On the Road to Roma and ruin with stops at Lightning Ridge

Route: Sydney to Roma, Queensland. About 1400km. Two days if you're sensible. Three if you're doing it properly. Nyngan is the halfway point between Sydney and Broken Hill — that's where you turn north for Lightning Ridge.

Lightning Ridge: red on black opals from here and nowhere else. Stay at the Wallangulla Motel. Roma: the "beef capital of Australia." The Bottle Tree Hotel does a steak that would embarrass most Sydney restaurants.