Central West
The Central West is an inland region in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Towns
The Central West of New South Wales has five towns:
The Central West also contains a number of smaller townships:
Other destinations
- 1 Hill End - Former gold mining town
- 2 Warrumbungle National Park
Understand
The Central West of New South Wales contains some of the oldest cities on the inland side of the Blue Mountains. The area is known for its produce, including cold climate fruits and wines. It contains some of the best restaurants in New South Wales outside of Sydney.
The region is mainly farmland, and the main agricultural products are lamb, beef, and wheat.
Get in
Lithgow is at the foot of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and is accessible via either the Bells Line of road from Windsor or the Great Western Highway from Penrith. All drivers from Sydney to the area would take one of these two roads, and then travel west on the Great Western Highway and the Mitchell Highway to the other towns.
Lithgow, Orange, Bathurst and Blayney are all stops on the XPT train to Dubbo, and several flights (1 hour duration) from Sydney Airport to Dubbo operate every day.
Get around
The area has some public transport connecting most of the cities and towns. Several buses run between Lithgow, Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo every day, with a lesser number to the smaller towns. However, the only way to reach the many out-of-town attractions like orchards and wineries is by car.
See
- The Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.
- Mount Canobolas west of Orange. Mount Canobolas is the remnant of a volcanic plug, and is the highest point in the district. There are several quarter- and half-day walks on the slopes.
- The Japanese Gardens. In Cowra
Do
Eat
The area surrounding Orange, is home to many orchards. The area produces cherries in summer and apples in autumn. It is the largest apple growing region in Australia. Many orchards have road-side stalls which sell in season fruit extremely cheaply. Locals buy apples by the bucket load and cherries by the crate.
In addition, because the area has much beef, many restaurants have particularly good meat dishes.
Drink
- Bathurst is a university city and has a very active pub scene populated mainly by university students
- The area surrounding Orange is known for its wineries.
Sleep
- Quality Inn Dubbo International, 165 Whylandra St Dubbo, ☏ +61 268824777. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. Historic landmarks like the Dundullimal Homestead and Old Dubbo Gaol are nearby. Minutes from popular attractions like the Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The Quality Inn Dubbo International hotel features two restaurants: the Pool Bar and Cafe and Reflections Restaurant. Room service is also available. $109+.
Go next
Visitors to the Central West can travel easily to Canberra or Sydney, both of which are three or four hours away by car. Alternatively, visitors could travel further west into the Far West of the state. The transcontinental Indian Pacific train travels through the region.