Adelaide to Hay road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time

Attractions between Adelaide and Hay: Piangil to Balranald

Before reaching the Murray River, and the New South Wales border, you’ll cross the Bailey Plain salt pan and enter Piangil. Go north on the Murray Valley Highway, then take Tooleybuc Road over the river and into Tooleybuc, New South Wales.

Tooleybuc has a wealth of pleasant riverside parks, and is one of the best places on the Adelaide to Hay drive for an overnight stay.

For tennis, pool and mini golf, pick the Tooleybuc Club Motor Inn. For a bit more space, try Tooleybuc River Retreat Villas.

From Tooleybuc, head north towards Balranald on Yanga Way.

The main attraction in Balranald is the Balranald Discovery Centre. This complex hosts a café, visitor information centre and an Interpretive Pavilion explaining the history of the region. The surrounding precinct also includes a children’s playground and a handful of heritage buildings.

Balranald can also be used as a base for exploring Mungo National Park. Outback Geo Adventures runs tours from here.

For Balranald accommodation with a pool, try the Sturt Motel or Balranald Motor Inn.

Yanga National Park

Yanga National Park is also around Balranald. There are two key components here, the first of which is the Yanga Woolshed by the Murrumbidgee River. This enormous woolshed is devoted to the shearing industry, and features tales of the record-breaking shearers who worked there. The Yanga Woolshed is an incredibly atmospheric place to walk through.

The other key sight is the Yanga Homestead, which has been left as it was when the Yanga Station was shut down. It offers a fascinating insight into the management of a big pastoral property and has a pretty location by Yanga Lake.

The Yanga National Park on the Murrumbidgee River is a welcome diversion on the drive from Sydney to Adelaide. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Murrumbidgee Valley to Hay

From Balranald, take the Sturt Highway through the Murrumbidgee Valley towards Hay.

Things to do in Hay include Shear Outback, which is devoted to the tale of Australia’s nation-forming wool industry. There’s also the Dunera Museum, which pays tribute to World War II internees, and the architecturally striking Bishop’s Lodge House.

The best accommodation in Hay includes the Big4 holiday park, the Saltbush Motor Inn and the Nicholas Royal Motel.