The outback

We have left the city behind and found our way into the outback. Broken Hill certainly feels isolated and has plenty of red dirt, kangaroos and emus to proof this.

While Broken Hill itself does not really stand out from any other Australian country town we've seen so far, it does differentiate itself through art. We've seen sculptures on top of a desolate hill, art galleries with beautiful Aboriginal art, a Pro Hart exhibition and there's plenty more around for those interested. And of course we couldn't miss the Royal Flying Doctors tour! We visisted the RFDS base in town and got to know a bit of the service's history, as well as a peek in the hangar. It was a worthwhile visit.

We noticed that, on our way to Broken Hill (via the Silver City Highway) as soon as we left Mildura, people coming from the opposite direction started waving at us. That reminded us of the remoteness of this place, and of the friendly country people.

When our GPS told us that we were about 5 kms from Broken Hill, we still couldn't see the town. It is so flat around here and there is absolutely nothing around! It was hard to believe that we were about to enter a big town. We also nearly hit an emu before arriving in Broken Hill. Thanks to David's quick response the emu survived and our bull bar is still spotless.

There are heaps of 'grey nomads' in the outback (from what we've seen so far). They drive expensive four wheel drives and sleep in very comfortable caravans, which make us a bit jealous! Not the towing part - we're happy we don't have to tow any extra weight, the car is thirsty enough as it is – but their warmth. It gets rather cold out here (approx. 2 degrees at night) and the tent is very chilly! Luckily, we managed to stay at great campsites the first three nights where we could gather firewood and make a campfire.


The journey so far has been great. In Rutherglen, which was our first stop from Melbourne, we stocked up on muscat and had a great time drinking and sitting by the fire. We took a while the next day rearranging our car, but then we finally headed for Mildura. That destination was bit ambitious, considering we left Rutherglen fairly late and are only doing the economical speed of 85 kms p/h! So about 40 kms north from Swan Hill (and still another 160 kms to go to Mildura) we decided to go down some dirt track which led to the Murray river. It was a wonderful camp spot with no one else around but some kangaroos, where we stayed for a couple of days. It was nice to relax, stay warm and not having to worry about packing and unpacking the car for a little while. It rained a bit, but our fire was hot enough to sustain and the tarp kept our chairs and table dry. It's a wonderful life!

Tomorrow's destination is the Sturt National Park in northern NSW. We might get there in one day, we might not. We're not in a hurry anyway. We suspect that the next internet café is far away in Alice Springs. If you have any tips on where we should stay along the way, please let us know!