Behind the iconic 12m-high golden guitar, this building is home to the Tamworth visitor centre, a cafe, and a gift shop peddling local tunes and souvenirs. There's also the cheesy Gallery of Stars Wax Museum (adult/child $10/5) honouring Australian country music legends. It's one for the true fans (or true fans of kitsch). It's on the southern stretch of the highway leading into town, about 5km from the city centre.

You can track the town's musical heritage at two exhibitions: the memorabilia-filled Walk a Country Mile, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. They're set to reopen by mid-2015 under one roof (inside a building shaped like a guitar – do you spot a theme here…?).

Overfriendly cockatoos, showy peacocks and a mob of native animals live here alongside a playground, barbecues and picnic shelters. There are lovely short walks to the neighbouring botanic gardens. Take Brisbane St east.

Follow jacaranda-lined White St to the very top, where you'll reach this viewpoint. It's the best seat in the house as the sun goes down.

Keen on riding, mustering and general horsemanship? This fair-dinkum course will teach you many of the tricks you'll need to get farm work (and it can help with job placement). There are also trail rides on offer.

At the southern edge of town, NERAM has a sizeable permanent collection and good contemporary exhibitions. The Yellow Room Triptych by Margaret Olley is a highlight.

Down the road from the Regional Art Museum, this centre will broaden your perception of Indigenous art. There's a small sweet cafe here serving up some imaginative examples of bush tucker.

This bluestone building opened as a saddlery in 1870 and was celebrated by Peter Allen in his well-known song (written for his grandfather who was a saddler here for 50 years). It's still open for business.

About 35km northeast of Tenterfield (take Naas Rd, signposted 'Woodenbong' – really), you can hike to the top of Australia's largest exposed granite monolith (which looks like a stripy little Uluru). There are lovely walks in the area (including two routes up the rock for great views), plus picnic sites and a camping area (adult/child $10/5) near the base. Kangaroos and birdsong are highlights.

Australian-history boffins will enjoy the museum (adult/child $5/2) in this beautifully restored old hall. It's notable as the place where Sir Henry Parkes, the 'Father of Federation', delivered the 1889 Tenterfield Oration, a speech proposing that the six separate British colonies in Australia should unite. Others may simply appreciate the library, cinema and courtyard cafe.

Don't let the dry name fool you – this place is a treasure chest full of wonder. It's home to the internationally renowned Somerville Collection: rare fossils, plus gemstones and minerals in every colour of the rainbow (amethysts, diamonds, rubies, ancient insects frozen in amber). The museum also houses Australia's only complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.

This 1880 building is the most impressive of Bathurst's historical structures. Its east wing houses the small Historical Museum.

Rev-heads will enjoy the 6.2km Mt Panorama Motor Racing Circuit, venue for the epic Bathurst 1000 V8 race each October (which sees crowds of up to 200,000). It's a public road, so you can drive around the circuit – but only up to an unthrilling 60km/h. There's a lookout and racing-themed children's playground at the top.

All roads lead to the track, including southwest along William St.

Sits at the base of Mt Panorama and celebrates all things motor sports.

Southwest of Orange, this conservation area encompasses waterfalls, views, walking trails and bike paths. Swimmer-friendly Lake Canobolas is a great place to start with plenty of picnic areas and a lakeside children's playground – the turn-off to the lake is on the extension of Coronation Rd, 8km west of town.

Next to the visitor centre, the gallery has an ambitious, varied program of exhibitions and some Australian masters.

Built as a token of Cowra's connection with Japanese POWs (but with no overt mention of the war or the breakout), this tranquil 5-hectare garden and attached cultural centre are superbly presented and well worth visiting (albeit with a steep entry fee). Audio guides ($2) explain the plants, history and design of the garden.

You can buy food for the koi (carp), or feed yourself at the on-site cafe (which serves mostly Australian fare, with a small nod to Japanese cuisine).

These moving, well-maintained cemeteries are signposted off the road to Canowindra, around 5km north of town.

From the war cemeteries north of town, signs lead to the site of the Japanese breakout. A voice-over from the watchtower recounts the story. You can still see the camp foundations, and info panels explain the military and migrant camps of wartime Cowra.

