The Kidman Way is an important highway in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 (NSW), Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, which is designated as State Highway 87. It is named after Sir Sidney Kidman

Sidney Kidman

Sir Sidney Kidman was a pastoralist in Australia and controlled huge tracts of land.-Early life:Sidney Kidman was born near Adelaide third son of George Kidman , farmer, and his wife Elizabeth Mary, née Nunn...

, Australian cattle king and philanthropist who owned a large number of cattle station

Cattle station

Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm , whose main activity is the rearing of cattle. In Australia, the owner of a cattle station is called a grazier...

s along the path, many still owned by his descendants. It is an important beef route linking the area to Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

 and Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. It is fully sealed and provides motorists glimpses of the outback without resorting to four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

.

The Kidman Way runs almost 800 km through outback

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

 New South Wales. The Kidman Way officially starts just outside Jerilderie

Jerilderie, New South Wales

Jerilderie is a town of 768 people in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the only town in the Jerilderie Shire Local Government Area....

, which is 35 km north of Finley

Finley, New South Wales

Finley is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest town in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Finley had a population of 2,054 people....

 on the Newell Highway

Newell Highway

The Newell Highway is the longest highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs parallel to the eastern coast about 400 kilometres inland, and is the main inland direct road link from Victoria to Queensland, bypassing the more congested coastal areas of New South Wales...

. From Jerilderie, The Kidman Way heads north through the lush Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 area towards Griffith

Griffith, New South Wales

Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...

, passing through the small towns of Coleambally

Coleambally, New South Wales

Coleambally is a small town in the Riverina of New South Wales, Australia, in Murrumbidgee Shire.Coleambally is one of the newest towns in the state of New South Wales, officially opened in June 1968, with the Post Office opening on 1 April 1970...

 and Darlington Point

Darlington Point, New South Wales

Darlington Point is a small town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina district of western New South Wales, Australia.  It is part of the Murrumbidgee Shire local government area.  The township centre is four kilometres from the Sturt Highway, along Kidman Way. ...

, where there are some picnic areas beside the Murrumbidgee River

Murrumbidgee River

The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...

. Griffith is a large regional centre, in the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production...

 (MIA), surrounded by vineyards (seventy per cent of NSW’s wine is produced in this area), orchards and ricefields.

From Griffith, The Kidman Way heads north 366 km through the vast, open western plains to Cobar

Cobar, New South Wales

-Notable people:*Nik Kosef, former rugby league player for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, 1996 premiership player, NSW & Australia representative*Ernie Toshack, cricketer, member of Bradman's Invincibles* Jemma Heather, state representative 4 times....

. This is where the outback begins, with plenty of kangaroos and emus and giant tumbleweeds roll across the roads. The first 100 or so kilometres from the MIA are still fairly green passing through towns such as Goolgowi

Goolgowi, New South Wales

Goolgowi is located in western New South Wales, Australia, around west of Sydney via the Mid-Western Highway and is the administrative centre of Carrathool Shire. At the 2006 census, Goolgowi had a population of 287 people....

 and Merriwagga

Merriwagga, New South Wales

Merriwagga is a rural village community in the northern part of the Riverina. It is situated by road, about 20 kilometres north west from Goolgowi and 42 kilometres south from Hillston on the Kidman Way in NSW. According to the ABS Census 2001 it has a population of 66 people...

. Hillston

Hillston, New South Wales

Hillston is a township in western New South Wales, Australia, in Carrathool Shire, built on the banks of the Lachlan River. It was founded in 1863 and at the 2006 census had a population of 1,054.-History:...

 is the next town along The Kidman Way.

The stretch between Hillston and Cobar is long, straight and unbroken except for the village of Mount Hope. There are no fuel stations between Hillston and Cobar. The Kidman Way continues 160 km through Mallee

Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands

Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia. The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high...

 and semi-arid woodlands on to Cobar, once famous for copper. From then on the road takes to Cobar, Bourke

Bourke, New South Wales

-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...

 and Barringun (292 km), where the road cuts through western Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 to reach Normanton

Normanton, Queensland

-External links:****...

 on the Gulf of Carpentaria

Gulf of Carpentaria

The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...

.