing what locals try to avoid doing - these creatures* can make a nasty mess of a car, so you’d want to be driving at a very sedate pace. Scan the roadsides, as they leap out of the undergrowth with a fraction of a second’s warning. They’re none too road smart.
Short version - get yourself a couple of hours out of the city, and it’s easy to see the things, but don’t expect to see a single kangaroo in your entire visit if you don’t make any effort to. Go to them; they won’t come to you.
*Edit: the er… kangaroos, not the locals. Although, come to think of it…
There are two large national parks in the Sydney metro area: Royal National Park and Ku-ring-gai Chase. You can get to the edge of each by public transport (train or bus) from Sydney. I am sure they both have kangaroos and wallabies, though how easy it is to actually see them I don’t know. I used to catch a train every day which went past Ku-ring-gai Chase, and other similar park land further north, and I don’t remember ever seeing a kangaroo or wallaby – but those parks are so big, they must have some macropods living there.
But, even if you don’t see kangaroos there, they would both be worth visiting just to walk around.