Australian Road Trips – The Newell Highway

I like my good Road Trips – it’s pretty much mandatory when it comes to travelling anywhere. Even if you do come across some of the Worst Drivers In The World or you’re silly enough to go down the World’s Most Dangerous Road like yours truly.

But I do like escaping the city now and then for a drive down the country highways and coming across the interesting sights and characters around the place. You would have seen some previous articles about the Newell Highway highlighting some of the quirky things to do along the way – and this posts pieces them together plus a bit more guff.

Road Trips Video – The Newell Highway in Australia

Anyway, here is a short clip I did about the Newell Highway just for a quick taste:

Here is a bit more stuff about the towns along the way. Feel free to click on the links for more information as my summary below is for people with very short attention spans!

Goondiwindi

Goondiwindi is a border town on the Queensland/New South Wales border where the Newell Highway commences before heading into New South Wales.

Sir Bob Geldof made Goondiwindi famous when he performed there in the early 1990’s at a Bachelor and Spinster Ball. I think he was both thrilled and scared at the same time based on the enthusiasm of the locals. The area had been experiencing drought and the rain came down a couple of days after he left, so he will forever be known as Saint Bob!

Moree

Apart from the hot and popular swimming pool, there are many art deco buildings around to check out in Moree as well as venturing to the largest pecan nut plantation in the southern hemisphere with over 85,000 trees. Which is a lot of pecan pies!

Inverell

Inverell is a nice small town which is off the main Newell Highway drag which is home to the National Transport Museum, the Goonoowigall Nature Reserve and gem fossicking if you feel like taking a punt on becoming a bit more rich.

Narrabri

Narrabri has some great nearby natural attractions like Sawn Rocks at Mt Kaputar National Park plus it’s worth checking out if there is any alien life at the CSIRO Australia Compact Array, if you’re mobile phone doesn’t interfere with the reception first!

Coonabarabran

There’s the Tree of Life at Pilliga Pottery, the Pilliga Forest and Warrumbungle National Park to check out for the nature lovers. The Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre has loads of information on what to do and see there.

If you’re into astronomy, there are a few observatories around if you want to look at the stars, like the Siding Spring Observatory in the Warrumbungle National Park.

Plus at the Coonabarabran Visitor centre, check out the Diprotodon, the largest ever marsupial that ever lived on the plant.

Dubbo

Definitely the biggest centre along the Newell Highway with the main attraction being the Western Plains Zoo.

It’s worth checking out the Old Dubbo Gaol as well to see how prisoners were treated in years gone by.

Peak Hill

Have a look at the old open pit gold mine. But don’t go try to get over the barricades – you probably won’t get out!

Parkes

Combine Elvis Presley and The Dish as well as seeing the nearby Goobang National Park.

Forbes

Forbes is a pretty town, but it’s well know as the site for the grave site of the famous Australian Bushranger, Ben Hall. I love how old grave stones list the cause of death!

West Wyalong

Probably one of the more quirky destinations in terms of names, since West Wyalong is in the Shire of Bland, which has officially joined an alliance of Dull in Scotland and Boring in the USA. The town has a crooked main street as it was always that way since the gold mining days where the road was built around the mine shafts.

Temora

For the aviation buffs, the Temora Aviation Museum will keep you amused for hours with a large collection of warplanes.

Narrandera

Apart from checking out the former world record holder of the largest playable guitar, Narrandera is a great place for seeing koalas in the wild – just walk out of town and look up a tree, and you should have no trouble in finding one!

Deniliquin

This is a detour off the Newell Highway, but I want to go to Deniliquin just for the Deni Ute Muster, which is a debacuherous collection of utility vehicles and petrol heads. Party time!

Jerilderee

Jerilderee is home to the Ned Kelly trail, another famous Australian bushranger who spent a lot of time in the area.

There you go – if you’re looking for an alternative road trip in Australia, check out the Newell Highway as an option. It might take you a while, but I enjoyed travelling down this piece of asphalt in rural New South Wales.