Dear Family and Friends
Hope you liked the photos. they are all taken in and around Cobar. If you wondered why there are a couple of photos of a pub it is because the lace iron work along the top floor is the longest lace work in NSW.
We left Cobar yesterday around 9.30am and drove as far as Wyandra which is half way between Cunnamulla and Charlieville. They have a free camp spot behind the public school and there would have been about 15 vans scattered around the area set aside for campers, a couple looked like they had been there long term rather than short term. The scenery ranged from bushy to vast open plains.
We encountered a variety of wild life both dead and alive. They included sheep, cattle, kangaroos (mostly dead ones), emus in prolific numbers (mostly alive), pigs, foxes, goats, feral cats and minature horses. Bird life was mostly crows, hawks and eagles all eating the road kill.
The days are getting warmer, we are down to t shirts and shorts but the nights are very very cold sometimes down to just 1 or 2 degrees.
We left Wyandra about 8am this morning and have spent the day on the road travelling. We are spending tonight at Quilpie and tomorrow we will travel to Windorah which is where Barb and Laurie are living at the moment. Barb and Laurie are Lee's parents and we are really looking forward to seeing them.
There is no internet or telephone connection so I' don't know how long it will be before I blog again but it shouldn't be more than a few days to a week.
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Cobar
Dear Family and Friends
Today has been a real winter's day here as it has been both wet and cold. Even worse at Orange where Mum and Dad live as we picked up their local news tonight and they have had a very heavy fall of snow. We did venture out to go to the Tourist Information Centre where we picked up a local map and were given direction to a viewing platform where you can see right down into the open cut mine. We went to have a look but it was very wet and cold and we quickly ran up to the platform, we took a quick look and our reaction was wow! We ran back to the car and decided it was worth coming back when it wasn't so wet. We didn't have the camera with us so we will go back and take some photos. It was quite amazing.
At the tourist centre they have a heritage museum and it is said to be one of the best museums in the state and they say to give yourself and hour to an hour and a half to see all the exhibits.
We will also go back to have a look through it.
We have been told to be really careful around Cobar and Bourke as they have the same sort of problems as Wilcannia. We have found Cobar to be a lovely town and we would come again another day. Yet again this afternoon caravans came in aplenty, they line up out the front waiting to come in and they won't take bookings so it is first in best dressed though it a large park with lovely big sites.
Ken was speaking to someone who had spent the night at the caravan park just out of Bourke and he had heard that in the park in town windows were broken in cars and boots had been jemmied open so with that knowledge we will stop only for mail and keep on our way.
Ken has to fix one of our water outlets tomorrow as the shower outlet was shattered when we drove those hundred klms on the dirt. I also got him to clean windows in and out for me this afternoon as the van is very dusty we would wash the whole thing but your not allowed to wash your vans here.
No pictures yet but more will follow tomorrow
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn.
Today has been a real winter's day here as it has been both wet and cold. Even worse at Orange where Mum and Dad live as we picked up their local news tonight and they have had a very heavy fall of snow. We did venture out to go to the Tourist Information Centre where we picked up a local map and were given direction to a viewing platform where you can see right down into the open cut mine. We went to have a look but it was very wet and cold and we quickly ran up to the platform, we took a quick look and our reaction was wow! We ran back to the car and decided it was worth coming back when it wasn't so wet. We didn't have the camera with us so we will go back and take some photos. It was quite amazing.
At the tourist centre they have a heritage museum and it is said to be one of the best museums in the state and they say to give yourself and hour to an hour and a half to see all the exhibits.
We will also go back to have a look through it.
We have been told to be really careful around Cobar and Bourke as they have the same sort of problems as Wilcannia. We have found Cobar to be a lovely town and we would come again another day. Yet again this afternoon caravans came in aplenty, they line up out the front waiting to come in and they won't take bookings so it is first in best dressed though it a large park with lovely big sites.
Ken was speaking to someone who had spent the night at the caravan park just out of Bourke and he had heard that in the park in town windows were broken in cars and boots had been jemmied open so with that knowledge we will stop only for mail and keep on our way.
Ken has to fix one of our water outlets tomorrow as the shower outlet was shattered when we drove those hundred klms on the dirt. I also got him to clean windows in and out for me this afternoon as the van is very dusty we would wash the whole thing but your not allowed to wash your vans here.
