Driving from Sydney to Adelaide is an interesting choice for a family holiday, and is usually undertaken via both the Sturt and Mallee Highways – with the Southern NSW town of Hay considered to be the halfway point of this fourteen hour journey. However, there is another way – a northerly route marked in red on the map – passing through Broken Hill and the outback areas of NSW and South Australia.
The longer and rougher road was too much of a challenge to pass up, and we began our trip by heading west out of Sydney and toward the remote regions of the state, with overnight stops at the mining towns of Cobar and Broken Hill, before crossing the border into South Australia. We would eventually arrive in Adelaide three days after leaving home; having completed eighteen grueling hours of driving.
The first day required us to travel for eight hours from Sydney to Cobar, following the red route marked on the above map. In hindsight, the much easier drive would have been to take the section marked in yellow – driving through the larger towns of Bathurst, Orange and Parkes – instead of the ‘faster’ way via Mudgee.
Once you pass Dubbo in regional NSW – six hours from Sydney – the driving conditions change considerably, as decent-sized towns are now fair distances apart, with nothing but a two-lane highway stretching for miles in between. But there were plenty of highlights from these parts, as seen in the photos below.
The second stage was a four-hour straight run from Cobar to Broken Hill, with only the town of Wilcannia and a remote rest stop positioned in between. I should point out to anyone planning a similar trip that the wildlife in these parts are ever-present; roaming very close to the highway – and sometimes wandering across – adding a little jeopardy to what is otherwise a route consisting of endless straights dissecting a rugged countryside.
There are literally thousands of wild goats lining both sides of the road, and they are often joined by kangaroos and emus – and even large pigs. Often I had to reduce my speed down from 110 km/h to 80, just in case any of these animals stepped out in front of the car. The holiday would have been instantly over had there been any collisions, so please keep this in mind if you are using the Barrier Highway between Cobar and Broken Hill.
The final part of the journey was a six-hour drive from The Silver City to Adelaide, but making sure to pass through Snowtown on the way. There were a couple of decent roadhouses and petrol stations along the remote highway areas of South Australia, so it’s a good idea to take a break at these places as there is not much else around.
And after a three-day journey, we finally arrived in Adelaide.
Of course the quicker and easier option is to fly here from Sydney, as it only takes an hour and a half, but doing it the long way certainly was a rewarding experience. Driving to Adelaide via Broken Hill is more of a once-in-a-lifetime trip, requiring a lot of planning and time management, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a sense of adventure.
For those not sure if their vehicles are up to the challenge; there is always the option of hiring a car from Sydney and returning it at Adelaide airport before flying back.
Stay tuned for my report on the return journey from Adelaide to Sydney via Victoria.
Sean Carslake 