The Silver City



Kate loved the sand at Menindee

 Menindee is a small simple town surrounded by Lakes. We stopped at the sports ground for lunch and the kids enjoyed the playground, sand and sports oval to play. We found the Markwick and Pajalic families at the Menindee Lakes lookout all glad to see each other and ready to discover what Broken Hill has to offer. We headed off in a convoy travelling 118km before arriving at Broken Hill.

The BIG bench at Broken Hill

Broken Hill is set amoungst an area which is rich in minerals which is why it is Australia's longest lived mining town. Besides its mining Broken Hill is also famous for its Art with some big name artists such as Pro-Hart making their mark in the town. Many Australian movies, such as Mad Max have used Silverton, just 25km out of town, as a backdrop.
Our first stop was the Miners Memorial which was on top of a hill which gave 360o views of the town. There were all sorts of old machinery around to look at and for the kids to play on and of course the Big Bench, which was built to give adults an idea of what it is like for kids to sit on a bench. It was huge and a bit daunting.

The kids love playing on the machinery

The miners Memorial was built in memory of over 800 miners who have lost their lives while mining. It gives you just an idea of how hard it would have been back then for the miners, there were so many different causes of death and just to name a few; crushed, inhaling too much dust, machinery accidents and buried underground.
We got to overlook a mine pit and although it was interesting it was not a pretty view.




Looking over Broken Hill

More mining equipment

Our next stop was the Rock Sculptures which are just a few km's out of town. They were very impressive and very clever. As the sun was starting to set we decided to set up camp nearby so we found a clear flat spot by the dry sandy river to fit 4 camps. The kids did a great job collecting the firewood so we could enjoy a warm fire.



Sculptures





Our camp near the sculptures

Setting Off

Before the sun had a chance to rise the McMullen family arrived right on schedule at 6am for an early start on the first day of our adventure. We had a phone call from the Markwick Family who were not ready so decided to meet us in Broken Hill. The Pajalic family were already on the way having left the day before. As the sun was rising and the fog started to clear we drove out of Canberra excited about what adventures lay ahead. We had a good run to Barellan where we stopped for morning tea at the big tennis racquet.

Morning Tea stop at the Big Tennis Racquet

Further on past Hillston we found a great spot under the shade of some trees beside Willandra Creek for lunch. We made it to Ivanhoe in the late afternoon, just 30km past Ivanhoe we found a fantastic spot to camp over looking a waterhole and watched the sunset as we set up camp for the night. We enjoyed dinner around the fire and an early night to bed. 


Cannon at Ivanhoe



Our first nights camp



Kids did some drawing in the red sand



The kids had a ball playing in the sand



Our Adventure Continues

Its been just over 7 months since we returned from our trip around the coastline of Australia. We are now ready to continue our Adventure with a trip through the centre of Australia. This time we are leaving the camper behind and packing the tent. We will be joined by our friends the Markwick, McMullen and Pajalic families for the adventure. We have all spent the last month busy preparing, the men have been hiding in their sheds preparing the 4wd's for the trek. Join us for our adventure through the Flinders, Cober Pedy, Painted Desert, Ayres Rock, MacDonnell Ranges and then across the Simpson Desert as we have the time of our lives.


Markwick, McMullen, Pajalic & Smidt children