No pictures yet but more will follow tomorrow
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn.
Monday, June 20, 2011
White Cliffs
Dear Family and Friends
Today we have done a drive of about four and a half hours and have gone from White Cliffs to Cobar. We are settled into the caravan park here. Surprisingly the park here is really good and quite full. I was expecting an ordinary park with just a few vans but the sites are large and it is very busy. We got here about three thirty and from then on there has been a steady flow of vans coming in some on their way from Broken Hill and others on their way to Broken Hill. It seems to be a bit of a junction leading in all directions.
We packed up early today and said goodbye to those we have met at White Cliffs. We feel fairly sure we will run into a couple of people some where along the way as we are heading in the same direction.
White Cliffs has the distinction of being the first commercial opal fields in Australia. Opals were found here as early as 1884 but no interest was taken of the find untill in 1889 when station hands culling kangaroos found opal and took some samples back with them. Those samples put White Cliffs on the map as within the next year opals from White Cliffs could be bought from England, Europe and America. Not suprising the town of 30 soon became a community of over 500 and at its peak there was an estimated 5000 living there. Then drought, dwindling markets, epidemics caused by bad water and the onset of the first World War all took there toll and many of the townspeople drifted away.
The morning after our arrival we set off to look around the town and visit Dick Wagner who has the Aussie Southern Cross Opals shop. Dick's shop and his house behind the shop are all underground so we found it very interesting. Regretably we did not take any photos as it is hard to describe.
Thats it for now
Love to one and all
Ken and Lyn
Today we have done a drive of about four and a half hours and have gone from White Cliffs to Cobar. We are settled into the caravan park here. Surprisingly the park here is really good and quite full. I was expecting an ordinary park with just a few vans but the sites are large and it is very busy. We got here about three thirty and from then on there has been a steady flow of vans coming in some on their way from Broken Hill and others on their way to Broken Hill. It seems to be a bit of a junction leading in all directions.
We packed up early today and said goodbye to those we have met at White Cliffs. We feel fairly sure we will run into a couple of people some where along the way as we are heading in the same direction.
White Cliffs has the distinction of being the first commercial opal fields in Australia. Opals were found here as early as 1884 but no interest was taken of the find untill in 1889 when station hands culling kangaroos found opal and took some samples back with them. Those samples put White Cliffs on the map as within the next year opals from White Cliffs could be bought from England, Europe and America. Not suprising the town of 30 soon became a community of over 500 and at its peak there was an estimated 5000 living there. Then drought, dwindling markets, epidemics caused by bad water and the onset of the first World War all took there toll and many of the townspeople drifted away.
The morning after our arrival we set off to look around the town and visit Dick Wagner who has the Aussie Southern Cross Opals shop. Dick's shop and his house behind the shop are all underground so we found it very interesting. Regretably we did not take any photos as it is hard to describe.
Thats it for now
Love to one and all
Ken and Lyn
Friday, June 17, 2011
Menindee Lakes
Dear Family and Friends
We left Broken Hill on Tuesday morning after the Queen's birthday long weekend after five very windy days. I sat outside one morning for about five minutes and that was all because it was just too windy for it to be pleasant.
We have wanted to see Menindee Lakes for some time and so we were very keen to get on our way as it was only a 100klm away. We decided to go into the little township of Menindee before heading out to the Lakes. Menindee is the first town on the Darling River and has a police station, a small hospital, a supermarket and not a lot more. I could be wrong but I think I read that there was about 80 people that live in the town.
We got a map of the local area from in the supermarket and were shown where the best free camp spots were. So with map in hand we set off. As soon as we turned off the main road we had our first experience of driving on corrigated roads. We took the slow and steady option and so it took us quite a while to go the 11klms to where the camp spots were. We must have had the van packed OK as the only thing that moved was the two chairs we have just put in and they slid back into place. We chose a spot right on the waters edge and set up camp. The first thing we noticed was that the weather was much warmer there than BH. With set up finished and a cuppa in our hands we sat down to enjoy the beauty of this vast expanse of water that wasn't there 12 months ago. We stayed there until the day drew to an end and we got to watch a beautiful sunset unfold before our eyes.
