Farm gate hopping, gold panning and adult hangouts fit for children – Bathurst and the charming villages that surround it are deserving of an extended weekend.
Bathurst doesn’t tend to be top of mind when planning a trip to NSW’s Central Tablelands, but it’s an underrated gem. The town itself is brimming with history, great food and fun activities for the whole family. Plus, it’s a great base for exploring the surrounding villages. Here’s how to spend four days.
Day 1: Racing, history and dining
Bathurst is famous for racing, so it seems fitting to channel your inner Peter Brock and take a lap around the mountain. The Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit is a 6.213-kilometre street circuit that anyone can drive. Importantly, unlike the popular motorsports events it hosts, the public speed limit is 60 km/h. Follow it up with time at the National Motor Racing Museum, which celebrates Bathurst as the spiritual home of Australian motorsport.
The town’s history is literally on display at Abercrombie House, a Scottish Baronial manor open to the public. Built in the 1870’s, exploring the heritage-listed house feels like stepping back in time, with narrow timber staircases, vintage artifacts and working fireplaces. It has recently opened 10 never-seen-before rooms in the basement. During school holidays, children’s night tours include a torchlight house and garden walk plus chocolate milk and cookies on the verandah.
Drive The Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit. (Credit: Supercars via Destination NSW)
Annie's Ice Cream Parlour is a non-negotiable when in Bathurst. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Enjoy Edwardian High Tea at Abercrombie House. (Credit: Destination NSW)
The National Motor Racing Museum celebrates Bathurst as the spiritual home of Australian motorsport. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Paddle pops won’t cut it anymore after a visit to Annie’s Ice Creamery. Visiting the traditional ice cream parlour, with its pink decor and black-and-white checkerboard floor tiles, feels like stepping back to the ‘50s. And the ice cream is made fresh daily.
Dinner is easier when kids aren’t confined to a table. Bathurst Grange Distillery has launched Grange Kitchen, serving woodfired pizzas in its grassy courtyard on weekends. There are games for the kids and local gin and whisky for mum and dad.
Enjoy local gin and whisky. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Tour the Bathurst Grange Distillery. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Come for the tasting, stay for the woodfires pizzas. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Day 2: Fruit picking and panning for gold
If you’re travelling in summer, skip the supermarket and go fruit picking instead. Cherries in November are the obvious choice, and there are two farms just 10 minutes from Bathurst CBD, plus a berry farm and fruit orchard further out.
Spend the morning at Croftdown Farm, just 15 minutes from Bathurst. This isn’t just any farm tour; kids can meet, feed and pat mini donkeys and highland cattle. There’s no walk-in admission; bookings mean hosts Matt and Kate Nicolson give guests an unhurried, personal experience, whether it’s the farm tour, mini donkey therapy, feed run or calf encounter. During school holidays, they also host junior farmer and junior paddock explorer experiences.
Pat highland cattle at Croftdown Farm. (Credit: Kate Nicolson)
Head north 40 minutes to Hill End, a historic gold mining village, and make like a miner that arrived during the gold rush. Great Western Store is an original building and History Hill is a museum with over 10,000 gold rush-era artifacts and has an underground mine that’s open for exploring. Feeling lucky? Hang out with Jhob on a Gold Panning Tour for a spot of gold fossicking to see if you strike it rich.
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Day 3: Coffee, a heritage walk and country brewery
The Town Square, Bathurst. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Breakfast can be a trying time, with energetic kids ready to go and parents in need of caffeine. That’s why more pubs should adopt The Oxford Hotel’s 7am opening time. It is buzzing with families; the kids are running themselves ragged on the epic outdoor playground while parents can sit in relative peace and drink their coffee while it’s still hot.
Add in a history tour but make it fun. Discover the Story of Bathurst is a self-guided heritage experience that starts in Bathurst Town Square and walks visitors through more than 200 years of history, from the stories of the Wiradjuri First Nations people to the gold rush era to motor racing and more. A series of interpretive panels, artwork and historical insights set amongst the places they happened brings history to life for little people.
Find the Reckless Brewing Co. bar and restaurant situated in the historic mill precinct. (Credit: Destination NSW)
What’s better than a country pub? A country brewery. Reckless Brewing Co is a sprawling space that produces about 10,000 litres of beer a week. The kids’ area isn’t an afterthought. When the brewery opened in 2022, co-founders Jarrod Moore and his partner Grace Fowler wanted to create a space where their kids wanted to hang out. As well as the regular games, books and art supplies that occupy little kids, there’s a foosball table which will keep the bigger kids well entertained.
