“On the road again, we’re on the road again”. That’s right after spending about 9 weeks at Napperby it’s time to set off again. As you will recall from my last entry, we bought another tow vehicle which Colin has spent time in tweaking some of the electrical system, (extra battery). We did eventually sell our other 4x4; sad to see it go as it has been very faithful to us & hasn’t missed a beat all the time we have travelled.
Well lots of things have happened while we’ve been so-called resting. The one & only good fishing day since being back, Colin & Guy managed to pick up a good feed for dinner that night. Well done boys! A bad dust storm hit us & we couldn’t see much in front at all; we did however notice a few caravans travelling back to Adelaide in the awful weather – not a good travelling day. My younger sister, her two boys & mother-in-law (from South Africa) came up for the day. Lots of family birthdays during the last couple of months. A quick visit to Adelaide for a couple of days gave us time to catch up with some shopping & a visit to my dad’s for tea. Another quick trip up to Kingston-On-Murray to visit Nick (Colin’s grandson) for his 6th birthday; (several days later he broke several bones in his foot while entertaining his little mates for his birthday party).
I have been battling a bad back for the last 4 weeks with regular visits to the chiropractor. Slowly it has been improving. Josh, Kendehl & Arthur (Smurf) managed to make a visit on my birthday; it was so good to be able to spend some time with them. Smurf is now 15 months & beginning to walk & exploring anything & everything. Shilo the Labrador loved having him around, wandering all the time what was this thing that moved into her space & wanting to play with her toys. She was good with him though!
Now back to our next stage of our journey. We left Napperby on 21 July heading towards Broken Hill via Silverton. We set off at around 11:20am for our first stop at Jamestown as we had some business to attend to. Morning tea around at the RM Williams Park where we read all about R M Williams, very interesting. Next stop was to be Peterborough; time out for a good stretch & to reminisce of my grandparents/mum’s home town. Overnight stop was to be at Yunta, a small town of a population of around 800 (that’s what the sign says anyway). By the time we arrived at Yunta the cold air was settling in. I wasn’t really in the mood for cooking so a visit to the pub across the road was in order. Our order came & I really didn’t want to leave the warmth of the fire which I was sitting on to go & eat in another room, but what must be, must be. Our site was within 20m of the working railway line. The trains were relatively quiet with the last one passing through at about 6pm ish & no more until after 7am. If any did come through the night we didn’t hear them. This morning (Thursday) was quite chilly with the temperature reading about 4o on the clock & the fog was thick. I couldn’t even see the train track from our van. By about 9:15am the fog had lifted slightly & so we continued on with the next stretch to Silverton. After about 30kms the fog lifted completely & we were once again in the warm winter sun, now we could thaw out!
As we head towards the SA/NSW border the scenery changes to a rugged environment. We begin to wonder what one would do as a living out here – not much more than cattle, sheep & maybe emu producers. At Cockburn, on the NSW side of the border, it was time for another stretch & to our amazement we came across a very large motor yacht being transported to Newcastle. Colin went over to speak to the escort guys only to be told that they had been there for 3 days already. Problems it appeared.
By early afternoon we had reached our destination of Silverton (Penrose Park) after travelling on about 25kms of rather ‘dippy’ road; in fact there are 39 dips in total which allow the water to flow during heavy rains. Silverton is a popular destination for movie makers. It has been the scene for more than 140 films & commercials such as, Bryan Brown’s Dirty Deeds, Mad Max II, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, XXXX beer ads & the Royal Flying Doctor series. This near-ghost is town full of interesting arts and craft shops. Silverton is a fascinating town, once a thriving mining centre of 3000, it is now a virtual ghost town of about 50 residences with a number of historic buildings, several art galleries and museums and a pub. The pub has legendary stories about events and the famous people who have visited, along with a replica of The Interceptor from the Mad Max movies. The new movie was supposed to begin filming shortly, however owing to the landscape being ‘too green’ it has been postponed. The town is surrounded by 4000 hectares of land known as The Silverton Common, in a semi-arid zone.
Penrose Park (which is where we stayed for a few days) was named after John Penrose, born in Yorkshire in 1850. The park was built and maintained by Broken Hill mines as a place of respite for mining families. The park consists of playgrounds, tennis courts, cricket ground and lovely bush gardens; quite a nice bush camp ground. The old Silverton Cemetery located next to Penrose Park. Headstones still standing there date back as early as 1883. Silverton is home to a group of long time artists such as John Dynon, Peter Browne Gallery & Horizon Gallery). Tourists & locals alike congregate at the top of the hill to watch the magnificent sunset across the Mundi Mundi plains where you can see a huge landscape that is as flat as a tack as far as the eye can see. The red barren land of the Mundi Mundi Plains stretches out without a hint of a man made structure. You feel as if you've landed on a new planet.
Our first day at Silverton saw us venturing out on the 2 hour Heritage Walk Trail which took us up & over hills with stunning views that overlooked the township & the breathtaking views of the Mundi Mundi Plains. While taking photos of some fauna back in town, Colin happened to notice the ‘Mad Max’ vehicle on the back of a trailer. We went up to give the owner Adrian some assistance to get it off the trailer which, then led to a half-hour chat. In the evening a few of the locals met up at the pub for a good chinwag. Having done the big walk, it meant that for the rest of our stay we could just meander around town soaking up the atmosphere, exploring the various museums especially the school, which brought back some memories. The locals were very friendly & chatty. If you ever get the chance to visit Broken Hill, why not go that extra mile (25 kms) & visit Silverton, it is worth the trip.
Click on the link below the picture to view some photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/108879761974384702036/NapperbyToSilvertonNSW?feat=directlink
