Onward to the Interior...week 2 (part 1)

We left Mildura and headed north to Broken Hill on Friday 2 October. The drive between Mildura and Broken Hill is via the Silver City Highway, where the scenery is desolate and rugged.

In Broken Hill we had our first trailer stay, easing into it with an ensuite site (meaning we had our own bathroom facilities – not an indulgence on our last trip). As it turned out, setting up our camp was almost second nature, despite being more than 3 years since we completed our original Outback Adventure.

We spent a couple of days in the Silver City, a large country town, more a part of South Australia than NSW...time zone, Adelaide ABC radio, AFL (no radio coverage of the NRL GF)...

We wandered around the town, lunching at Charlotte’s, a busy cafe on the main street serving enormous country fare. We visited a number of shops in search of a beanie for Michaela. Yes, it was that cold!

We were located next to some camping debutants...a family from Gulargambone (country NSW) – they proved to be more underprepared for the cold weather than we were. Overnight temperatures were below 10 degrees.

At least 100km before Broken Hill, and at intervals perhaps as frequent as 10km, an enterprising hotelier was promoting accommodation at “Mario’s” at the Palace Hotel. We were intrigued. Unfortunately, the anticipation far exceeded the realisation...Mario’s best days are well behind him. This is also true of many of the town’s watering holes. In its hey-day, Broken Hill boasted more than 60 pubs, reflecting a workman’s town. Sadly, today many of these pubs have closed and the once magnificent buildings are suffering neglect.

Broken Hill was a pleasant place to re-group and give Michaela some time out of the car, although some of her best sleeping takes place in the back of the Troopie (which, incidentally, had to be reconfigured to accommodate a child’s seat...it is now a rugged “family” truck).

We left Broken Hill on NRL Grand Final day, for which there was no coverage on ABC radio. We had a big day driving to Hawker, at the foot of the Flinders Ranges. We stopped in a few little towns, if you can call a pub on the side of the road a town (photo right). The highlight in Olary was the price of a drumstick and a sunnyboy (yes, they still exist). Expecting to pay, say $8, it was a pleasant surprise to pay only $4.80.

Tony wasted no time re-establishing his connection to Mother Nature – perhaps a sign of things to come...

Below: Michaela enjoying the pit stop at Olary, taking an opportunity to stretch her legs after a feed.