Wagga Wagga

As part of the Shakedown Trip with Graeme and Rhondda we decided to go to Wagga Wagga from Jerilderie.  The trip took us across some magnificent country that is currently in prime condition as a result of the recent good weather and rain.  The little country towns in NSW are really well kept and worth a visit.  We had lunch at Urana - no, we had not heard of it either.  The Post Office featured a magnificent rose garden.

and the public buildings were in excellent condition.  The locals have a real pride in their towns.

then it was on to Wagga Wagga.  We checked out the banks of the Murrumbidgie,

and went to visit Charles Sturt University.  They run a viticulture course there and do wine tastings and sales.

Wagga was a real surprise.  It is huge.  We did not plan sufficient time there so we will return.

Passing of an Era

It has been with us a long time but when the time came for a new van, Graeme and Rhondda decided to take over the Slingshot.  We went with them on their "shakedown" trip to learn about the van and set it up for future travel.

We set out for Jerilderie in NSW.  While we had heard about it we had never been there so we set up there for the evening.

Jerilderie is where Ned Kelly "stuck up" the bank and after he had done his business, shouted the bar at the local hotel.  The hotel is looking a little the worse for wear these days (as is Ned!)

The Post Office is being restored for the tourists.

Spring has Sprung

The morning walks are getting more interesting these days as it is becoming warmer, the mornings brighter and the days longer.

There is new growth everywhere.

and with some industrial strength weather patterns, you never know what you will see in the parks.  I hope some of the trees survive!

Craig and Michelle's Wedding

Over the weekend we attended Craig and Michelle's wedding in Williamstown with the reception in the Park Hyatt Hotel where we stayed overnight. It was a fantastic, joyous event, meticulously organised and presented.

Broken Hill

We spent a day having a look around Broken Hill and surrounds.  It is a town embedded in a bleak landscape with road kill and scavenging birds being one of the features of the drive in. 

 

The town is full of old houses from an era past.  Many have corrugated iron walls and seem to be out of the 19th Century.

The backdrop to the whole town is the huge mullock heap of tailings pulled out of the mine.  We had a look at one of the old towers and went to the Visitor Centre on top of the mullock heap.

Back near Silverton we saw the Mundi Mundi Lookout over the huge flat plane where locals assured us you could see the curvature of the earth! (You couldn't)

Then it was back to the Silverton Hotel for a drink.

In the evening we went back to the Mundi Mundi Lookout to see the sunset (which was beautiful as promised).  We shared the location with a film crew who were setting up for some scenes in an upcoming movie.

The next couple of days will be occupied getting back to Melbourne as fast as we can.  It is a price you have to pay for some magical scenery in this country.

Menindee

From Broken Hill it is only about 120km to the historic town of Menindee on the Darling River.

It was at this town, and in fact, from this pub, that Burke and Wills assembled their ill fated expedition to cross the centre of Australia.

They stayed in the pub before setting off.  How they had the courage to set out across such a barren landscape is beyond me.  Of course, most of them died including the imported camel driver and most of the camels.  Even though they were starving they were so arrogant that they refused to eat the camel meat.

Lisa had a look at the camel driver's grave. It was a long day after which it was back to the camp for drinks.

Silverton

Instead of staying in Broken Hill we went out to Silverton.  This is the site of the original discovery of silver in the area that lead to the opening of the Broken Hill Mines.  Silverton has seen better days and is now a shadow of it's former glory.  No wonder they filmed Mad Max here.

It is a desolate location but the boys always find things to do.  From the park, the walk to "town" took us across a dry creek.

We had a look at the old gaol and the historic displays it contained.

The Mad Max Museum is in keeping with the ramshackle nature of the film.

There is very little left of what was once a very large town.

The Council Chambers are closed through lack of interest but the pub is doing a roaring trade. More of that later.

Peterborough (again)

While the Grand Final played itself out we took a couple of the younger (less interested) members of the team on a tour. Jack wanted to see the final so he stayed in camp.

We looked at the old streetscape, we watched a goods train rattle through the town,

and we had a look at the surrounding countryside.

There is plenty of evidence of the work of previous generations working this land.

Peterborough

Having been in the dust and dirt for a few days, we decided that it was time for a day's R&R without travel.  After a two hour drive, we set up in Peterborough, a town that has seen better days in the era of the steam engines, but is remaking itself as a tourism centre.

The local park got the thumbs up from the boys.  There is a small historic museum and there are a lot of steam engines around the town.

One of the highlights of the day was feeding ducks in the park.

Back to Wilpena Pound

We packed up early and prepared for the trip back to Wilpena. At the exit, there is a display of all the rock types that can be found in the area and there are a lot!

We decided to take a different road south and found it to be much better than the track we had taken traveling north.  All was going really well until Lisa and Justin's car had a blowout.  And they made it a good one!

When you are all packed for travel all the gear is on top of the emergency equipment so we lost a bit of time changing the tyre.

Despite the delay, we made reasonable time back to the Pound for a bit of relaxation time, a cleanup, a good shower and another evening campfire.