Continuing on with my armchair travels we head further into the outback, saw the most beautiful and tranquil sunrise, followed by a long drive on a long road, nothing by road, scrub brush and blue sky. Hubby had never seen anything like it…I had not seen it for a very long time. In some ways it felt like I was coming home, weird isn’t it. I still feel a sense of calm when I look at these images.
Mildura – Wentworth – Broken Hill 325 kms (3.5 hours)
We all rose early and met at the Mildura Wharf for sunrise, it was cool, calm and very quiet, with a few sleepy birds starting to stir. We all stood and watched the sunrise over the Murray River, each minute more magic than the next. This truly must signal the end of my Sunrise Jinx?
Finally, we decided it was time to leave the wharf, pack up and grab some breakfast and leave for a new day’s adventure. Heading into NSW over the Mighty Murray River, we briefly spent the morning exploring Wentworth.
The Gaol, The Junction, Dock 10; all quite muddy. We then drove out to Perry Sandhills; red, red sand dunes (My photos below just don’t do it just 😦 ) that stretch on for as far as the eye can see. Sand so fine, like talcum powder, we had been warned against taking the cameras and only used the SmartPhone.
We then continued the long 3-hour drive to Broken Hill, saw lots of wild goats, but not much of anything else, apart from road kill 🙂 It was actually surprisingly green with so much scrub grass; I was expecting a lot more sand and dirt and much less grass. We had red dirt, cobalt blue skies and fairy-tale fluffy white clouds and stretches of road that went for miles and miles. We stopped for a late and very quick lunch in Broken Hill and checked into our Hotel (again on a main highway!) time for a quick rest up and then off to explore Broken Hill and the surrounds. We visited the Line of the Load Memorial where all the dead over the last few hundred years were honoured in a memorial. So many lost from rock falls, lead poisoning, crushed under trucks and a few from something as simple as a cut lip (septicemia). Some were never recovered and are still down under the rocks of these now closed mines.
We then drove out to see the Rock Sculptures at the Living Desert National Park. Stunning light in the late afternoon, we stayed for Sunset and then some light painting, until we got kicked out by the Park Ranger, as he wanted to lock up for the night (7pm). We drove back into town for a fantastic Dinner at Palace Hotel of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (movie) fame. Apparently, there were even some drag queens, but we arrived late and missed them. They have a big festival weekend in September called Broken Heel!
We met up with two more companions who had a horrible caravan incident on the way up and had to limp into town for some repairs. The 4WD and caravan jack-knifed, causing damage to the back driver’s side door, they finally got it shut, but now won’t open, and punched a hole in the side of the caravan…..daylight could be seen from within…never a good thing. They were shaken up, but luckily unhurt. Apart from graphic tales of how it happened, we also had lots of laughs and drinks, with good friends, until finally we all headed off to bed. I will leave Day 4 here…
~ Julz
Julie Powell - Photographer & Graphic Artist 