Back Roads

Series 4

Not Rated

Back Roads is taking viewers to some of Australia's most interesting and resilient communities. The towns chosen for the programnme are full of colourful characters whose grit and good humour continues to uplift and inspire.

Where to Watch Back Roads • Series 4

16 Episodes

Waterfall Way, NSW
E1
Waterfall Way, NSWHeather Ewart travels to Waterfall Way in NSW, one of the most beautiful drives in Australia. But it's not just the scenery that's spectacular, Heather meets some wonderful locals including celebrated pianist, David Helfgott.
Murray River, SA
E2
Murray River, SAHeather Ewart travels along the southern Murray River. She meets locals who've weathered drought & flood. She experiences many shades of the river from its bountiful Riverland to the spectacular limestone cliffs of Big Bend.
Natimuk, VIC
E3
Natimuk, VICGuest presenter Paul West visits the small, yet spectacular, town of Natimuk in Victoria. Paul discovers that two worlds have collided in Natimuk, where the community is a mix of rock climbers and German-Lutheran farmers.
Scottdsdale, TAS
E4
Scottdsdale, TASHeather visits Scottsdale in Tasmania's north-east. After losing three major industries, the area's unemployment figures doubled. With the only options to move or innovate, locals started creating new jobs.
Thallon, QLD
E5
Thallon, QLDABC News presenter Joe O'Brien visits the tiny Queensland town of Thallon. Joe grew up in regional Queensland, and he gladly leaves the studio behind to head into the outback.
Robinvale, VIC
E6
Robinvale, VICHeather Ewart visits Robinvale, in Victoria, which was named after a local soldier, Lieutenant George 'Robin' Cuttle, who was killed at the Somme during the First World War, near the town of Villers-Bretonneux in France.
Tiwi Islands, NT
E7
Tiwi Islands, NTGuest presenter and triple j newsreader Brooke Boney is taking over the Back Roads reins this week, travelling to the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin.
Nyngan, NSW
E8
Nyngan, NSWIn the midseason final, Heather Ewart travels to the surprising little town of Nyngan. The gateway to the outback in NSW, this isolated spot on the Bogan River, Nyngan locals are changing the lives of others.
The Greengrocer, QLD
E9
The Greengrocer, QLDHeather Ewart is on a road trip in Queensland with a much-loved travelling greengrocer. For 30 years, Fari Rameshfar has travelled through droughts, cyclones and floods to deliver fresh food to people living in isolation.
Lightning Ridge, NSW
E10
Lightning Ridge, NSWHeather Ewart heads to the NSW outback town of Lightning Ridge, a place of dreamers and drifters, with most residents lured by the black opals. Heather discovers the many stories of Lightning Ridge's outback grit.
Furneaux Islands, TAS
E11
Furneaux Islands, TASGuest presenter Paul West visits the Furneaux Islands, a wild and windswept group of islands in Bass Strait, just off Tasmania. The cold ocean waters are full of treasures like lobsters and abalone, plus rusted shipwrecks.
Beaufort, VIC
E12
Beaufort, VICHeather Ewart travels to the historic Victorian town of Beaufort, which is halfway between the two 'rats' - Ararat and Ballarat. 160 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, it's a place where old and new collide.
Marble Bar, WA
E13
Marble Bar, WABack Roads travels to Marble Bar, known as the hottest place in Australia. Singer-songwriter and ABC Radio's Saturday Night Country presenter Felicity Urquhart takes the wheel as we visit red-dirt country in the Pilbara, WA.
The Coorong, SA
E14
The Coorong, SAHeather Ewart visits The Coorong, an area spanning 130kms of South Australian coastline. It's a stunning mosaic of wild ocean beaches, lagoons and wetlands, but in many ways it's become the forgotten end of the Murray River.
Finke, NT
E15
Finke, NTABC's Joe O'Brien visits the remote Northern Territory community of Finke, traditionally known as Aputula and famous for the Finke Desert Race, a 460 kilometre off-road endurance rally, one of the toughest in the world.
Windorah, QLD
E16
Windorah, QLDHeather Ewart visits the small town of Windorah in Queensland's Channel country between Longreach and Birdsville. Many people live there because they love the splendid isolation, but it comes with a price.