Broken Hill

Broken Hill is a mining town in the outback of New South Wales, about 1200 km inland from Sydney.

Silver, lead, and other minerals were first discovered here in the 1800s, and mining continues today. Many of the street names pay homage to the city's history, with names such as Oxide, Sulphide, Cobalt, and Mercury!

Broken Hill is a beautiful, but potentially treacherous, place. Watch out!

Silverton is a nearby "ghost town" that still attracts many tourists.

St. Carthage Catholic Church overlooks the rugged landscape.

The area is home to many artists and has a thriving gallery scene.

The outback is unusually green this year because of heavy rain fall. This is the road below Mundi Mundi Lookout, which was actually closed due to flooding.

A cemetery on the outskirts of town reveals the harsh conditions miners and their families endured. With no fresh water and a lack of sanitation, typhoid was rampant in the early days.

With its stunning landscapes and historic architecture, Silverton is a popular film and tv location...

...most notably, it was the setting for the movie Mad Max 2 in 1981.

Inventive sculpture by a local artist.

Sculpture Symposium

Overlooking Broken Hill, on nearby hill top, is a collection of sandstone sculptures created by an international group of artists in 1993.

Each sculpture tells a story about the unique landscape and history of the outback.

The artists hailed from Mexico, Georgia, Great Britain and Syria, as well as Australia.

Magnificient (surveyor's) view of the Broken Hill area.

Bush ranger!

Even at dusk, summer temperatures in the outback are stifling.

This is one mellow old Red Kangaroo! Even when all of his comrades were startled and hopped away, this guy just kept on looking at us with those sleepy eyes...

On a hot summer evening, the WindyLoo is very nice indeed.

On the Road

While most of this year's devastating floods have been up north in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have also experienced flooding in a few areas. We stopped to inspect this overflowing creek on our way to Broken Hill.

Although the patterns of algae looked lovely, the stagnant water was hot and teaming with insects. Not very inviting....

There were quite a few Silver Orb-weaving spiders dangling in their webs above the swamp. While they are HUGE and look rather menacing, they are actually docile and not at all deadly. 

We had hoped to camp, but all of the national parks in the area were closed due to flooding. Only one road was open in Kinchega National Park, near the town of Minindee.

On the trip west to Broken Hill, we had to make a two-day, 700 km detour because of road closures due to flooding. Route 32 was open again by the time we made the return trip, but it still wasn't quite dry...

Patrice, looking quite Australian, don't you reckon?

First emu sighting!

Modeling my new hat, purchased at Outback Whips and Leather (!!!)

Celebrating Australia Day with the locals in Scone, known as the horse capital of Australia. January 26 commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet (of convicts!) at Sydney Cove in 1788.

We found the residents of Scone to be a very welcoming bunch.