More Outback Adventures

Day 70  Broken Hill to Mutawintji National Park

Before leaving Broken Hill today we visited the Royal Flying Doctors Service.  It was fascinating to learn about the history of this service and the clever visionaries that developed it.  We never fully comprehended the special role it plays until today.

We got to hear a re-enactment of a call from 'Maggie' about her injured husband...

...read all about the service, including some funny things...

...and see the planes (worth $8 million each)...

Unfortunately the visit wasn't a highlight for Mitch.  For reasons we still don't know, while we were watching a film, he started to become delirious and looked like he was going to faint.  We quickly took him outside where he vomited and was looking very pale.  Ironically there were no doctors around to check him out, so he had a rest in the car while we all finished having a look around.

Following lunch, we headed on towards Mutawintji National Park.  The road was mainly red dirt, leaving a nice coating on both the car and van... 

For a dirt road it wasn't too bad but there were plenty of dips to keep an eye on.

We arrived at the national park quite late, but there was a terrific camp oven pit so we got the fire going to cook dinner.  There were also some other kids staying at the park, much to our little people's delight...

It's a nice spot, the worst part being the really huge rock prickles that are everywhere.  They are the size of a a 5 cent piece and don't tickle.

Day 71  Mutawintji National Park to White Cliffs

Today was Mother's Day so I woke up to some nice cuddles, kisses and a couple of lovely gifts (more cookbooks, chocolates and body cream).  Once the annual recognition of my consistent selfless devotion to my family was complete, we headed off to explore Mutawintji a little closer.

The first part of the walk could be ridden on bikes, much to the kids delight...

We parked the bikes underneath a rock hanging that had some aboriginal art.  There was the Clever Stick Man, a "Groonki Mark", and some hand stencils...

 

...tally marks...

...and  there was also a mark from William Wright...

From here we walked along a dry creek bed with our walking sticks...

There were towering rock walls on either side, lots of fabulous native plants and plenty of 'roo' poo (although we only saw one today).  The scenery was breathtaking...

There was a rock loop walk that we took...

...and we saw more aboriginal art.  This time it was the Crack Men...

We climbed up over the rocks to give us a view of some rockholes and when we reached the top we had a spectacular view of the area and rock gorge...

Then of course there was the walk down, but we're professionals at this now...

Once we finished the walk it was back to the van for a quick lunch and pack up before heading off to White Cliffs.  The road was all dirt this time and pretty hard going with the van.  Lots more dust to add another layer of colour...

The kids met up with their friends from Mutawintji again when we arrived (which was late again) so ran themselves ragged. 

Day 72

Off to explore White Cliffs this morning.  It is an opal mining town where people primarily live underground because of the heat which can be extreme during summer months.  It's a bizarre place as you could imagine and not terribly scenic.

First of all we checked out an underground house and mine called PJ's.  There was the house, all pretty normal except for the white concrete walls...

...and shafts to the top for light...

...then the mine which is still being worked by the owner 'to keep fit'...

Here we are on 'top' of the house...

We then went for a drive around the mines.  There are still plenty of them being worked either mechanically or by hand...

The miners leave mounds of white rocks and holes all over the place as they move from spot to spot on their lease.  Makes for a very unique landscape and you need to be careful where you walk...

To relax in White Cliffs, it is possible to have a game of golf, although it does put a whole new spin on the word 'green'...

But they do provide your own piece of turf to use if required...

After exploring for the day, it was time for a spot of outback baseball...

...and trains...

Day 73  White Cliffs to Nyngan

It was time to bid farewell to the outback today and start our trek back East.  We did get up in time to see a beautiful outback sunrise though...

By the time we were packed and ready to leave, the wind had really picked up in White Cliffs so we were glad to be on our way.

Once on the road we settled in for a day of driving hoping to get as close to Coonabarabran as possible.  However, fate had other ideas and we got our first (and hopefully only) flat tyre for the trip...

It took about an hour to change, no mean feat with a caravan attached to the car and not a lot of room on the side of the road.  This meant we had to stop in Wilcannia for not only fuel, but for a tyre repair too.  Unfortunately the tyre was not repairable and we had to buy a new one.  No doubt we paid above the regular price, but we were thankful the flat occurred where it did and not in some of the other places we had been in the last few days.  That could have meant travelling without a spare and would have caused a little angst.

To make up time, lunch was in the car prepared on my lap - gourmet sandwiches all round!  We made it to Nyngan right on dark and were pleasantly surprised at how nice the van park was.  An unexpected little gem with animals for the kids to feed, a playground and cubby houses.