The next day we jumped in the car and drove to the main weir for a look then drove home stopping to speak to people on the way. The tourist books tell you there is great fishing and I'm sure there is except not while we were there. Carp was pretty much all that was being caught. i have seen something here that I have never seen before and that is fish jumping out of the water. Evidently the reason is that there is not enough oxygen in the water and that are gasping for air. The outcome is that there are fish dying and floating on the water then the birds come and feed on them and thus goes on the survival of the fittest.
Without the wind of BH I was able to do some more riding so the bike got a bit of use here also.
Late yesterday the wind picked up again and began to blow a gale. We could hear the wind and the waves splashing just outside our van all night and by morning there was still no let up so with the prediction of rain to come we decided that our 6 or 7 night stay would be cut to a 3 night stay. We had been told that if there is rain then you have to stay put as the dirt roads turn into clay and you have to stay until the roads dry out.
So after breakfast we started to do the pack up once again, all the while trying to decide which way to go. Option one was to take the tarred road back to BH which was 100klms then travel to Willcannia from BH which was another 200klms so in total 300klms. Option two was to take a dirt road which ran roughly in line with the Darling River all the way to Willcannia a total of 150klms all up, half the distance of option one.
We had asked as many people as possible if they knew what the dirt road was like and had mixed responses. The road was officially closed when it was wet so that wasn't any help to us. We wanted to know how rutted and rough the road might be, so having spoken to a woman in a slider van who had travelled along it and said it wasn't too bad except for the first few Ks on the Menindee side we decided to give it a go. One chap Ken spoke to said that he had travelled that way at other times and he said he went OK but he always droped his tyre pressure down on the van and the back tyres of the car. So that's what we did. Let the tyres down but this time travelling faster than we had gone on our way into the Lakes. Thankfully all went well EXCEPT the bolt on one of our driving lights fell off but thankfully not the light and we were able to strap it down. Also one of the hooks inside the van broke loose so that one is easily fixed. The worst is that one of the PVC water pipes under the van was shattered and half of it is missing so that will be the first thing for us to look at tomorrow when we go into town.
We got petrol at Wilcannia for $1-61 / litre which is the dearest we have paid so far on our travels and then stopped just on the outskirts of town to have lunch. After a short break we set of to White Cliffs, an opal mining town where a friend of Ken's from Bairnsdale now lives.
White Cliffs is known for its lunar type landscape because most of the people in town live underground rather then above ground. The heat being the reason. They are called dugouts and many shops and accomodation can be found underground too. We are in the caravan park and plan to stay till Monday morning.
That 's about all for now so
Love to one and all
Ken and Lyn.
We left Broken Hill on Tuesday morning after the Queen's birthday long weekend after five very windy days. I sat outside one morning for about five minutes and that was all because it was just too windy for it to be pleasant.
We have wanted to see Menindee Lakes for some time and so we were very keen to get on our way as it was only a 100klm away. We decided to go into the little township of Menindee before heading out to the Lakes. Menindee is the first town on the Darling River and has a police station, a small hospital, a supermarket and not a lot more. I could be wrong but I think I read that there was about 80 people that live in the town.
We got a map of the local area from in the supermarket and were shown where the best free camp spots were. So with map in hand we set off. As soon as we turned off the main road we had our first experience of driving on corrigated roads. We took the slow and steady option and so it took us quite a while to go the 11klms to where the camp spots were. We must have had the van packed OK as the only thing that moved was the two chairs we have just put in and they slid back into place. We chose a spot right on the waters edge and set up camp. The first thing we noticed was that the weather was much warmer there than BH. With set up finished and a cuppa in our hands we sat down to enjoy the beauty of this vast expanse of water that wasn't there 12 months ago. We stayed there until the day drew to an end and we got to watch a beautiful sunset unfold before our eyes.
The next day we jumped in the car and drove to the main weir for a look then drove home stopping to speak to people on the way. The tourist books tell you there is great fishing and I'm sure there is except not while we were there. Carp was pretty much all that was being caught. i have seen something here that I have never seen before and that is fish jumping out of the water. Evidently the reason is that there is not enough oxygen in the water and that are gasping for air. The outcome is that there are fish dying and floating on the water then the birds come and feed on them and thus goes on the survival of the fittest.
Without the wind of BH I was able to do some more riding so the bike got a bit of use here also.
