Bugger. We'll deal with that tomorrow

Flinders Ranges SA to Brewarrina NSW 11th September - 24th September

The wind picked up last night, and we didn't get much sleep; the van was rocking around like we were at Sea, and things were flapping about. It was still very windy in the morning, but the sun was shining.

Just about every creek crossing was chopped up. It made for slow going, as there are dozens of them.

We left the Flinders Ranges and detoured via Carrieton, Hammond, and Orroroo on our way to Yongala, where we are camping for the next couple of days. Hammond is a ghost town with about a dozen people living there.

Yongala is a lovely little place but also a shadow of its former self.

Hammond Hotel

Hammond Main St.

The Big Gum Orroroo. Linda for scale.

Yongala Institute.

Yongala Main St.

Yongala Junque shop.

Yongala. Ghost signs.

Today we visited Peterborough for supplies and had a walk around town. We were a bit sad, as a lot of things have closed down since we visited three years ago. All the locals we've spoken to over the last few days are appalled by the local council's recent actions. The biggest attraction (Steam Town) has been closed, and they tripled the rent for the local doctor (a bulk-billing clinic), who decided to move to Orroroo.

Peterborough Holden dealership.

A quirky building.

We went to Terowie for the Curious Art Accident Show. The weather was perfect, lovely and sunny. There was a good selection of cars on display, and a small art show in the local town hall.
After spending a few hours there, we drove back to Orroroo. The op shop was open, and we had a lovely chat with two of the volunteers who were trying to identify some of the mysterious objects that had been donated.

When we returned to our camp at Yongala, a couple of French Helgas had pitched camp nearby. They were looking for work but didn't seem to be clued up on the whole backpacker thing.

Terowie Festival.

Tri-colour paint job.

This 20's Auburn was Mint. Terowie Festival.

Terowie Festival.

Yongala free camp.

Yongala Township.

A leisurely start today and a cruise to Broken Hill. Not a lot to stop at on the way. The road follows the train line most of the way; there were three Looong freight trains going the other way.
The steam trains must have stopped for water quite often. The water tanks are more regular than settlements.

Olary water tank.

A room inside the middle building.

It was a beautiful, clear and sunny morning, so we rode the bikes from our camp at the race course into town.
We were surprised to see the Sturt Desert Peas growing along the road. It was tricky to get a photo, as the local Maggies gave us a warm welcome.
On the way home Linda got the first puncture of the trip. We're in Bindy country. You can't ride through the grass.

The Moon and Venus.

Workers.

Broken Hill Institute.

Broken Hill Town Hall.

Broken Hill Post Office.

Struggling against the weeds.

Another day in Broken Hill.
We spent the morning looking for a gas fitting, topping up groceries, and Linda got a haircut.
After lunch, we drove up to the mine lookout and the Miners Memorial. Of all the fatal accidents, only 5 were from this century; all the rest were from the 1880's until 1999. Whatever you think of Trade Unions, they've definitely improved health and safety.
We could also see the Indian Pacific stopped at the station.
Then it was off to visit the Art gallery. We're not known as Art lovers, but they have a collection that appealed to our tastes.

Broken Hill.

Indian Pacific.

Miners Memorial.

Old Mine.

Ghost sign on the Art museum.

Art Deco Pub

Broken Hill Gallery

Broken Hill Gallery.

We've moved on to White Cliffs, allegedly the oldest Opal field in Australia. You really feel like you're in the Outback now, 100's of K's between towns and there's not much in the towns.
By the time we arrived and set up camp, it was too late to see any of the many attractions the guy at the caravan park had recommended, so we went for a walk. The first thing we came across was the Pub. It would have been rude to just walk on by, so we stopped for a refreshment.
The two backpackers behind the bar were up for a chat, so that was the end of exploring the town for today.

Emus near White cliffs.

Paper Daisy's

Emus and Paper Daisy's

There are more Emus and Goats around here than flies.

Welcome

White Cliffs.

Today was a busy day. We rode our bikes around the Diggings Heritage Trail and tried our hand at noodling for opals at several spots. We were spectacularly unsuccessful. We hoped to do a mine tour in the afternoon, but there was a bus tour in town, so it was booked out. We rode around the two dugout settlements, Turleys Hill and Smiths Hill. Locals call Smiths Hill the orphanage, as the people living there are old and don't have parents.