Day 4: Gardens, caves and snow
Get lost in the hedgemaze. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Blooming gardens in spring. (Credit: Destination NSW)
The scenic grounds of Mayfield Garden, Oberon. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Mayfield Garden boasts 65 hectares of cool climate flora. The European-inspired gardens include a 12.5-metre obelisk pond, wisteria walk and a cascading waterfall you can walk behind. Because of the region’s distinct seasons, the gardens are always evolving with the weather so that there’s always something new to see. During spring, summer and autumn there’s also the opportunity to glamp on the grounds.
Stop for lunch in Oberon. While most cafes will have colouring pencils and books for kids, The Milbrey Kitchen & Store has a dedicated play area that includes a chalkboard wall, toys and the ever-important colouring-in supplies. The cafe-style menu from former fine dining chef Drew Bolton spans the classics, from burgers to fish and chips. Leave room for the baked goods. They are not to be missed.
If you’re lucky enough to be visiting in the colder months, there’s a good chance a 20-minute drive to Shooters Hill will reward you with snow – more than enough to have fun throwing snowballs, building snowmen and making family memories. If not, adventure awaits at Abercrombie Caves, about an 80-minute drive from Oberon. The series of limestone caves within the Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve will reopen to the public in late 2026. It includes the 221-metre natural limestone bridge and arch, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Rockley Pub serves elevated pub food in a charming setting. (Credit: Destination NSW)
End your day at The Rockley Pub. From the outset, it just looks like a friendly, country pub. But it’s owned by chef Matt Moran, the same guy who oversees fine-dining restaurant Aria overlooking Sydney Harbour. He has a nearby farm and supplies the pub with eggs and Berkshire sausages. If you’re coming from Shooters Hill, the front bar’s fire will warm you up. On warmer days, let the kids loose in the playground across the road as you supervise them while drinking a cold beer on the verandah.
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Where to stay
Explore the 3000-acre property on horseback when staying at Chesleigh Homestead. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Sleep in goldfield country at Chesleigh Homestead, a 3,000-acre historic property and horse-riding homestead in Sofala.
The Shearer’s Hall is a luxury farm retreat at Wilga Station, a working sheep farm 12 minutes from Bathurst. Its sister property, The Wool Store, is in Bathurst’s heritage precinct. The luxe inner-city apartments include a New York-style penthouse.
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Renata Gortan is a freelance journalist who has been telling stories professionally for nearly 20 years, but asking people questions all her life. Her freelance work has been published across a wide range of print publications and online sites, including The Australian, Delicious, News.com.au, BodyandSoul.com.au, Vogue Australia and more. She was a staff writer at The Daily Telegraph in Sydney for nearly a decade and held a variety of roles including food reporter, fashion reporter, interiors writer and travel writer. It was a great gig because she is always hungry and got to write about food for a living. From there, she branched out to exploring travel through a culinary lens. She is endlessly curious about what we eat, how we eat, the way food helps shape culture and how dishes can reveal so much about people and places.
The outback is calling, and the adventure is made all the easier with this hot new AAT Kings’ tour.
It’s the desert palette of rust-red earth and vast cobalt sky that calls you at first, for where better to get away from it all than the outback? Of course, once you start driving, taking note of all the weathered pubs, dusty tracks and tiny towns held together with humour, resilience and more corrugated iron than ever deemed possible, something else grabs a hold of you: the idea that far from the celebrated icons and landmarks associated with Australia, you’re finally immersed in an authentic slice of local life that few have ever experienced.
Ancient landscapes, proud pastoral histories, ghost towns, culinary powerhouses and a rich Indigenous heritage; there are plenty of facets to life on the land. The best way to experience all of the above with both ease and like-minded friends? AAT Kings’ new Outback New South Wales Adventurer, a 9-day small group tour. This Sydney-return itinerary is designed to connect travellers not only with iconic outback destinations, but with the characters, culture and experiences that bring each place to life.
Highlights? The Adventurer has more than a few, but here are eight to start.
1. Broken Hill
See the striking art at Living Desert and Sculptures. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Welcome to Broken Hill, where mining history, outback eccentricity and a surprisingly rich arts scene unite in a rusty desert landscape. In Australia’s first heritage-listed city, exploration is quickly rewarded. Begin with a guided walking tour taking in the city’s grand Victorian and Art Deco architecture. Later, enjoy visits to both the Broken Hill City Art Gallery and the Living Desert and Sculptures – the perfect place to enjoy the changing colours of an outback sunset. Of course, no visit to Broken Hill is complete without a stop at the historic Palace Hotel Broken Hill, famous for its role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Happily, it makes for the perfect spot for dinner.