Late yesterday the wind picked up again and began to blow a gale. We could hear the wind and the waves splashing just outside our van all night and by morning there was still no let up so with the prediction of rain to come we decided that our 6 or 7 night stay would be cut to a 3 night stay. We had been told that if there is rain then you have to stay put as the dirt roads turn into clay and you have to stay until the roads dry out.
So after breakfast we started to do the pack up once again, all the while trying to decide which way to go. Option one was to take the tarred road back to BH which was 100klms then travel to Willcannia from BH which was another 200klms so in total 300klms. Option two was to take a dirt road which ran roughly in line with the Darling River all the way to Willcannia a total of 150klms all up, half the distance of option one.
We had asked as many people as possible if they knew what the dirt road was like and had mixed responses. The road was officially closed when it was wet so that wasn't any help to us. We wanted to know how rutted and rough the road might be, so having spoken to a woman in a slider van who had travelled along it and said it wasn't too bad except for the first few Ks on the Menindee side we decided to give it a go. One chap Ken spoke to said that he had travelled that way at other times and he said he went OK but he always droped his tyre pressure down on the van and the back tyres of the car. So that's what we did. Let the tyres down but this time travelling faster than we had gone on our way into the Lakes. Thankfully all went well EXCEPT the bolt on one of our driving lights fell off but thankfully not the light and we were able to strap it down. Also one of the hooks inside the van broke loose so that one is easily fixed. The worst is that one of the PVC water pipes under the van was shattered and half of it is missing so that will be the first thing for us to look at tomorrow when we go into town.
We got petrol at Wilcannia for $1-61 / litre which is the dearest we have paid so far on our travels and then stopped just on the outskirts of town to have lunch. After a short break we set of to White Cliffs, an opal mining town where a friend of Ken's from Bairnsdale now lives.
White Cliffs is known for its lunar type landscape because most of the people in town live underground rather then above ground. The heat being the reason. They are called dugouts and many shops and accomodation can be found underground too. We are in the caravan park and plan to stay till Monday morning.
That 's about all for now so
Love to one and all
Ken and Lyn.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Broken Hill
Dear Family and Friends
Photos are of the Racing Club where we are staying, our caravan, the grandstand at the park. Pro Hart's car that he painted alongside one of his three Rolls Royce cars. The final photos are of the rail museum that include the Silver City Comet, the dodge rail car that was the first car to be converted into a rail car. Also is the Mine's memorial to all those who have lost their lives, overlooking the city and also overlooking part of the mine.
Broken Hill is renown for its wide open spaces, red earth (and there is plenty of it) and its pristine blue skies and they're right but I would add that its cold winter winds blow straight through you. we have contended with incredible windy weather since we arrived.
Broken Hill is also known as the town with the silver lining because it holds the world's largest store of silver lead and zinc. BHP (Broken Hill Prprietary) began back in 1885.
The ore is evidently shaped like a 7-5 klm long and 250 metre wide boomerang (or coathanger, depending on which tourist info you read) plunging deep into the earth at both ends, and emerging above the ground in the centre. This central protusion stood out as a rocky ridge among rolling plains, and was known as 'the broken hill, by pastoralists. Whilst we didn't go down into the mine we did visit the miners memorial at the summit overlooking the city. All the lives lost over the years are memorialised there and sadly there are too many. The last recorded happened in 2007. The youngest name I saw was that of a twelve year old boy and there were also a couple of 14 year olds that died in the late 1800's. Clearly a harsh way of life taking both the young and the old.
One of the things that stands out here in Broken Hill is the number of Hotels located on almost every corner in the heart of town, similar to and perhaps even more so than Charters Towers.
In its former glory there were as many as 60 hotels in the city centre and at least 30 of them were in just one street.
There is also a large number of art gallerys and the most well known would have to be Pro Harts Gallery. Pro Hart died in March 2006 but when you go to the Gallery you not only see his artwork but you can see where he actually did most of his canvas painting. He painted on lots of unusual mediums and became known to include religous themes in his art work.
His 1971 Rolls Royce that he painted is parked outside his gallery as is his three other Rolls Royce cars. Something I was not aware of was that Pro Hart loved music and was largely self taught. His favorite instrument was a beautiful Rodgers electric pipe organ which also sits in his gallery. They said he could listen to Bach all day and he could play it fairly well too.
