escape2australia

Whyalla at the rally site

 

This morning we had to queue to get into the Rally site in downtown Whyalla.  There's over 650 vehicles of all shapes and sizes.  It's motorhome heaven.

Luckily I've been allocated a spot on the grassy oval where its relatively cool. 

Jamestown

 

I took a 44km detour to visit Jamestown where they had a weekend long cultural festival. I hadn't planned on staying but after driving for over six hours, I'd had enough.

I caught up with Bob and Margi at the caravan park.  They invited me to share tea with them and I took my contribution of baked beans and pickles.  I enjoyed their corned beef. 

They have been attending tractor exhibitions in various parts of the country and attended a Guiness Book of Records event recently where 2000 tractors from around the world beat the previous record.

Interestingly, they have been on several camel treks in remote areas of Australia, mainly as backup for the overseas visitors.  It's something I want to do.  It's on my list!

Then we walked over to the village and sampled beer in the Jamestown pub. 

Early to bed.  Off to Whyalla. Great scenery on the way.

Off to South Australia

After a week of travelling, I'm nearing my destination of Whyalla where I'll be joining a rally of over 1000 people who enjoy the delights of travelling in caravans/campervans and often very large and impressive motorhomes. 

What wonderful landscapes.  Rolling hills, wide plains, blue skies, golden paddocks. 

Broken Hill and Silverton

Pro Hart

I spent 2 days in Broken Hill.  It was over 300 kms drive from White Cliffs, skirting Wilcannia this time.  I have had so many people warning me about Wilcannia.  Apparently the only grocery shop in town got burnt down a few years ago by some irate locals.  It's hard to live down such a reputation and it lives on.  Everyone has an opinion about it.

Seeing Broken Hill in the distance was very welcome.  Unfortunately the caravan park I chose was fairly dismal.  Not only dusty, with no trees to defend my van from the sun.  It was the setup, all bitsy, lacking facilities, i.e. 2 showers and 2 toilets for the whole site.  I was parked in front of a cabin and the residents of that were none too pleased.  I was glad to leave. 

I drove out to Silverton where films such as Mad Max, Priscilla, and others I can't think of at the moment are made.  I had a drink in the Silverton pub where apparently they have the habit of distracting your attention and then pouring a drink down your trousers.  Fortunately, this didn't happen to me. What a crazy place!

In the meantime I enjoyed visited Pro Hart's art gallery.  I didn't hear when I was in UK that he had passed away and mistakenly thought the jovial man in the foyer when I arrived was himself!  I admired Pro Hart's paintings and went on to see a gallery of his daughter Julie's art.  She apparently used to paint with her dad from a young age.

I drove out to see the Sculptures in the Desert but because of vandalism it's necessary to get a key to open a gate into the area, so I drove around to see what I could see but because it was deserted I decided not to climb the hill to view the sculptures.  A disadvantage of travelling alone, I don't have as much bravodo!

Time to leave Broken Hill as I have to be in Whyalla for the start of the motorhome rally on Monday.

No place like White Cliffs

 

My first reaction on reaching this descolate township was "get me out of here".  It's the dustiest and most unusual place I've ever been to and on first impression, the most uninhabitable.  The sort of landscape you'll remember in the film Mad Max.

On arrival I went to check out PJs B&B, wishing to experience a night's sleep underground.  PJ left a note that he would be back in an hour!  Next I visited Jock's place which was around the next pile of rubble.  What a character he is.  He had just seen off a couple of people and I could tell he wasn't that pleased that he didn't have a break in between.  But he welcomed me in and said the tour in his underground mine would be $5.  What a bargain!  Then he went on autopilot, shouting away as if he had a crowd of 50 people.  Found out later his wife had left him and was now in a mental institution.  I think he was slightly off the wall.  Probably the heat, the dust and he told me very bitterly that in all the 40 years he had never found any opals.  Other people told me later that was a load of old bull!

The sign outside says "Nock for Jock"

The caravan park was hot, dusty and without shade.  In spite of this, I soon got used to the starkness, and started to explore the hills of stones and rubble where people actually lived, mined for opals and ran various businesses.  The tourist trade is an important part of the local economy, with people from all over the world attracted to experiencing the Australian outback, buying opals and perhaps staying either in PJs B&B or at the local underground hotel.  The caravan park was moderately full and I joined in with some traveller's traditional happy hour, where we exchanged information about where we'd travelled from, our ongoing plans and life in general.

Later on I sent myself down to the pub to meet the locals.  I set myself challenges to get out and meet people, otherwise there's no point, and no stories.  I was well rewarded as while sitting on the bar stool, enjoying a middy of FourX, I started chatting to Alan who was in White Cliffs for a 2 day meeting of the region's Catchment Management Association.  He invited me to attend the meeting next day which was to be held at the underground hotel.  I decided to stay on as this would be an excellent opportunity to meet members of the Aboriginal Reference Advisory Group and learn from them. 

I stayed for the first day and I'm so glad I did.  It was a great insight into how the reference group is protecting the country, advising the government on many environmental projects.

It is this type of unexpected happening that makes my journey so worthwhile and interesting and I wonder what's next?

