Broken Hill

Relaxing On The Broken Hill Slag Heap

There Is Not A Lot Out There

We got an early start, waved goodbye to Adelaide before joined the A32 north and traveling over 500 km to Broken Hill via the Clare Valley.  Our original thought was to tour the Barossa Valley’s vineyards east of Adelaide but it would have taken us too far out of our way.  As luck would have it, the Clare Valley was just off our intended route and John our Adelaide tour guide, had told us the Clare is every bit as nice as the Barossa.

We first two hours found us winding our way through picturesque cattle/sheep country and then the vegetation turned to vineyards as we entered the Clare Valley.  We only had time for one stop so we chose the Seven Hills Cellars (just past the Door And Kitchen but before the Mad Bastard wineries) because it is the oldest in the valley having been established in 1851.  I was vexed as to who was drinking wine at that time until I discovered it is on the same property as a Jesuit Mission.  The wine was tasted and wine was bought.

Not Quite Outback Yet

We stopped for lunch in Burra on the advice of a local during a pee break.  It is a tiny town, nestled in a green valley, and the last stop before entering the outback.  Green trees gave way to bunch grass and red dirt.  Burra to Broken Hill is about 300 km and for the most part dead straight with only a few curves thrown in to keep you awake.  It is desolate and the area has been in drought for two years.  Often the highway roadkill is nothing but bones shining in the intense heat.  We did have to make one stop along the way to relieve ourselves of lunchtime libations but we had to be quick as the outback flies are fierce and seem intent on burrowing into your ears to make a new home.

Burra

Dust Devils And Not Much Else

We chose Broken Hill as our destination due to its position on the southern fringe of the real Outback.  Early in its history, it was home to over 30,000 hardy souls enduring harsh conditions in this desolate place in the hope of making money working the mines.  In the early years, Broken Hill produced gold and silver but the current minerals are lead, zinc, and silver.  As to why someone would choose to be one of the 17,000 souls still living there. If it isn’t for a great job, I have no clue.  Broken Hill got 35 mm of rain last year during the drought but this year there has only been 5 mm.  Summer temperatures average in the low to mid 30’s but last January it hit 45 degrees.

Mural Tells The Broken Hill Story

Two Most Beautiful Aspects Of Broken Hill

We checked into our heritage hotel, The Imperial.  It is an old hotel filled with antiques and sports a large wraparound deck.  Thankfully it has great air-conditioning and a very friendly host. We enjoyed our first outback beers and meals at the Astra on the main street.

The Astra - Typical Of The Architecture In Broken Hill

Our touring day involved a quick trip to the Railroad Museum, a drive out of town to the Dream Mine near Silverton, Silverton for lunch, a return to town to catch a tour of the Royal Flying Doctor operation and we finished the evening at the Royal Exchange restaurant.

The rail museum was a bit of a flyby because we were pressed for time but later in the day I had a chance to go down to the station to witness the arrival of the India Pacific, one of the most iconic trains in the world.  It takes four days to travel from Perth on the Indian Ocean to Sydney on the Pacific.  It was over 880 meters long and by what I saw peering at the inhabitants through the window, very luxurious.

Arrived 5:30 pm - Scheduled 4:30 - Considered "On Time"

Rail Car

1950s First Class Travel

Note Narrow Guage

Built-in 1951 - Last Of The Streamliner Steamers

A Lot Of Knobs To Turn

1970's - Still Had "Smoking Car"

Order Up!

Our one hour fully-guided underground and surface tour of the old Dream Mine tour was lead by a crusty old knowledgeable miner as we crawled deep underground (and I mean hunched over, hands to the ceiling crawling) to see how the Cornish men and boys picked and shoveled the silver ore.  The average life expectancy of the miners was around 30 years of age.  This tour is not for the claustrophobic or mobility impaired.  It is also the only site I have ever visited where hard hats were mandatory and that they were actually mandatory.  I hit my head on the rocks so many times I worried about a concussion.

13 Km Of Gravel Road Plus Gates To Get To Mine

Down We Go

Lunch was at the Silverton Hotel.  Not so much a hotel as an oasis in the isolated, desolate ghost town. While I’m not a Mad Maxx movie fan, Mad Maxx 2 was filmed there.   I had a beer and hotdog but couldn’t determine the mystery meat in the sausage.  Pictures were taken, drinks were had.

Silverton City Works Truck

Lunch Spot - The Only Choice In Town

Mystery Meat Hot Dog

Urinal Stickers

Great Stage For Country Music

The Royal Flying Doctor tour is of the actual flying doctor base viewed in operation.  The RFD is based all over south Australia but the home base is in Broken Hill where emergency care doctors and nurses are dispatched to the many isolated settlements in the outback.  I actually remember watching a TV series in my childhood about the RFD and while our guide didn’t remember it (too young), a quick check of the records confirmed the series was filmed in 1959.  Coincidently a new series comes is scheduled to come out the fall of 2020.

Flying Doctor Hanger

Another good night's sleep at the Imperial and we turn south to Mildura before turning east to Kiama to rejoin Gord and Margo.

A visit to the Australian Outback is a must but don’t plan to stay too long.  If the heat, creatures and dust don’t get you, the flies will.