Audio at this outdoor site explains the background and significance of the World Peace Bell. It's a replica of the bell that stands outside the United Nations, and the only one of its kind in Australia.

North of town, this complex is home to Parkes' visitor centre (www.visitparkes.com.au) plus a handful of exhibitions. The King's Castle is a fun private collection of Elvis memorabilia – many items were once owned by the King (including his iconic peacock belt). There are also impressive collections dedicated to vintage cars, antique machinery, and local history.

Built by the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 1961, this telescope is 6km east of the Newell Hwy, 19km north of Parkes.

It became famous thanks to the film The Dish (2000), which told a (somewhat fictionalised) account of the telescope's role in relaying live footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. There's a visitor centre with space info, a 3D theatre, and information on radio astronomy (the study of radio waves that come from celestial objects).

This is Dubbo's star attraction, not to mention one of the best zoos in regional Australia. You can walk the 6km circuit, hire a bike ($15) or drive your car, getting out at enclosures along the way. Guided walks (adult/child $15/7.50) start at 6.45am on weekends (additional days in school holidays). There are free barbecues and picnic grounds at the zoo, as well as cafes and kiosks.

Book ahead for special animal encounters, or for the glorious accommodation packages – spend a night at a bush camp, in family-sized cabins or safari-style lodges, overlooking savannah.

Incorporating Dubbo's regional museum and gallery plus a lovely cafe, the cultural centre is housed in a swanky architectural space cleverly incorporating the main hall of Dubbo's former high school. The combination befits the centre's exhibitions, both contemporary and historic.

This is a museum where 'animatronic' characters tell their stories. There are also characters in costume and guided tours on weekends (daily in school holidays); twilight tours are possible too. Creepy but authentic.

You can follow a walking/cycling trail through the orchards and vines of this idyllic organic farm, past donkeys and chickens to picnic grounds. The cellar door has tastings and a superb grazing platter ($30) of local flavours, and Zin House is on the grounds. Check the website for events, too.

An impressive and modern cellar-door experience 15km east of Mudgee.

Heavenly white port and muscat, and tastings in a photogenic oak-barrel room.

A small, rustic cellar door plus a vintage motorcycle museum (free). There's also an excellent paddock-to-plate restaurant, Pipeclay Pumphouse.

Play bocce, taste-test home-grown olives and figs, eat pizza and sample Italian wine varietals (nebbiolo, sangiovese etc) at this sweet slice of Italy.

The point where the Darling River flows into the Murray lies in the town's southwestern corner. The riverside park, accessible from Cadell St, has enormous red river gums shading the banks, plus an elevated lookout from where you can observe the two colours of the merging rivers.

Around 6km north of town (signposted off the Broken Hill and then Renmark roads), these low orange sand dunes date back 40,000 years. They are at their best (and most photogenic) at sunset or sunrise.

The visitor centre has displays on the park's cultural and natural history, and it's here you can pick up maps, pay park and camping fees, and enquire about tours. Next door is the Shearers' Quarters accommodation and the Historic Woolshed, dating from 1869 and well worth a look.

Behind the visitor centre is a re-creation of the 20,000-year-old human footprints discovered in the park in 2003. These lead to the outdoor Meeting Place, of significance to the region's Indigenous groups.

A 33km semicircle ('lunette') of sand dunes, the fabulous Walls of China has been created by the unceasing westerly wind. From the visitor centre a road leads across the dry lakebed to a car park, then it's a short walk to the viewing platform. Getting up close to the formations is the preserve of guided tours.

The Mungo Track is a 70km signposted loop road around the heart of Mungo, linking the park's main attractions – you'll pass diverse landscapes, lookouts, short walks and plenty of emus and kangaroos.

Although it's unsealed, in dry weather the road is generally fine for 2WD cars; in good weather (ie not too hot), mountain-bikers may be tempted.

Beyond the Walls of China parking area, the road continues to the pretty Red Top Lookout, which boasts fine views over the deeply eroded ravines of the lunette sand dunes. After that point, the Mungo Track is a one-way road that loops all the way back to the visitor centre.

Pick up a map from the visitor centre before setting out, and come equipped with enough petrol, a spare tyre and plenty of drinking water. You can break the journey with an overnight stay at Belah Camp.