Cobar - Wilcannia - White Cliffs

 

Although I am on my way to Broken Hill, I decided on a diversion to White Cliffs.  No-one had ever told me what to expect there (it would be difficult to explain), apart from the fact that opals were mined, but I was curious enough to drive the extra 93kms there to find out for myself. I had to pass through Wilcannia on the way.  I had been warned several times "not to stop in Wilcannia" and I asked several people their opinion, who had travelled that way.  It was 50/50 for and against. 

I stopped to take photos of some of the many beautiful and historic sandstone buildings and to fill up with fuel.  I had been accustomed to paying maximum of $1.29 per litre but in Wilcannia it was $1.43 a litre so I put $30 worth in my tank.  It did seem a bit spooky, people hanging around what I think is the main street.  There were so many boarded up buildings and that's a pity.  I was told not to make eye contact as one of my acquaintances had had her car stoned - "what you looking at", but I didn't find any evidence of that.  The iron railings on the shopfront were no worse than some I saw in London where I wouldn't go after dark!

I had an uneventful drive up to White Cliffs, admiring the scenery and spotting a few emus on the way.  I'd been told at the Cobar Visitor Information Centre that emus are very curious so I should wave my hat and shout to them and they'll come rushing over!  Well, I stopped, waved my hat, called cooee a few times and saw them dashing off into the bush!  Probably thinking "what a mad woman with a red hat, let's get out of here".

I think that employee at the Information Centre was having a laugh, don't you!

The mining town of Cobar

The landscape has got redder and drier as I head north to Cobar on the Kidman Way.  From Hillston it was 254kms, which takes me 3-4 hours as I often stop to take photos and break to stretch my legs and if there is a place to have a coffee, I'll do that.

I had a mooch around Cobar township and wandered into the RSL and out again!  The Grand Hotel on the main street was littered with blokes, but no women so I gave it a miss.  Instead I admired the humungus Tooheys tinnie on the front of the hotel.  Very impressive!

Next leg of my journey is Cobar to White Cliffs, via Wilcannia on the Barrier Highway. 353 kms!

Hillston

After travelling over 200 kms from Narrandera, I stayed at the Hillston Caravan Park last night.  I was recommended to have my "tea" at the local Returned Services League (RSL).  Only the restaurant was open (where it was forbidden to wear thongs (flipflops to you), and yes I was wearing them - fancy though they were).  I checked the Chinese menu and the empty tables, so it would be just me in the restaurant.  I was more in the mood for some good Aussie tucker and some company. 

Hillston is a very prosperous looking town and last year won the Tidy Town Competition.  It is immaculate.  I imagined a broken down little town, in the middle of nowhere, and was I wrong.

I wandered into a likely looking pub but food was off.  Only Monday to Friday I was told.  I stayed for a shandy (middy size) and listened in to half a dozen blokes conversation as they sat around the bar.  They kept looking over at me, probably wondering what I was up to.  It's often of the opinion that any woman on her own in an Australian pub must be desperate for a man.  Looking at them, that obviously wasn't the case!  I heard one bloke, 40ish, brag that the last film he'd been to was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". 

I ended up having a hamburger in the local cafe which was doing a roaring trade on a Sunday night.  It was a fine example of Aussie hamburgers, especially as it had the requisite slices of beetroot in it.  I decided against a hamburger with "the lot", even though it was only 80 cents more.  For that I would have got pineapple, egg, bacon AND beetroot but I find my mouth gets stretchmarks as a consequence!

I was slightly spooked up walking back to the caravan park as some rowdy blokes emptied themselves out of the Tattersals pub as I went past.  Round the corner, I took off my fancy flipflops (Aussie kind, not the UK style), and ran down the road, past the RSL which was still looking as boring, and back to my van.  Ah, home sweet home.

Leeton and Griffith

After leaving Narrandera yesterday at about noon (after joining the CMCA members for a Lions (fundraising group) tour of Narrandera on their open bus/train, I travelled a very quiet road northwards, via Leeton and Griffith.

They were nice towns.  I remember Leeton for those tins of peaches we used to enjoy combined with evaporated milk for dessert. 

Griffith I recall for all the bad publicity about Italian mafia and the assassination of anti drugs campaigner, Donald Mackay back in the 1970's.

His wife Barbara wrote a poem after his death, and if you are interested, here's a link:

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC19980630046

Chatting to people in a pub, apparently things haven't changed much in Griffith, as the drug trade is still flourishing.

The Black Stump

I couldn't resist stopping at the Black Stump Hotel.  It's reputably the highest bar in the world.  If they ever hear of a higher bar, they just heighten the bar.  The bar stools are equally high.  I practically needed a ladder to get up on to it.

It was delightful talking to the lady behind the bar.  Even though the hotel is remote, she seems to get around.  She'd been to see "Wicked" and "Billy Ellliot" in Melbourne, plus some Irish entertainers in Griffith.  She told me the tale of how the Black Stump got its name:

"The Black Stump is a macabre legend about a bullockies wife, Barbara Blain. The legend unfolds that as the bullocky (man who tends bullocks presumably) went to tend to the cattle his wife's dress caught on fire. Stricken by grief the bullocky is believed to have said her burnt body looked just like a black stump."

One of my fellow patrons, perched on his bar stool, when he heard of my interest in the story, kindly bought me a Black Stump Hotel spoon. 

The campsite was about 10kms down Black Stump Road, and I'm sure there was not much left to see, except maybe some ash!  I continued on to the next town, Hillston.