We stopped in at Doug's place to have a look at his garden art. He has hundreds of sculptures made from old railway spikes scattered among his relics.

We were quite thirsty, so we stopped at the Pub for a cool refreshment. Linda caused a bit of trouble when she commented to the barmaid that one of the shearers didn't look 18.

This set off a string of ID checks on the remaining young fellas; most of them had the 70s porn mo and some of them were nearly 30. The head shearer thought it was quite funny that she'd stitched them all up.

There's some funny Buggers.

Turleys Hill

The train got lost.

Work Truck.

Mine Shaft.

Ruins.

For sale.

Moon scape

Doug's Place.

Old Holdens.

Classic Holdens.

White Cliffs.

Holes.

Lots of Holes.

Watch where you walk.

We are not normally big on guided tours, so today we did two. Both excellent. The first one was a bus tour of town with a commentary on the history of White Cliffs, and the first major stop was the first solar-generated power station, which started as an experimental installation. The solar site was the first commercial solar generator in the world. It used parabolic dishes to generate steam to run a generator.

It was then off to a dugout home which utilised some of the original mining shafts from the 1890's. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos. The house was really spacious and rambling.

The tour ran over an hour longer than it should have, so we didn't have long before the mine tour. Once again, a well-presented tour with plenty of good info. Next time we come back, we will know how to fossick. We finished up with tea at the pub, chatting with a couple we met on both the tours.

Solar station.

Solar Station.

Opal Mine

The Birthday Girl.

One of these mines could be ours.

We left for the short drive for an overnighter at Wilcannia. All of a sudden, it got warm.

We set up camp, did the washing, then went for a walk around town and ended up at the golf club. It was Saturday afternoon Bingo, and you had to keep quiet; it was serious business. So we sat in the sports bar and got chatting to a group of pig shooters. They clued us up on the local goat trade. Apparently it's quite good business, which explains why we saw truckloads of them heading through town. They even fly them to some overseas destinations.

In the evening, the mob were in for Uncle's 60th birthday. We were surprised at how rowdy they didn't get.

Paper Daisies from White Cliffs to Wilcannia.

Wilcannia Lift Bridge.

Catholic Convent.

Wilcannia Council Offices.

Post office.

Delicious.

We'd heard from other travellers that the Darling River Run was recently graded, so we decided to abandon the bitumen and head for Louth.

Boy was it dusty.

Road to Tilpa.

The name's on the Tin.

Covered in Dust.

We stopped at the Tilpa pub at lunchtime and met another French backpacker. (They're everywhere in this part of the world).

We swapped tracks to the eastern side of the river and continued to Louth. We've camped over the bridge by the river.

There's heaps of prickles.

Road to Louth.

This tree is hanging on.

Lunch stop.

Louth Bridge.

Mmmmm.

What's the significance of Black cattle?

Louth Main Street

The Bridge

The road from Louth to Cobar was quite scenic; the environment is far more wooded.

We saw all manner of creatures on the way. A snake, a Goanna, and multiple Emus, Goats, Roos, and lizards.

Louth to Cobar. Billy Buttons and Paper Daisies.

Soft and dusty.

No Caption needed

On the recommendation of a local in Louth, we've camped up behind the RSL in Cobar. It's high density, but everyone is friendly; we ended up meeting a few of them in the RSL Bar. Beer was drunk, and Tall tales were told.

The local Museum is well worth a look.

The Original Mine.

Air cooled V12.

Child Health services.

Cobar Museum

Longest Balcony in the Southern Hemisphere.

Old shop.

Today we went to the Miners Memorial and walked the nature trail out the back of town. There are all sorts of clumps of different wildflowers.

It's another friendly country town.

Another Weed.

Everlasting Daisies.

Mini Daisy.

Miners Memorial

Mining machines.

The Iron Ring.

We decided to stay an extra day. We walked out to the Train Station and combined it with the history trail.

The Biggest Galah in Cobar

Cobar Council Building

Swallows nests.

Just a nice House.

Cobar Station. It was a warm day.

Cobar Station.

Wasp beats Spider.

Today we went through Bourke on our way to Brewarinna to see the Aboriginal fish traps. As we were setting up camp, one of the struts that holds the roof up exploded. Everything moved out of alignment, and a few bits are bent. It took quite a while and a fair bit of swearing to get it sorted out.

I'm not sure how we'll go about collapsing it without a replacement. Hopefully we can find one within a few 100 Ks.