We also visited the Railway and Historical Museum, The Silver City Tramway Co. Ltd., The Hospital Museum and The Silver City Commet. These exhibets were all located together so there was a large variety of exhibits to look at.
The other interesting thing about Broken Hill is its cultural history. The landscape, the weather and the willingness of the locals to become extras in the film industry have put Broken Hill on the world screens a number of times. Within the city itself there are reminders of the many theaters that have added a more cultural aspect to this city. The hippodrome was an open air theatre in the early 1900's, the Tivoli theatre opened in 1915 and in 1924 the Crystal Theatre had the capacity to seat over 1000 people and was still in use in 1966 when it was torched by an arsonist. These are only a few of the many theatres making up this unique cultural facet of life in Broken Hill.
In one of the tourist magazines they tell an interesting story that happened during WW11. It starts off "at the height of ww11 there were very real fears that Australia would be invaded by Japan. The Commonwealth Bank held most of its gold in its strongroom and in 1941 it was decided that the safest place in Australia to house all the gold was Broken Hill. The Broken Hill gaol was chosen as the site. The first gold transfer took place in 1942 on a train guarded by military and bank guards, none of whom knew what their cargo was. More consignments were transferred under escort in 1943 and 1944. In April 1945, the threat to Australias coastal cities was over and all the gold was transferred back. Again a special train was used, guarded by over 130 bank and military personnel" Interesting, don't you agree.
All in all Broken Hill has been an interesting place to visit. Today, Mon has been our final day here as we move on to Menindee Lakes tomorrow. We expect to be out of range so I might not blog again for a few days.
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn
Friday, June 10, 2011
Burra Gorge to Broken Hill
Dear Family and Friends
We have had a very relaxing and enjoyable 10 days in and around Pt Hughes and The Yorke Peninsula. It is a very pretty part of the amazing South Australian landscape. Unfortunately on the day we left I didn't feel at all well. It must have been a bug of some kind as it came on me very quickly. I was holding the bed up for Ken while he put stuff away and all of a sudden my Tummy turned over. Regardless we headed off as planned making our way towards Broken Hill.
While we were at Freeburgh we were told that Burra Gorge was a nice place to visit so we decided we would make this our first spot to stay. What a lovely spot it turned out to be. It was a very large free camp area with sites alongside the Gorge. Clearly it is a very popular site judging by the number of camp fire spots we saw. No showers but drop toilets were set up around the overall camp site. Clean fresh running water ran through the gorge. People who walked further down the gorge said there was a lovely swimming spot with a water fall but it was a bit of a climb to get there but worth the effort. We didn't attempt it because of Ken's hip never the less we were very happy to stay where we were. Bruce and Rosemary were camped near us and Bruce had a new pump he was trying out. He had the pump in the water with a lengthy hose on it pumping water up to his van which was elevated well above the river. He said they had lovely long showers the first night they had it in and were very pleased with the pump. Bruce also demonstrated their new diesel heater that they were trying for the first time. Very impressive. The weather was very cold most of our stay so I was green with envy seeing most of our heating is from our little gas cylinder heater. oh well, some of us have to do it tough.
We also met another couple, Arnie and Vicki who were on their maiden voyage. We may well catch up with them again as we are sort off heading to the same locations.
You may recall that we have brought our pushbikes with us on this leg of the journey. We are using them. I did some riding around the caravan park at Pt Hughes and I also rode around a new subdivision opening up. It seemed to be a very wealthy area as the houses all seemed to be large single story or huge long double storey homes. Either way if they are retirement homes or family homes being built there is a lot of development happening in Pt Hughes. At Burra Gorge, just 25klm from Burra we did some riding also. On one occasion I rode about 2klms toward the main road turnoff and was very pleased with myself thinking this is good I should do this every day while we are here. Then I turned around to ride back and realised I was riding into a head wind and a very strong one at that. It was a hard slog all the way home. By the time I got back I had changed my tune and ended up saying I'm not doing that again unless there is no wind at all.
What we did see were a number of old homesteads that were around. One near the gorge would have been a beutiful home in its day. There were cellars, outhouses, barns and shearing sheds, and stock yards left as a reminder of what was once a much loved home and sheep farm.