2. White Cliffs
Strap on your hardhat and head underground. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Strap on your hardhat and start spending your imaginary fortunes; White Cliffs, Australia’s oldest commercial opal field, is begging you to come in search of rare pineapple opals. Admittedly, you’re much more likely to find white opals, but the true gems of White Cliffs – where much is built underground to escape the desert heat – are everywhere.
Here, you’ll descend 13.5 metres underground into a working mine to learn about the region’s heritage, and observe how miners continue the search for these prized gemstones. Perhaps you’ll even find a couple yourself?
3. Mungo National Park
Spend time in the striking, lunar-like landscape of Mungo National Park. (Credit: Destination NSW)
With its lunar-like landscape made up of ancient, dried lake basins and sculpted sand and clay formations, a drive into UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park is somehow two things all at once: uniquely Australian with vast outback skies, and somehow otherworldly, as though you’ve been dropped off by spaceship. At its heart lies the iconic Walls of China, a 30-kilometre sand-and-clay lunette shaped by thousands of years of erosion.
Understanding more than 40,000 years of Barkindji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa history begins with a visit to the Visitor Centre, and concludes with a sunset tour led by local Aboriginal guides. A key experience? Learning about the discovery of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady. At 40,000+ years old, these are among the oldest human remains found anywhere in the world.
4. Kinchega National Park
Meet the locals of Kinchega National Park. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Some come to Kinchega National Park for its iconic Darling River landscapes full of birdlife and haunting river red gums; others visit for its rich First Nations and pastoral history. Your visit will encompass all of the above, with a guided tour (part of AAT Kings’ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience) designed to give a deeper understanding of Barkindji cultural heritage, history and traditions.
Walk with local guide David as he shares ancestral knowledge and creation stories, and explains how native plants – through bush food and bush medicine – have sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years. Then sit back and enjoy those views alongside native tea and sweet treats.
5. Griffith
Treat your tastebuds to ‘the food bowl of Australia’. (Credit: Destination NSW)
How can you say no to a visit to a destination widely regarded as ‘the food bowl of Australia’? Shaped by fertile farmland and home to approximately 75 per cent of New South Wales’ wine grapes, this is a day to roll up your sleeves and enjoy the best gastronomy the state has to offer. Think vineyards, cellar doors, cafes and restaurants largely shaped by its multicultural heart (Griffith is not only home to over 60 nationalities, but has the highest proportion of Italian ancestry anywhere in Australia).
6. Mudgee
Visit some of Mudgee’s best wineries. (Credit: Destination NSW)
Nestled by the Cudgegong River, Mudgee packs a big punch for a heritage country town, having carved a reputation for itself as one of the country’s leading (and award-winning) wine regions, a key epicurean destination, and a regional arts centre growing in both visibility and vibrancy.
Take a moment to enjoy the town’s 19th-century charm before heading to Lowe Family Wine Co. for a guided tasting of organic and biodynamic wine, followed by a relaxed lunch featuring a feast of homegrown and local produce. Will you walk away with bottles of Mudgee’s iconic reds under your arms? It’s a distinct possibility.
7. Silverton
See the living ghost town of Silverton.(Credit: Destination NSW)
A once-booming silver mining hub, the dystopian setting for Mad Max 2, and now a tranquil settlement that’s home to around 50 people; Silverton is considered a living ghost town and remains a sight to behold.
Take time to explore its heritage streets (and perhaps take a look at the quirky Mad Max 2 Museum) and the Silverton Hotel, an iconic outback pub, before a visit to Silverton Gaol & Historical Museum. It’s home to a wealth of colonial artefacts, early mining equipment and stories from the outback’s pioneering past which will serve to anchor you firmly in place.
8. Shear Outback
Get a glimpse behind the wool curtain. (Credit: Destination NSW)
If you ever find yourself singing, “click go the shears boys, click, click, click…”, you’ve come to the right place. Shear Outback, an award-winning tourist and education attraction located in Hay, brings to life the traditions and stories of one of the outback’s most enduring industries: sheep shearing.
Here, in the heart of the Riverina, you’ll enjoy live shearing demonstrations, meet the shearers, shedhands, sheepdogs and yes, sheep, who come together to show guests exactly what it takes to provide Australians with all that glorious wool.