Teetering atop the silver skimp dump is this moving memorial with memorable views. It houses the impressively stark Cor-Ten steel memorial to the 900 miners who have died since Broken Hill first became a mining town; it's an appalling litany of gruesome deaths. To get here, travel south along Iodide St, cross the railway tracks then follow the signs.

At the time of research, the restaurant here had closed, but another may open in its place.

This impressive gallery is housed in the beautifully restored Sully's Emporium from 1885. It's the oldest regional gallery in NSW and holds 1800 works in its permanent collection. Artists featured include Australian masters such as John Olsen, Sidney Nolan and Arthur Streeton, plus there is strong Indigenous representation.

This iconic Australian institution has a visitor centre at the airport. There are stirring displays and stories of health innovation and derring-do in the service of those who live and work in remote places (note: this base serves a staggeringly vast area of 640,000 sq km). It's a real eye-opener, and the video is guaranteed to stir emotions.

Star of the hit Australian movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, this impressive three-storey pub (1889) has an elaborate cast-iron verandah, plus wonderfully kitsch landscape murals covering almost every inch of the public areas. They're described as 'Italian Renaissance meets Outback' and were painted in the 1970s by Indigenous artist Gordon Waye. There's also a quality restaurant, accommodation and the outback essential: cold beer.

Kevin 'Pro' Hart (1928–2006) was a former miner and is widely considered one of outback Australia's premier painters. His iconic work is spread over three storeys, his studio has been re-created, and there's a fascinating video presentation about his life and work. You can also admire his Rolls-Royce collection.

Fascinating displays (and a mind-bending video) explain how the richest lode of silver, lead and zinc in the world was formed through the aeons. Rare minerals and crystals are displayed, as well as a 42kg silver nugget and the celebrated Silver Tree, an epergne (table centrepiece) crafted from 8.5kg of pure silver in 1879.

Octogenarian Jack Absalom was one of the celebrated 'Brushmen of the Bush', a group of five artists that hailed from Broken Hill (Pro Hart was another member). Absalom's oil paintings (and opal collection) are on show in a purpose-built space attached to his home; his works beautifully capture the light and colour of outback landscapes.

The first mines were walk-in, pick-and-shovel horrors. For an eye-opening experience, tour this historic mine (dating from the 1880s) where you squeeze down the steps with your helmet light quivering on your head. Sturdy footwear is essential. It's a scenic 13km dirt drive off the Silverton road – a total of 33km from Broken Hill.

There are additional tours during school holidays, and claustrophobes can tour the surface area only for $8. Cash only.

This is home to the Big Picture, an amazing 100m-by-12m diorama of the Broken Hill outback – the work of one painter, over two years. It's certainly impressive, but also pricey, and the $2.50 charge to simply enter the gallery (really an elaborate souvenir shop) is cheeky.

Broken Hill is surrounded by desert, making it a great place to experience inky black skies and celestial splendour. This new company runs one-hour night-sky-viewing shows. The presenter points out constellations and various features visible to the naked eye, and through powerful binoculars (provided).

Viewing is from a lounge chair in the great outdoors (dress appropriately, especially in winter), at the racecourse on the northeast edge of town.

The website lists a calendar of forthcoming shows.

For a back-to-school experience and a lesson in the outback's vastness, sit in on a class that broadcasts to kids in isolated homesteads. Bookings must be made at least a day in advance at the visitor centre. The school is closed during school holidays.

This highly worthwhile exhibition space follows the legends of the back country (both Indigenous and settler) through interactive displays. It also houses the Bourke visitor centre and sells packages that include one or all of the town's major attractions – a river cruise on the Jandra, an entertaining outback show (staged at 11am) and a bus tour of the town and surrounds (note that the cruise and show operate April to October only).

For self-exploration, ask for the leaflet called Back O' Bourke Mud Map Tours, detailing walks, drives, attractions and businesses in the area, including station stays.

Bourke’s fascinating cemetery is peppered with epitaphs such as ‘perished in the bush’. Professor Fred Hollows, the renowned eye surgeon, is buried here.

River trade was once Bourke's lifeline. The three-tiered wharf at the northern end of Sturt St is a reconstruction of the original built in 1897 and, on the river, the PV Jandra is a replica of an 1895 paddle steamer. Hear local history and view river bird life on its one-hour cruises.