The trees at the gorge were quite amazing. Mostly gums. There trunks were huge and many were split down the middle and out of one tree two singular trees grew. At first I thought perhaps they had been struck by lightening But there were too many like it for that to have been the cause. We also thought it may have been due to white ants as there was clearly white ant activity in one or two of then so we were a bit baffled as to what the cause was. Then Ken was told it is a build up of sap in the middle and the tree thinks it's an invaidor and kills that part of the tree and then grows into two separate trees.
Because Burra Gorge was so nice we ended up staying there for six nights. We had no phone or internet connection. We had to drive out to the main road for a few klms just to get a signal so we could say happy birthday to Dallas. We used the satelite dish and managed to get all the channels. Otherwise we enjoyed talking to the many people who came and went during our six night stay.
Friends, Nev and Jenny, from Toongabbie have just started their long holiday around Aus and we were both in the same area and we were luckier enough to cross paths with them. They were leaving Broken Hill heading toward Peterborough and then onto Pt Augusta and we were leaving Burra and heading toward Broken Hill. So we met at Oodla Wirra and had a coffee and a chat before we went our own way. It was good to see them again.
We had intended to stay at the the Family Parks spot for $25 / night in Broken Hill as the Tourist Park was $10 / night dearer at $35 per night. Nev and Jenny, had stayed at the Racecourse for just $15 / night so we changed our destination to St Patricks Racecourse. We have a Camps 5 which doesn't have this site marked and Nev and Jenny have Camps 6 which does. It is a lovely spot and we are parked under shade sails There is green grass (which is noticeably absent in and around town) and we overlook the race track. It is also quiet as it is a new addition to the camps book although even as I say that, there were four of us here last night.
This is our first stay in Broken Hill so there is plenty for us to see and do. I'm keen to see Pro Hart's and Jack Absalomn's galleries. We arrived late (Late means after dark) on Wed night and so we set up as quick as we could as it was freezing and yesterday I caught up with washing and cleaning and then we headed off into town to find the information centre and have a quick drive around town to get a lay of the land (which is why I know there isn't much green grass except for a lovely park we saw as we drove around.)
Talk to you again after we have done some sightseeing.
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn
We have had a very relaxing and enjoyable 10 days in and around Pt Hughes and The Yorke Peninsula. It is a very pretty part of the amazing South Australian landscape. Unfortunately on the day we left I didn't feel at all well. It must have been a bug of some kind as it came on me very quickly. I was holding the bed up for Ken while he put stuff away and all of a sudden my Tummy turned over. Regardless we headed off as planned making our way towards Broken Hill.
While we were at Freeburgh we were told that Burra Gorge was a nice place to visit so we decided we would make this our first spot to stay. What a lovely spot it turned out to be. It was a very large free camp area with sites alongside the Gorge. Clearly it is a very popular site judging by the number of camp fire spots we saw. No showers but drop toilets were set up around the overall camp site. Clean fresh running water ran through the gorge. People who walked further down the gorge said there was a lovely swimming spot with a water fall but it was a bit of a climb to get there but worth the effort. We didn't attempt it because of Ken's hip never the less we were very happy to stay where we were. Bruce and Rosemary were camped near us and Bruce had a new pump he was trying out. He had the pump in the water with a lengthy hose on it pumping water up to his van which was elevated well above the river. He said they had lovely long showers the first night they had it in and were very pleased with the pump. Bruce also demonstrated their new diesel heater that they were trying for the first time. Very impressive. The weather was very cold most of our stay so I was green with envy seeing most of our heating is from our little gas cylinder heater. oh well, some of us have to do it tough.
We also met another couple, Arnie and Vicki who were on their maiden voyage. We may well catch up with them again as we are sort off heading to the same locations.
You may recall that we have brought our pushbikes with us on this leg of the journey. We are using them. I did some riding around the caravan park at Pt Hughes and I also rode around a new subdivision opening up. It seemed to be a very wealthy area as the houses all seemed to be large single story or huge long double storey homes. Either way if they are retirement homes or family homes being built there is a lot of development happening in Pt Hughes. At Burra Gorge, just 25klm from Burra we did some riding also. On one occasion I rode about 2klms toward the main road turnoff and was very pleased with myself thinking this is good I should do this every day while we are here. Then I turned around to ride back and realised I was riding into a head wind and a very strong one at that. It was a hard slog all the way home. By the time I got back I had changed my tune and ended up saying I'm not doing that again unless there is no wind at all.
