Beyond Sydney
New South Wales caters for all kinds of holiday, whatever the time of year. Visits to the Hunter Valley wine district and the Blue Mountains (a World Heritage-listed National Park), to the west of Sydney, are highly recommended. Home to famous wine makers such as Wyndham Estate, Rosemount and McGuigans, the Hunter Valley has over 80 wineries and many restaurants. Nearby Port Stephens is a great spot for watersports and dolphin and whale watching. Lightning Ridge, to the northwest, is a frontier town where the world’s only source of black opal is to be found. The region of the Snowy Mountains in the southeast of the State, including Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak, is popular during the skiing season (June to October) as well as in summer for bushwalking. Resorts in the Snowy Mountain region include Thredbo and Perisher Blue, the latter incorporating Guthega, Perisher Valley, Blue Cow and Smiggins.
Uncommercialised and unpretentious, Broken Hill and the surrounding national parks of the New South Wales outback offer a taste of the original Australian wilderness. Featuring ancient landscapes, aboriginal culture and unusual flora and fauna, they are among the highlights of the region. The Menindee Lakes, 113km (70 miles) from the town by a good road, cover an area of water eight times the size of Sydney Harbour with an abundance of birdlife, and provide a major attraction for motor boat and sailing craft owners.
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