About The Newell Highway

The Newell Highway Promotions Committee welcomes you to our premier touring
route and invites you to explore the unique towns, visit the marvellous attractions
and meet the friendly folk along our Highway. We all know how important your
destination is, but we ask that you also slow down and enjoy the journey. It will make for a safer, more interesting trip and you are sure to discover at least one new thing for your efforts.

If you haven’t already been, a must-see is the Taronga Western Plains Zoo located
in Dubbo. With over 300 hectares of bushland, Western Plains Zoo is a wild and
wonderful slice of Africa located right in the heart of New South Wales. Home to
over 1,000 animals, the Zoo is widely recognised as Australia’s greatest open range Zoo - there are no fences or visual barriers between you and the animals. You can passively enjoy the animals by walking, driving, riding a bike around the enclosures or you can ‘Roar and Snore’ on a Zoofari Lodge Sleepover.

The natural attraction of the Newell, a motoring corridor of national repute doesn’t
stop at the zoo, with many National Parks lining the route, providing camping, walking and other recreational opportunities. For those with web toes, there are also some popular dams and waterways to explore.

For stargazers searching the galaxy, the Newell Highway is an astronomy delight,
boasting numerous observatories. Major observatories include Coonabarabran,
Narrabri, Gilgandra. However the most famous one being the Parkes Radio
Telescope, better known as ‘The Dish’.

Agriculture is the lifeblood of many Newell towns, and travellers will see different
activities occurring in the paddocks lining the road during the different seasons. The yellow flowering canola crops create a spectacle during Spring. You will learn to understand how reliant this industry is on the weather and how tough it has been for the past few years. Other significant industries include tourism and transport.

The wine industry is emerging in several towns on and nearby the Newell, which
when matched with the delightful local produce will tantalise your tastebuds.
While most towns offer Museums which showcase their histories and pursuits, two
attrctaions of special interest are the Australian Cotton Centre at Narrabri which
provides a great insight to the cotton industry and the Inverell Pioneer Village will also take you back to yesteryear.

Bushranger enthusiasts can follow the footsteps of the likes of Ben Hall in the Forbes district and Ned Kelly around Jerilderie.

Visitor Information Centres are located in all of the major towns and provide a great source of information to help plan your exploits.

If you are a seasoned Newell traveller, why not try alternate side loops each time you trip up and down the Highway. New towns located on loop roads short distances from the Highway will provide new experiences and relaxed travel with less vehicles.

The map shows a direct route and alternative ways to experience new wonders from areas such as South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and return. Which ever direction you are travelling, the Newell brochure will provide you with the information you require. This publication also extends the highway into Central and Northern Queensland through a cooperative partnership with the Leichhardt Highway.

We encourage you to use this guide to help you plan your trip to and from your
destination. Road Safety plays a major role in our marketing. We would emphasise to you to slow down, take it easy, rest at least every two hours, keep safe travelling distances from other vehicles, be courteous to other vehicles travelling the Highway and abide by the road rules of the Highway.

There are three factors which we urge you to bear in mind when travelling the
Highway or the regions featured in this brochure. The accommodation outlets,
attractions and other tourism-related organisations and businesses in this brochure spend a great deal of effort and money advertising their products and facilities and in providing a quality service to you, the visitor. Please support them by visiting their establishments.

Finally, we encourage you to travel safely and to enjoy your trip. Place your Newell
guide in the glove box when not in use, so you can refer to it at any time.

Feedback regarding this publication and your Newell experiences are always welcome.

Enjoy your experience along the Newell, more than just a Highway.