What we did see were a number of old homesteads that were around. One near the gorge would have been a beutiful home in its day. There were cellars, outhouses, barns and shearing sheds, and stock yards left as a reminder of what was once a much loved home and sheep farm.
The trees at the gorge were quite amazing. Mostly gums. There trunks were huge and many were split down the middle and out of one tree two singular trees grew. At first I thought perhaps they had been struck by lightening But there were too many like it for that to have been the cause. We also thought it may have been due to white ants as there was clearly white ant activity in one or two of then so we were a bit baffled as to what the cause was. Then Ken was told it is a build up of sap in the middle and the tree thinks it's an invaidor and kills that part of the tree and then grows into two separate trees.
Because Burra Gorge was so nice we ended up staying there for six nights. We had no phone or internet connection. We had to drive out to the main road for a few klms just to get a signal so we could say happy birthday to Dallas. We used the satelite dish and managed to get all the channels. Otherwise we enjoyed talking to the many people who came and went during our six night stay.
Friends, Nev and Jenny, from Toongabbie have just started their long holiday around Aus and we were both in the same area and we were luckier enough to cross paths with them. They were leaving Broken Hill heading toward Peterborough and then onto Pt Augusta and we were leaving Burra and heading toward Broken Hill. So we met at Oodla Wirra and had a coffee and a chat before we went our own way. It was good to see them again.
We had intended to stay at the the Family Parks spot for $25 / night in Broken Hill as the Tourist Park was $10 / night dearer at $35 per night. Nev and Jenny, had stayed at the Racecourse for just $15 / night so we changed our destination to St Patricks Racecourse. We have a Camps 5 which doesn't have this site marked and Nev and Jenny have Camps 6 which does. It is a lovely spot and we are parked under shade sails There is green grass (which is noticeably absent in and around town) and we overlook the race track. It is also quiet as it is a new addition to the camps book although even as I say that, there were four of us here last night.
This is our first stay in Broken Hill so there is plenty for us to see and do. I'm keen to see Pro Hart's and Jack Absalomn's galleries. We arrived late (Late means after dark) on Wed night and so we set up as quick as we could as it was freezing and yesterday I caught up with washing and cleaning and then we headed off into town to find the information centre and have a quick drive around town to get a lay of the land (which is why I know there isn't much green grass except for a lovely park we saw as we drove around.)
Talk to you again after we have done some sightseeing.
Love to one and all.
Ken and Lyn
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
View of the water at Stansbury on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula
View from the other direction
Another perspective.
The Salvation Army Hall at Moonta. It is now used as a house and is currently up for sale.
The Salvation Army used to be made up of Port Broughton, Moonta and Kadina. They have now combined and it is now called "The Copper Coast Corps" and their new building is at Kadina. We found it and as it had a Salvo Op Shop we had a little look around. I scored a new pair of sandals for just $5.00, a skirt and a blouse for just $1.00 each.
Moonta is a really nice little town and is just a few kilometers from Pt Hughes where we are staying. We have driven around Moonta and really like the old sandstone bricks used for building. S.A. sandstone homes are lovely.
Earlier this week we took a drive down the Peninsula along the west coast going first to Maitland and then to Minlaton. Weather wasn't looking good so we crossed over to Stansbury which is on the east coast of the peninsula which turned out to be a lovely little seaside village that we both liked. We then took a leasurely drive stopping at all the little coastal villages including Port Vincent, Port Julia and Pine Point. Ardrossan was our last stop on the east coast before we crossed back over to Port Hughs where we are staying. Port Hughs is really a nice part of the Peninsula. The caravan park here is unique as it is divided into two parts. When we arrived here it had been very windy and Ken was told that everyone that had been camped on the bay had packed up and came up to the site where the reception was as it wasn't quite as windy. The part of the park that is right on the beach would've been lovely had it not been for the wind. Maybe next time the weather will be in our favour.
We leave on Friday morning and will be making our way on to Broken Hill. It is only three hundred klms but we are intending to take it slowly getting there. We intend to free camp along the way.
That's it for now.
Love to one and all
Ken and Lyn
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