Adelaide

View From The Lookout In The Adelaide Hills

It is time to say goodbye to Adelaide.  It has been an action-packed two days.

Things did not start well for our intrepid touring party.  We arrived at our hotel only to find that they had reserved one room for us instead of two. There were no extra rooms in the hotel.  It became tense very quickly.

We discovered that our weekend visit coincided with the busiest weekend of the year.  Adelaide was host to the “Super Loop”, Australia’s version of NASCAR Racing weekend. It is the largest attended stock car race of the year. On top of that, it was the start of the Fringe Festival (second in size only to Edinburgh’s Fringe).  The city was on fire with visitors.

We eventually got two rooms across the street in a Holiday Inn Express.  It was a bit of a let down in terms of rooms and amenities but we were lucky to find a place within walking distances of many of Adelaide’s attractions.

After settling in our rooms we hit the streets for a walkabout.  We soon realized that we were indeed “on the fringe”  Every second business was either a strip club or massage parlor (the type where the masseuse poses in a chair in the window).  The streets were teeming with young people.  Adelaide was very much alive for our Friday night arrival.

The hotel and streets were teaming with Bogans.  “Bogan” is a term we were unfamiliar with but very quickly learned from the locals.  Perhaps “Race Fans” and Fringe Attendees” are synonymous with Bogans because there were a lot of them.  They are characterized by behaviour and clothing styles.  There were a lot of carguy and AC/DC T-shirts.

One of the nicer descriptors given was, “Aussie slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude, and behaviours are considered unrefined or unsophisticated.”  I found a more severe descriptor on Wikipedia, “the majority of the species are hideously repugnant and unintelligent, and yet they manage to breed in ever-increasing numbers.  Their habitat consists of home characterized by an early-model Holden or Ford in the driveway surrounded by a group of males discussing why the ‘carby’ is stuffed and the results of last night's footy.  The female is far more loud and aggressive than the male. The females spend most of their time in supermarkets and shopping malls, using a shrill high-pitched call to discipline their children.  Males and females rarely interact socially except during breeding season, which is otherwise known in Australia as Friday night.  At home, the phrase “trailer trash” comes to mind.

After walking and taking in the street action we had a pricy meal (using the cost of a beer scale – 1 bottle of beer $12.50 AU$ or about 11$ Cdn) a block from the hotel and called it a night.

The next day we split up to take in the sights.  Adelaide is a planned city and the central district is surrounded on all four sides by large parks.  The green spaces and wide streets in Adelaide set it apart from a great many cities in the world.  A bonus is that all mass transit in the city’s core is free.

Randy and Doreen set off for the Fringe Festival while Deborah and I boarded a train to Port Adelaide.  The port is located on the Adelaide River and is slowly being redeveloped from its industrial roots to an emerging tourist area.  We took a guided river tour and learned about the history of the place when we weren’t rushing from port to starboard watching the river dolphins at play in the ship's wake.

Ready to Board the Dolphin Explorer

Views From The River

The Little Buggers Were Photo Shy

Hotel 1856

After getting back on land we took in the National Railway Museum (my insistence but Deborah acquiesced).  It is wonderfully laid out and informative.  There were lots of full-size rail cars and engines on display and we had a quick tour of the yard in a working steam miniature train.  A miniature train ride is never old.

And Yes ... I Took A Ride Along With the Children

Love To Do This Ride One Day

Bonus Oldie Outside On The Street - The Ford, Not Deborah

We rejoined Randy and Doreen to see comedian, Dan Wills at the Belgian Beer Pub.  He did a one hour set on all things Aussie and had us laughing for most of the hour.  We finished the evening at a Korean Restaurant for dumplings.  Excellent.

Lots of Little Hole-In-The-Wall Pubs - Nola

The Belgian Pub - Oostend

Gluttony Park - Home Of The Fringe

Dumplings (and Pickles)

No Shortage Of Food On This Trip

Day two saw Deborah, Doreen and I off for a four-hour personalized tour with “John” of Best Wine Tours. John owned the company and was full of information and suggestions for the rest of our trip in Australia.

Randy went to the races to sit amongst the Bogans.

Bad Pick But Maybe It Was Because of the Bogans

While the ladies tasted the wines at our first stop, Saint & Scholar, I tried my hand at golf.  The winery has a large pond with a floating green at the far end.  If you hole a ball you win $1000 and if you land on the green, a free drink.  I bought 6 balls for $6.  The info said the pin was 105 yards.  They provided a 7 iron and two wedges (I had no idea of the degree).  I hit the first wedge  and the ball dropped 10 yards short in the water.  The second was only slightly further.  I tried choking the 7 iron and put three over the pond.  The other wedge put me just past the float.  The last one hit the float and bounced off into oblivion.  No monies were won but worth a laugh.

The No Money Shot

First Stop

How To Measure Your Tastings and Still Drive

John, Deborah & I

A Rose Between Two Thorns

We had a cheese/meat platter for lunch in a picturesque setting at the Bird In The Hand Winery and then trundled home a little sleepy after some good day drinking.

We ended our day with Chinese Food and were happy to see our beds.

Off to Broken Hill and the Outback after a tour through the vineyards of the Barossa Valley.