Quirky Things to Do in New South Wales

Every January, the small outback town of Parkes (pop. 12,000) transforms into the world's most committed tribute to the King. The Parkes Elvis Festival draws over 25,000 visitors from around the world for five days of concerts, costume competitions, a street parade, a golf day, and a Miss Elvis pageant — all with a level of earnestness and enthusiasm that is genuinely moving. 

The festival is held in the second week of January, which means it coincides with a train journey that has become almost as famous as the event itself: the Elvis Express, which runs from Sydney to Parkes carrying hundreds of dressed-up passengers doing Elvis singalongs through the night. It's completely absurd and one of the great Australian travel experiences. 

Parkes itself warrants attention beyond the festival: it's home to the famous CSIRO Parkes Observatory — 'The Dish' — which played a critical role in the Apollo 11 moon landing and is open to visitors year-round. 

Practical info: Held annually in January. Book accommodation 6-12 months in advance — the town fills up entirely. Parkes is about 4 hours' drive from Sydney. 

The Stockton Bight sand dunes near Port Stephens are the largest moving coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere — and sandboarding down them is as exhilarating as it sounds. The dunes stretch for 32 kilometres and reach heights of up to 30 metres, creating a landscape that looks entirely wrong for the NSW coast in the best possible way. 

Guided tours include quad bike rides through the dunes and unlimited sandboarding runs. There's nothing particularly technical about sandboarding. You sit on a board, you go down a dune at speed, you get sand everywhere. It's a rush that's accessible to all ages and fitness levels. Port Stephens is also excellent for dolphin watching and whale sightings between June and November. 

Practical info: Tours depart from Anna Bay, approximately 2.5 hours from Sydney. Bookings recommended, especially on weekends and school holidays. 

In the Royal National Park south of Sydney, the ocean has spent thousands of years carving a pair of perfectly shaped figure-eight rock pools into the sandstone coastline. The result is one of the most photographed natural features in NSW and a genuinely surreal sight — two interlocking pools, each filled with clear water, connected by a narrow channel. Getting there requires a 5.5km return hike through the national park, starting from Bundeena. It's scenic and manageable, but the critical rule is tide timing: the pools are only safe to visit at low tide, and the surrounding coastline can be dangerous in rough conditions. Always check the Bureau of Meteorology tide charts and the Royal National Park's official conditions advice before visiting. 

Practical info: Access from Bundeena, 1.5 hours from Sydney. Only visit at low tide. Check current conditions at nationalparks.nsw.gov.au before departure. 

White Cliffs sits in the far west of NSW, about 98km from Wilcannia, and looks like someone relocated a piece of the moon to the outback. The town sits on Australia's first commercial opal field, which means beneath your feet, the earth is threaded with one of Australia's most valuable gemstones. 

To escape the extreme outback heat, the locals started digging their homes underground in the early 20th century, and you can still stay in one of these dugouts today. The White Cliffs Underground Motel is carved directly into the hillside, maintaining a constant 22°C temperature while temperatures above ground regularly exceed 45°C in summer. It's one of the most unusual accommodation experiences in Australia and the kind of place that gives you a story for life. 

Practical info: White Cliffs is approximately 12 hours from Sydney and is best as part of an outback NSW road trip. Best visited between April and September to avoid extreme heat. 

Australia's only internationally accredited Dark Sky Park sits in the Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran in central NSW. And if you've only ever tried to spot stars from a city, what you see here is something else entirely. The Milky Way is visible to the naked eye, the Southern Cross is unmistakable, and on a clear winter night, the sky looks genuinely implausible. 

The Siding Spring Observatory is one of Australia's foremost astronomical research facilities. It's located in the park and offers visitor experiences and night sky tours for the public. Coonabarabran has named itself the Astronomy Capital of Australia, and given what's visible from here on a clear night, the title isn't an exaggeration. 

Practical info: Warrumbungle NP is approximately 5 hours from Sydney. Winter months offer the clearest, darkest skies. Book Siding Spring tours in advance. 

Some 175km west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains, Jenolan Caves contain over 300 caves within a system that's more than 340 million years old, making them among the oldest open caves in the world. Nine caves are open for guided tours, ranging from easy walking routes through cathedral-like chambers to serious adventure caving that involves squeezing through tight passages and scrambling over formations. 

The above-ground setting is extraordinary in its own right: the Grand Arch, a 24-metre-high natural limestone arch, frames the entrance to the site and is one of the largest natural tunnel arches in the world. An overnight stay at the Jenolan Caves House, a heritage guesthouse at the cave entrance, makes for a genuinely atmospheric experience. 

Practical info: Pre-booking essential for all cave tours. Open daily. The Jenolan Caves Rd approach is narrow and single-lane in sections, so follow traffic management instructions. 

Nine kilometres off the coast of Narooma on the NSW South Coast, Montague Island is a nature reserve home to a permanent colony of little penguins, hundreds of fur seals, and over 90 species of birds. Access is by guided tour only, which ensures the wildlife isn't disturbed and means you get expert interpretation of everything you see. 

The evening penguin return tours, where you watch the little penguins waddle ashore after a day's fishing, from September through January, are genuinely enchanting. The island also sits on whale migration routes, and July–November offers excellent whale watching opportunities from the boat journey to and from the island. 

Practical info: Tours operate from Narooma, approximately 4 hours south of Sydney. Book in advance, especially for the evening penguin tours. 

Sunrise from 1,000 feet above the Hunter Valley watching rows of vines catching the early light as they fade into mists surrounding the Brokenback Range on the horizon is one of NSW's most beautiful experiences and surprisingly affordable. Balloon Aloft operates flights from the Hunter Valley with an excellent track record, departing at dawn and finishing with a champagne breakfast among the vines. 

The Hunter Valley works just as well for a ground-level visit: the wine, the cheese, the restaurants, and the general sense that someone has very carefully designed a place to have a good time. But if you've done the cellar doors before, a sunrise flight adds a dimension that reframes the whole region. 

Practical info: The Hunter Valley is approximately 2.5 hours from Sydney. Balloon flights operate year-round, weather permitting. Book in advance — popular with couples and small groups. 

The great thing about New South Wales is its size: from the South Coast to the outback, the alpine country to the tropics of the north, there's enough quirk and wonder to fill several lifetimes of weekends. Ready to take a trip beyond the obvious?