The Outback

Day 66  Darlington Point to Mildura

After a quick look at the Murrumbidgee River near our camp this morning, it was time to push on again...

Our plan for today was to get to Mildura and the closer we got to it, the flatter and dustier it got, we could feel the outback bearing down on us...

We stopped along the way in a town called Balranald for lunch.  As we parked we found we were in front of the RSL which happened to be serving a Chinese Smorgasboard for lunch.  Perfect, and given the chef was actually Chinese, the food was very good.

We managed to make Mildura by late afternoon with lots of dust and cloud around.  Hopefully it will rain and give the van a wash!

Day 67

Exploring Mungo National Park was our mission today.  The drive to the park was 100km along red, dirt road but well worth the effort.  This place is amazing.  Basically 40,000 years ago it was a lake with lots of life in and around it, including Aboriginals.

Today it is a dry lake, but the weather patterns have over time created a 'lunette' (crescent shaped land formation that used to be the edge of the lake) that has been eroded to reveal fossils and evidence of the abundance of life that used to be in the area.  Here we are sitting in front of it...

We took a walk onto the lunette and found some evidence of bones, among other things...

The kids explored the many craters and cracks that have formed...

We then drove across the park to several points to get a good view of the size of the area.  This view back to the lunette gives an idea of the lake's size...

We all learned a lot about the Aboriginals and it is amazing to think that they were here 40,000 years ago and we've only been here a couple of hundred.  Places like this provide an invaluable learning experience.

Day 68  Mildura to Broken Hill

Finally the day had arrived when we would reach Broken Hill.  It was a pretty long day of driving and the landscape didn't vary much today, just more and more red soil as we got closer.  You know you're in 'roo' country when you see a sign like this...

We knew Broken Hill was an outback mining town, but I didn't expect it to be quite as brown, dusty and (dare I say) ugly as it was.  But although the town itself is not beautiful, we know there are plenty of good things to see and explore in the area.


Day 69

After a cooler than expected night, we woke to what we knew would be a hot day, ready to explore Broken Hill and beyond.

First of all we headed to Silverton (hello Mrs Pope) which has it's claim to fame these days for being a popular spot for shooting movies and advertisements.  Some classics have been filmed here including A Town Like Alice and Mad Max II.  The car from Mad Max II still sits out the front of the pub...

The reason Silverton is a perfect place for this endeavour is that it's weather is exactly the same 90% of the time - clear and fine - thus providing a perfect and predictable backdrop for 'Outback Australia'.  Here's a few shots of the town...

We visited the old gaol that has now been turned into a museum to get a little of the local history.  For Maggie there were some reminders of 'real' school including a uniform...

...and old school bell (we didn't win any friends once the kids discovered this - it didn't stop ringing, until they were kindly asked to refrain)...

There was also some old mining equipment...

...and old machinery to play with...

After a final drive through the town (you don't really need to drive 'around', it's easy to see the whole town from any vantage point), we drove to a nearby lookout where you could see Aussie outback as far as the eye could see...

It is also a popular place for artists...

On to Umberumberka Reservoir for a lunch stop.  Not a lot to see here, just a muddy dam.

After lunch we visited Day Dream Mine, but not before we had to pass through several gates...

The mine was in operation from 1872-1973 and mined for galena - a mix of lead, silver and small amounts of gold.  Kids were sent down into the mine as young as 8 and few survived beyond 35 years old.  They died as a result of breathing in the mining and black powder dusts resulting in silicosis and emphysema.  A lot has changed in the world of health and safety since then!

We actually went on a tour underground into the old mine, complete with helmets and headlights (which were the highlight for the kids - they thought they could keep them and now want some of their own)...

It was fascinating and gave a real sense of the conditions these poor guys had to endure.  Definitely not for the faint hearted.  Here we are heading down...

...and exploring (that's the tour guide on the side)...

After the mine, we decided to finish the day off with a visit to the 'Living Desert' and 'Sculpture Symposium'.  Unfortunately it was too late to walk up to the sculptures, so we admired them from afar...

We settled with doing the Cultural Walk and Flora and Fauna Walk.  It wasn't the right time of year to see a Sturts Desert Pea, but we were stopped in our tracks when we looked up and saw this big kangaroo in our path...

He scared the life out of us and we weren't sure if he was in a friendly or fighting mood, so we moved cautiously out of the way.  After he give us a good close up inspection, he hopped on his way along the path, obviously happy we weren't any threat.  We all let out a sigh of relief!

As the sun was setting, we headed back to the van after a big day.