Road trip: Sydney to Perth in 10 days

Before you go over the Blue Mountains to the Central West, stop for petrol and snacks at one of the service stations on the motorway in Richmond. It’s an easier route than the winding M4 and will take you through some beautiful countryside on the way to Mudgee.

Anywhere there’s a vibrant winemaking industry you’ll also find plenty of fantastic food. For picnic pieces try Dad’s Deli and High Valley Wine & Cheese. If you’d prefer pub food, try the Oriental, Roth’s Wine Bar or Mudgee Brewing Company. If you fancy something, well, fancy, try Zinhouse or Pipeclay Pumphouse.

Two hours out of Dubbo you’ll reach Nyngan, almost in the middle of the state. The town is also at the heart of the wool industry in NSW and very proud of its ongoing contribution. Learn more at the Mid-State Shearing Shed Museum, created by retired shearers and other locals to showcase shearing artefacts, wool-classing techniques and local art. The Nyngan Museum in the railway station is also worth a visit.

Stop at Cobar on the way through to check into your accommodation and collect picnic supplies for the afternoon. The nearly four-hour round trip from Cobar is well rewarded with Ngiyampaa Aboriginal rock art along the Mount Grenfell art site walk. It’s an easy walk to access the three main galleries, although allow two hours for the full experience.

Now a small town on the Barrier Highway, Wilcannia was once a bustling port on the Darling River. The town’s late-1800s heyday is evident in its imposing main street architecture, including the National Trust-listed Wilcannia Bridge, Post Office, Club Hotel, Courthouse and Wilcannia Athenaeum Pioneer Museum – and in 2017 story signs were installed around town to help share Indigenous stories. Ignore the old rumours, this little outback town does welcome visitors.

A two-hour round trip on Opal Miners Way from Wilcannia, White Cliffs is an active opal mining town famous for its underground accommodation. Visit the Gallery and History and Culture Centre inside the motel then take a Heritage Trail tour to see where the opals are found.

After a solid 3-hour drive south west from Broken Hill, Peterborough is a charming South Australian town full of quirks and curiosities. Start at the Information Centre where the cute Bob the Railway Dog statue greets you outside. Next, explore the Meldonfield Miniatures collection next door with its detailed models of Cobb & Co carriages, wagons and historic buildings; then relive the glory days of steam travel at Steamtown. Eat at 229 On Main in the old Capitol Theatre or The Tinsmith’s Cottage.

Grab a drink and snack at the Gem Shop in Kimba, about an one hour 40 minutes from Port Augusta and the first thing you’ll notice is the Big Galah. It’s an eight-metre-tall sculpture on the highway that marks a rough halfway point between Australia’s east and west coasts.

Less than two hours out of Kimba, turn right at Minnipa 15km off the National highway for 15kms towards the Gawler Ranges to picnic at South Australia’s Pildappa Rock, which looks like a series of massive waves at the south-eastern end. Bring a picnic and watch the wave change colour as the sun glides across the sky.

Just over an hour on the Flinders Highway you’ll come to the gateway of the Nullarbor at Ceduna. Refuel on the highway first then spend some time exploring the large collection of Aboriginal art, artefacts and didgeridoos at Tjutjuna Arts: Ceduna Aboriginal Arts & Culture Centre. The town hosts a festival for oysters every summer, and if you want to try the local shellfish visit Ceduna Oyster Bar or the Bistro at Ceduna Foreshore Hotel. Stock up on extra water and supplies (perhaps even an extra can of petrol) as the next leg is a long stretch. When you’re ready drive west four or five hours across Nullarbor National Park.

If you’re driving the Nullarbor between May and September, make time to stop at the Head of the Great Australian Bight and watch the whales migrate.

Before you cross the SA/WA border stop to stretch your legs and take photos of the Great Australian Bight from Bunda Cliffs (about 4.5 hours from Ceduna).

Take a break at one of the roadhouses in Madura or Cocklebiddy for petrol, water and food, especially if you stayed at Nullarbor Roadhouse last night. Cocklebiddy Cave is a popular destination for serious spelunkers, though be warned it’s not for novices. The Eyre Bird Observatory 50km south-east on the coast is likewise renown among twitchers.

A neat halfway point between Balladonia and Norseman, Fraser Range is in the middle of granite hills and a huge eucalyptus hardwood forest including beautiful salmon gums, blackbutts and gimlets. There are BBQ facilities and a basic store at Fraser Range Station, which was established by the Dempster brothers in 1872.

During the last big gold rush of the 1800s Coolgardie was briefly the third biggest town in Western Australia. It’s worth a few hours stopping for coffee and seeing how the locals turned gold into fancy buildings. It’s 2.25 hours from here to Southern Cross.

Check in at your accommodation in Southern Cross then take Bullfinch Road 15 minutes north out of town to visit Lake Koorkoordine, Hunts Soak watering hole and the Aboriginal Corroboree ground at Turkey Hill.

An hour and a bit out of Southern Cross, hook left at Merredin and take the Merredin-Narembeen Road south for 1.75 hours to Hyden. It’s quite a detour, although if you’ve already visited Pildappa Rock in South Australia you’ll want to see how WA’s “original” wave rock compares. There’s also a formation that looks like a yawning hippo, Aboriginal culture tours to the Humps and Mulka’s Cave, a miniature soldier museum (including a piece of the original Rabbit Proof Fence), a wildlife park and… a lace museum. It’s a 370km journey on Route 40 to Perth, so refuel and stock up on snacks before you head west.

Or, go west through Cunderdin.

Most people notice the working life size model of Ettamogah Pub just off the highway first, though there are plenty of other things to experience in this small wheatbelt town. It has a long history as a waterhole for travellers on their way to the hunting grounds thousands of years, then more recently a rest point for prospectors going to the goldfields. The local history notes that a week after a tennis tournament was held to celebrate the opening of the town’s tennis courts in 1933 an X-ray unit was also installed at the local hospital. Coincidence? Learn more about the town at the Cunderdin Museum in the old Number 3 Pump Station that was once part of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme.