After a great sleep we were all ready for the tour of Silverton and the surrounds of Broken Hill. The sun was shining brightly, but the wind had a real bite to it and made the weather very cold. After exploring the old buildings and the art museums around Silverton, we headed to the famous Silverton Hotel for a look. Too early for some for an alcoholic beverage, but Pete made the most of it. Of course, Zali opted for ice cream (her usual favourite) and Ella and I relaxed by the open fire. Silverton is a very small town and we would love to see it when the troops are in town for the filming of the famous movies which have been made here over the years. The Mad Max car was a real hit with the girls.
On the way back from Silverton, we headed off the main road to explore Daydream Mine. This saw us kit up in hard hats and torches and head 100 feet underground. Zali continues to amaze us with her keenness to try new things and survived this walk with no problems at all. Lucky for her she was short enough not have to keep bending as we made our way through the narrow tunnels. We even managed to run into our 'friends' again when Peter was out opening the gates on the way into the mine. We were ever so thankful they had done the underground tour before us. Otherwise, we may have ended up saying, "no thanks".
Back into town and after a quick bite to eat in the caravan we headed out to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base. An amazing experience to see how special and unique a job these brilliant people do. And it is all free!! The video at the start and then the tour of the base and the museum was so worthwhile. Really shows us how lucky we are to be so close to medical help and first class treatment in the city. Ella was a bit disappointed as she wanted to be off and on the planes seeing what they look like on the inside. Each plane costs about $12 million and this is all raised through donations and appeals.
Following on from here we made our way to Bell's Cafe in South Broken Hill. A traditional 1850's cafe with the bench seats, jukebox and thick shakes!! Delicious is an understatement!!!! This was the last of our sightseeing in the Broken Hill area.
Friday saw us head off about 10.00am for the trek to Port Augusta, South Australia. A picturesque journey through hills, red dirt and then the arrival of water with the Spencer Gulf. Truly a beautiful sight. Once we were set up in the caravan we headed off for a walk around the water. Across one bridge, into the playground for a well deserved session of time out for the girls and then back across the return bridge home. Pete and I managed to get in a boxing session while the girls continued to work on their school work. Much more to see in Port Augusta, but we will be returning here on our trip back across from WA to VIC.
Next, we were off to Coober Pedy - an interesting town to say the least. Trouble again parking the van (they obviously didn't know our lack of skill when they gave us the corner site), so we had to get some major help. Everyone else makes it look so easy..... The weather was warming up and we enjoyed the time we had here to explore the underground buildings - church, home, shops - and most importantly, the world's only underground pub and gaming room. We spent Sunday afternoon at the pub getting to know some of the locals and fellow tourists. Ella's disbelief at the way some of her own live was hard to take (but so too, was the fact that at 10.00am in the morning there were a group of men so drunk that they couldn't even stand up). It is great for her to see just how privileged her life is!! The girls had a special moment when they visited Ss Peter and Paul's church and lit candles for Uncle Mick. Special memories for us all.........
After leaving the dust and drunks in Coober Pedy, we headed further north and into the Northern Territory - yes, we are cruising along, considering we only left 2 weeks ago!! We had decided to break up the long journey to Uluru and stayed in a small road house caravan park for the night. No running water (and bore water stinks!!), but at least we had power. Pete and I even managed to get our small bbq working and Pete cooked us some scrumptious lamb racks for dinner. No phone reception or tv, so an early night with everyone asleep by 9.30pm!!
A bit of a sleep in and we were back on the road and headed towards Uluru. 10 minutes into the trip, Zali decided she really should have gone to the toilet before we left, but there was no stopping until we hit Erldunda. She is getting good at hanging on!! On the way out to Uluru we paid an astronomical $1.88 per litre for opal fuel - the highest yet!! Unfortunately, it is not a cost you can avoid!! However, we certainly did have a car load of excited people, especially Miss Ella!!
Glad your all having fun. Ella would have been shocked at some of her Koori rels drunk, but thats still all part of her culture and she needs to know and see these things.
ReplyDeletekisses to all xx