Beach to bush NSW: a First Nations road trip experience

With many road trippers choosing Port Stephen’s beautiful beaches and seaside cafés, Stockton is often over-looked as a stopover. Situated 40 minutes south of Port Stephens, stunning Stockton is a hub of Worimi history and culture and home to the Southern Hemisphere’s largest sand dunes.

The beach is 32 kilometres long with excellent swimming, surfing and fishing. Take the Shipwreck Walk out along the breakwall and see the wreck of the Adolphe. Children love the foreshore playground with a flying fox, skate park, variety of slides, swings and climbing equipment.

Release your inner adrenalin junkie with a quad biking experience through the southern hemisphere’s largest sand dunes, taking in the glorious views of the sweeping Port Stephen's coastline and learning about the Worimi history and culture of the land. You will also dig for fresh water, learn about sourcing bush resources, ride past ancient camp sites (Middens) and sand board down one of the largest sand dunes on the beach.

Journey through the Hunter region along scenic Wollombi Road to the boutique village of Wollombi. As you begin the drive you will see magnificent Mount Yengo overlooking the picturesque Australian bush and country farms, before winding your way into the park and experiencing the sacred and transformative feeling of the region.

The stunning Yengo National Park is sacred to the region’s Aboriginal peoples including the Wollombi. The area's Aboriginal cultural heritage sites are special places to visit. This is an often-overlooked region overshadowed by the nearby Hunter Valley wine country but its spectacular views and World Heritage-listed wilderness is well worth exploring.

This scenic drive will see you discover the Wiradjuri Country of Central New South Wales. The Wiradjuri are geographically the largest language group in New South Wales, extending from Coonabarabran in the north, straddling the Great Dividing Range down to the Murray River and out to western NSW.

The region is known as ‘the land of the three rivers’, the Wambuul or Macquarie, the Kalare - later known as the Lachlan - and the Murrumbidgee, or Murrumbidjeri. Mudgee is a charming and historic country town, known for its wine region, excellent fresh produce and innovative fine dining. Mudgee offers something for every kind of country traveller.

Immerse your senses in culture and tradition with Indigiearth’s Warakirri Dining Experience. Listen to the teachings of proud owner and Ngemba Weilwan woman, Sharon Winsor, as she shares her extensive knowledge of Aboriginal cultures.

Sharon’s passion for connecting to culture through food inspired the fusion of native ingredients intertwined with modern dining concepts. Taste delicate botanicals and robust Australian native flavours throughout an incredible 5-course degustation, featuring premium authentic bush foods including seafood and rainforest fruits from across Australia. 

Travelling across the vast plains of central New South Wales, you will experience just how big the state really is. Wide-open spaces, fresh air and country towns dot the drive to Cowra.

A quintessential small country town with wide streets, old-fashioned pubs and sprawling verandas, Cowra is a great stopover ringed by beautiful National Parks with a number of unique experiences from relaxing along the extensive waterways to exploring the tranquil Japanese Garden.

See beautiful inland forests, historic sites and learn about the traditions and culture of the Wiradjuri during your exclusive private winery and cultural tours. This exclusive private tour is focused around you and what you want to learn about the 60,000 years of culture that your private tour guide will share with you. 

On the tour you will also stop at an exclusive Winery, Courabyra Wines, for a private wine tasting and a lunch time dining experience. Courabyra Wines is a family-owned and operated vineyard nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, producing some of the finest cool-climate wines. After lunch, the tour journeys back to Wagga, dropping into several places where you can learn more about the ancient Wiradjuri culture and places.

It's time to leave country New South Wales and Wiradjuri Country and head back to a coastal breezes and white beaches of spectacular Jervis Bay on the South Coast.

Have lunch in the Jervis Bay area from Mirritya Munda food truck featuring classic food truck favourites with an ‘Indigenous Twist’! They use native ingredients and infusing in to Aussie Classics, think fish and chips or a bacon and egg roll but different. The menu changes seasonally and the truck visits some of Jervis Bays best spots, a food adventure with a world class view. 

Then visit Booderee National Park which is co-managed with the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community. The Booderee Botanic Gardens is the only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens in Australia. Knowledge is passed down from family member to family member, including information about the identification, management, use, and protection of foods, medicines, birds, animals, seasons, and climate changes. This body of information is constantly growing, changing, and being passed to new generations. There is no richer source of knowledge of the land than that of Aboriginal people. 

Drive up the beautiful South Coast and take in delightful beach side towns, excellent surf breaks, old fashioned corner stores with malty milk shakes and fish and chip hot out of the paper.

Truth be told, there is enough to see and do on this 200km scenic coastal drive that you could spend a few days soaking it all in! But even if you choose not to stop, it is still an unforgettable road trip experience through the townships of the Shoalhaven, Kiama, Shellharbour and Wollongong, with the glistening Pacific Ocean a constant companion.

Once you reach Sydney, experience magnificent Sydney Harbour, the Royal Botanic Garden and Gadigal culture and history.