New South Wales

In this episode of The Travel Bug I’m going on a road trip through one of the most popular parts of Australia, from the city of Sydney to the magnificent desert landscape of western New South Wales.

Since being settled by the British back in 1788, Australia has matured into a vibrant and positive nation. It’s a youthful country with over 20 million inhabitants, most of which live on the eastern coastline, and that’s where my journey begins.

Sydney is a fusion of contemporary architecture and the influences of its early European settlement. Beneath the high rises are sandstone buildings built in the early 1800’s, which add to the character of the city.

Sydney’s number one landmark is the Harbour Bridge. This huge, coat hanger-like structure dominates the city, spanning the harbour and linking the northern and southern suburbs. Now anyone can drive or walk across the bridge, which mind you is well worth doing. But there’s an even better way to see this awesome site, and also learn about how it was made, and that’s on the bridge climb.

From the bridge I went to the Sydney Wildlife World for a unique experience called breakfast with the koalas. It’s an educational, behind the scenes tour where you get up close and personal with koalas while indulging in a buffet breakfast.

There’s one building in the city that no matter where you are, you can see it. The needle-like Sydney Tower stands above the high rises, with its golden top glistening in the sun and acting like a beacon that commands attention. Centrepoint as it’s known, is a popular place for tourists keen to see Sydney the way the seaguls do.

While there are loads of buildings around the world where you can stand at an indoor area and gaze over a city, here you have the unique opportunity to walk amongst the clouds on a viewing platform that’s exposed to the elements…it’s called the Skywalk.

Another of the unique ways to get to know Sydney and it’s people is on a historical tour of the local watering holes, by this I mean going on a pub crawl. In Sydney there seems to be one on most street corners, but there’s a particular part of the city where all the oldest, and arguably the best pubs are located, an historic harbour side suburb called The Rocks. It just so happens to be right next to the iconic bridge and pretty much in the middle of the city, so it’s easy to find and even easier to walk around – perfect when your planning to have a few ales!

Early the following morning I drove two hours west from the middle of Sydney to a place called Scenic World, located in the picturesque Blue Mountains. Scenic World offers a range of experiences that let you take in magic views of the Three Sisters rock formation, while also learning about the local history and the plants and animals of the area.

In the Blue Mountains there are also plenty of self-guided walks and tours you can do, but the best way to see the sites is with a guide. So I met with Tim Tranter from Tread Lightly Eco Tours. He’s great if you want the inside info and access to all the best spots.

After seeing the Blue Mountains from above, it was time to get a look at them from the inside. So I made my way to a place called the Jenolan Caves. It’s a very popular day trip from Sydney, attracting about 250,000 people to the area every year. There are regular guided walks through the various show caves, which give you an opportunity to learn about the geology of the area and how these amazing formations came to be.

The following day I had a crack of dawn start to go horse riding in the Megalong Valley, another of the spectacular places just a few hours from Sydney. Showing me around the property was Tony. He’s one of those smart people that discovered a way to make money from doing something he loves. The ride takes you to the heart of the property and into the spectacular Cox’s River, which supplies water to thousands of people further down stream.

Next stop was the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, right next to the city of Dubbo, about five hours drive north west of Sydney.This is no ordinary zoo. It’s over 300 hectares of open bushland, home to more than 1,000 animals. The great thing about this place is that there’s no fences or visual barriers between you and the animals, so it feels like you’re on an African safari. Though the most unique thing on offer here is the Zoofari Lodge, where you can wakeup to the roaring of lions! It’s kind of like 5 star camping, complete with a restaurant, bar and swimming pool. It’s almost worth coming here just for the food. But the best thing about spending a night at the lodge is the special treatment. And by that I mean all the behind the scenes tours you get to do.

The next day I hit the road early, traversing the Outback on my way to the riverside settlement of Wentworth, around 1000km south west of Sydney.

It’s known as the breadbasket of New South Wales, and while I’m no wine expert, they do make a fantastic drop! The area’s also renowned for all sorts of crops like oranges, table grapes and olives.

This quaint town is located right at the junction of Australia’s two largest rivers, the Murray and the Darling, and has a population of about 8,000 people. One of the best things to do here is to hire a houseboat and just float down the river for a few days. Make sure you pack plenty of food for the barbecue, your fishing gear and some of the local wine, nothing beats a glass of red at sunset!

From the cooling waters of the Murray River I headed into the dry interior of the New South Wales Outback, to a prehistoric, world heritage listed landscape called Mungo National Park. The drive there is only about an hour and half north of Wentworth, but in that short time the landscape quickly turns from fertile and green farmland, to the most arid of deserts.

Mungo National Park is part of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area, a chain of lakes that dried up around 14,000 years ago. The number one attraction is the crescent-shaped dune, called the Walls of China, which stretches along the eastern shore of the lakebed. These dunes, of clay and sand, are gradually eroding away, leaving behind a fragile landscape of wrinkled outcrops that look like the massive canyons you would see in a John Wayne film.

Also in the wake of the moving dune system are the remnants of indigenous habitation and animal life from tens-of-thousands of years ago. It’s these remains that put Mungo into the headlines, way back in 1969 when a scientist stumbled across the charred bones of a human. These were later to be known as Mungo Woman, carbon dated as being at least 26,000 years old. Six years later Mungo Man was found and dated as being 62,000 years of age. These discoveries forced the rewriting of the history books and made people rethink the timelines of human habitation in Australia.

Most impressively though, was the sunset. As the day came to an end, this ancient environment changes through a series of vibrant oranges and reds, creating a calming mood across the rugged landscape and giving the perfect finish to my journey.