Menindee NSW

We felt the trip would not be complete without a trip to the historic town of Menindee which is on the Darling River and about 110 km from Broken Hill.
The terrain was a little different with more small trees and more stock grazing on the land.

Blue skies over stunning land

Ever changing landscape

Amazing flowers and sheep...no fences out here

Pipeline with drinking water from Menindee
to Broken Hill
 

We saw lots of wildlife and many domestic animals like sheep, cattle and goats.

I actually saw kangaroos fighting today, they were in a group of about 8 animals. We almost ran over a few stumpy tail lizards and saw some bearded dragons. Lots of Emus are along the roads in small groups or alone and can be seen about every 5 km which makes me think they are territorial.

 

Slow moving Stumpy Tail Lizard

Emu

 

We had a picnic lunch beside a very muddy Darling River which is affected by flood waters from Queensland.

 

River looks like milk...very muddy

 

Saw a wonderful exhibition of Aboriginal Art at the tourist information centre and there was lots of written information there.

 

Authentic Aboriginal art

Carvings and instruments

 

I asked the lady on reception about the empty lake and the town and didn't get much of an answer as she was busy with a computer game at the time...oh well I guess she has a life too!

It turns out that Menindee Lake is empty and we are not sure why except that people are not happy about what has happened and they have been protesting. There are lots of white crosses along the roads, these are a part of the protest.

 

That is Lake Menindee
Cattle grazing there.

Lake Copi Hollow
A man made lake for recreation

 

 

It's a protest!

Bourke & Wills are a big part of this little towns history as Menindee was the very last European settlement they visited before their fateful journey north. They stayed at the hotel, their camp was nearby. Their intention was to return, some of their party did, unfortunately neither Bourke or Wills did.

 

This is outside the spot where the hotel they stayed
 was back in the day

Lovely park entrance

Grave of Dost Mahomet who was part of the Bourke & Wills
expedition.
He died back in Menindee and is buried at the place he prayed.

 

Menindee is a tiny place with a small population, a few houses no shops except a small supermarket and that's it! It was worth the trip, we loved the country and enjoyed the drive, just a pity there was not more about Bourke & Wills.

We came back into Broken Hill in time to revisit the cemetery, unfortunately no one was there to assist us so we spent a few minutes saying goodbye to our family, leaving wild flowers with our memories.

 

 

History is being made right now, mining still goes on in Broken Hill and the mining industry is alive and well, this is the richest source of silver, lead and zinc in the world.

Our ancestors who are a part of this history were there at the beginning and we are proud of them.

 

An amazing train that goes into the underground mines

 

 

I'm sure leaving Broken Hill tomorrow will be emotional for us but we are so glad we came and really feel as if we are a part of this place.

Silverton NSW

We were greeted with sheets of rain this morning and wondered if we were adventurous enough to leave the warm and cosy caravan and continue our adventures.

The rain started in the early hours turning the red dust into
red mud

Disaster struck soon after when Trev was passing the camera to me and WE dropped it onto concrete...notice neither of us is taking the full blame for this but we both knew it would be a very expensive accident! The camera did not work, the lens would not open and an error message was all that showed.

At that stage I thought the only solution was to buy another camera...

Fortunately we found a camera shop in the main street and Anthony Adams the owner. The news was not good but he did have a trick that may or may not work if we were prepared to do it.

As we had nothing to lose agreed to let him “man handle” the camera and luckily it worked!

We were really blessed by him and his willingness to try something different and thankful we have our little camera to use for the rest of our trip. Anthony did not charge us for this service so if anyone reading this comes to Broken Hill please go to his shop if you need to.

 

Anthony the camera magician

 

So after some important birthday shopping we headed west towards Silverton along a road with 39 dips and many floodways. We drove past another gorgeous vista of outback country, I could never have imagine just how beautiful this country would be and am so glad we came up here.

39 Dips
A little like a roller coaster

Silverton is called a classic outback town that was once a mining hub and is now an interesting little place with few buildings, mainly galleries and the historic pub. We went to a couple of the galleries and just took in the ambiance and history

two lonely old deserted churches

Cowz Gallery
We met Justin Cowley and enjoyed his unique work

Beyond 39 Dips Gallery
 

Seemed to be a preoccupation with
 the outback Dunny

And again

Gallery closed but loved the VW
 

Most of the traffic in the area was at the pub

 

We saw the Mad Max museum and the Horizon Gallery which were sadly closed so maybe we need to return someday.

 

Mad Max

Horizon Gallery

 

We returned to Broken Hill again loving the red earth country we were driving through.

Stone cottage...if only the walls could talk

Amazing colours

Broken Hill Day 3 & 4

Day 3

Another marathon day following the Silver Trail, a windy and cooler day, great for driving and touring.

We did complete the 40 kilometre trail and now feel we know as much about Broken Hill as we'll ever know!

 

So much better than graffiti

The Towers 1890.
A private Hospital

The 7 men who started BHP

Once again it was a very sentimental journey through time. We meandered through the city centre looking at as many of the attractions as we could. We admired the architecture, read the historical information and took lots of photos.

We headed out of town to the mining areas and tried to imagine what happened there in the late 1800's. My thoughts when walking around the various sites were of hard working men who did what they had to do to feed their families and themselves.

 

Mullockers

What they went through is unimaginable to us, their gift to us is written in the history of Broken Hill.

 

Slag heap, waste after smelting of the silver ore

Part of the Junction Mine Shaft

Doorway to where? I wonder....

Thompson Shaft

 

Central Mine power station

Assay Office 1890

South Mine

Perilya Mine, operating today

A blast from the past in Railway Town the original Bells Milk Bar, a fun place to stop for a break and to remember the 50's & 60's.

 

Established in 1956

 

The tour took us back to Ryan Street which was a fitting end to the day.

We took photos of typical cottages of the day in that street and found the old
Methodist Church John Caple and Mary Hannah Caple may have attended.

 

The Methodist Church 1890
now a private home

 

A very satisfying day!

Day 4

We saw lots of rusting relics on our meandering around town and we particularly like these...

 

A walk through Pro Harts gallery showed us a small part of the wonderful legacy this iconic Australian and enduring artist has left for Broken Hill and of course for the rest of us.

 

No photos allowed in the gallery

He painted his Rolls Royce to celebrate Australia's entry
into the Millennium in 2000 

 

Then to the Living Desert Flora and Fauna Sanctuary with 12 spectacular sandstone sculptures on a 2400ha reserve

 

Individual sculptures created by 12 renown artists
 from around the world

Perfect fit for this amazing desert vista

Reminiscent of standing stones

Aztec influence by a Mexican artist

.

We saw ancient Aboriginal rock engravings

May be 30,000 years old

 

 

 gorgeous wild flowers

 

 

 

 and kangaroos.

 

Sleepy in the sun, he did not move even when we were so close

This little one is very skittish and thinks she is hiding from us

 

The best part though was the breathtakingly beautiful landscape of this magnificent country. I took lots of photos soon realising my little camera was really not up to the task.