Staring across the outback, I watch the sun descend in whirls of pink and soft grey, cloaking the parched red earth and what looks like thousands of anthills in a soft glowing blanket. The horizon ripples — each mound suggesting that someone has dug feverishly for treasure.
From the air, you can see that’s exactly what’s happened. In the opal town of White Cliffs, tens of thousands of deserted mounds surround the holes left by hopeful miners. The result is a surreal, moon-like landscape.
Closer to where I stand, on a hill-like mound that’s actually the roof of the White Cliffs Underground Motel , the land is dotted with rotating steel knobs and mine shaft coverings that help circulate air to the 30 underground guest rooms below. I had a remarkably peaceful night’s sleep there. The rooms are cool, spacious, stylishly decorated and blissfully quiet cocoons – a perfect stay for anyone visiting these parts.
It’s easy to feel as though you’re on another planet in White Cliffs, and the 200 or so locals like it that way. Local woman Cree, who offers tours of her stunning designer underground dugout, says: “You come here to live quietly and well. We love it, and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. But it’s a unique lifestyle, to say the least.”
You need to be hardy to live out here too, where temperatures can hit 50 degrees and the nearest supplies are hours away. The early explorers, miners, pioneers and pastoralists who lost their lives in these wild lands knew there were long distances between watering holes (pubs included), but that didn’t stop them from pushing on, chasing glory and the dream of striking it rich.
Arty Silverton and fascinating Broken Hill
Silverton and Broken Hill also lured fortune seekers from across the world. Broken Hill once boasted the richest deposits of lead, zinc and silver on Earth, and mining continues there today. Silverton, just half an hour down the road, is now an ex-mining town with an artistic soul. Both towns are renowned for their eccentric artists.
Silverton, in particular, is famous for hosting the original Mad Max crew, along with the makers of Razorback and more recent classics like Wake in Fright. Photographers love Silverton’s quirky galleries and eerily beautiful landscape, which serves as a dramatic backdrop. In town, there’s classic Aussie hotel and weatherboard cottages with wooden porches and shuttered windows.
Be sure to visit artist John Dynon, who has lived and painted here for more than 30 years. His rustic shed, splashed with colourful murals and a tangle of bicycles, sits amid a delightfully chaotic “garden” of oddities, including a mannequin on an outback loo and a bright, paint-splattered VW. Inside, the shed bursts with his colourful, whimsical artworks, many featuring his famous wide-eyed emus.
Also be sure to visit the Mad Max 2 Museum, as it’s Australia’s only museum dedicated to Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Inside you’ll find a monster collection of props, photographs and life-size costumed characters, alongside original and replica vehicles — including two Interceptors. The museum was created by English-born couple Adrian Bennett and Linda Bennett who moved to Silverton to bring their passion for the film to life. Whether you’re a die-hard Mad Max fan or not, it offers an immersive glimpse into how a classic Australian film transformed this rugged outback environment.
The Mad Max Museum in Silverton, Outback NSW. ©DNSW
The ‘Big Smoke’ – aka Broken Hill, offers a wealth of mining, history and gallery tours, along with one of the most striking slag heaps in the world.
The Line of Lode in Broken Hill is one of the world’s richest silver, lead and zinc ore bodies, stretching more than seven kilometres through the heart of the town. Discovered in 1883, it transformed a remote outback ridge into a booming mining centre and gave rise to BHP, now one of the world’s largest companies.
Today, the Line of Lode Lookout and Miners Memorial offer sweeping views across Broken Hill and pay tribute to the thousands who worked, and often lost their lives, in the mines that built the region’s wealth and enduring industrial heritage. It’s a somber experience, reading the names of hundreds of miners who lost their lives, the way they perished next to the year they passed away.
Iconic local haunts include Bells Milk Bar, a 1950s-style café straight out of Happy Days, where you can indulge in a green lime spider or a vanilla malt milkshake. The syrups and cordials are so popular that they sell online. Bells has a rish history dating back to 1892 when it was ‘F. Fenton Confectioner’. It has kept its fun and unique interior with murals of dancing fruit and aliens. Les Bell Jr. and his wife Mavis inherited the shop in 1953 and added modern ingredients to the old-fashioned recipes.
You can’t visit Broken Hill without visiting The Palace Hotel, immortalised in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The Priscilla Suite is something else – with garish colours and Versace-esque decor. Think lots of gold, sparkles and hot pink flourishes. It’s all very Aussie drag queen, as to be expected.
As night falls, I visit Outback Astronomy, where the group I join enjoy drinks and a BBQ before reclining in low camping lounges. Above us, the sky resembles an ink-black canvas dusted with glitter. For two hours, we learn about constellations, dark energy, asteroids, the moon and more. Myths are busted, and the simple joy of lying beneath the outback sky is unforgettable.
Don’t skip town before checking our Pro Hart Gallery , which celebrates the life and work of the late Australian artist Pro Hart. Known for his vivid depictions of outback and working-class life, Hart’s gallery showcases his drawings, etchings, paintings and sculptures, along with insight into his inventive, miner-turned-artist persona. Visitors walk into a space suffused with rich colours, bold landscapes and a true sense of the vast Australian scrub and big sky that inspired him. You can also see Pro’s working studio, as it was when he was alive and working every day on his amazing art.
Mutawintji National Park and Kinchega National Park
Our next stop, Warrawong on the Darling in Wilcannia, is a charming campground with cabins overlooking the Darling River, surrounded by quintessential Aussie bushland. Kangaroos, emus, magpies and waterbirds make their home here, and it’s impossible not to be swept up in the tranquillity of the setting, even if the birds can be loud!
Sit by the beautiful natural lagoon and take in the sunrises and sunsets, and then enjoy the campfire at night with other guests. If you love to throw a line in, you can fish for a yellow belly, or launch your boat or canoe on to the river. You can also grab a mud map and bird list from reception and enjoy a bush walk on the stunning 1,700 acre property.
Around 145 kilometres from Wilcannia, Kinchega National Park was once part of the vast Kinchega–Kars pastoral lease, held by the Hughes family since 1870. At its peak, the property stretched from Menindee to Broken Hill, covering more than 800,000 hectares. In 1967, the Kinchega section of the lease was dedicated as a national park, now spanning 44,000 hectares. That same year, the final shearing took place in the historic woolshed — the six millionth sheep was shorn in a special ceremony marking the park’s creation.
Before heading back to the East Coast, I visit what Mutawintji National Park guide Mark Sutton calls his “favourite part of the world.” Mark explains that his ancestors — the Malyankapa and Pandjikali people — have lived here for more than 40,000 years.
To understand their culture and beliefs, I sit in a darkened room as an elder recounts the creation story. Lights dance across ancient rock art illustrating the events that shaped this land. It’s a profound experience that stays with me as I explore the park with Mark — the caves, slopes, handprints, engravings and cooking sites offering a tangible connection to those who came before us.
Mark knows this sacred country better than his own backyard — because it is his backyard. It’s his past and present, and his love for it is palpable. It lingers with me long after my plane lands back in my own, less wild corner of the world. Somehow, I still feel connected — as though the land has claimed a small piece of me, or perhaps, I’ve found a place in it.
If you enjoyed this feature, discover more about the culture and history of Broken Hill, click here.
Travel to Broken Hill
You can travel to Broken with Rex Airlines. Book your flight here and check out the route map below for more details.
