Spectacular sunrise. Warmer day, and the camp ground has good facilities, so I got a chance to shower and wash my hair before we head out bush. It may be a few days before I have the chance again. By the time I was heading back from the ablution block to our camp site, the corellas were all awake and greeting the morning with their usual cacophony.
Breakfast, then time to take camp apart, pack the 4WD, hitch the camping trailer, and head out. Quick stop in town to say good-bye to some of Richard’s friends at the tourist center, then on the road, heading north on the Silver City Highway. We’ll be on sealed roads on and off for the next hour or so, and then it will be nothing but unpaved roads—dirt and/or rocks—for the next several days.
Stopped at Stephens Creek, a watercourse that, like so many in this area, is generally dry, but has enough moisture in the soil from during the wet season that it is lined with trees. As much as I love the open, red wilderness, I am always drawn to the contrast of a dry creek bed shaded by hundreds of massive river red gums. Wonderful. Enjoyed the beauty and took a lot of photographs. Richard related that, a bit farther upstream, there is a dam that has created a reservoir, but that was not visible from where we crossed the creek. By this point in the journey, the road was dirt and the ride was getting rougher. This is when Richard’s skill and experience behind the wheel became vital.
For being in the seeming middle of nowhere, there was a surprising amount of history around us. We are now traveling on the route that explorers Burke and Wills and Charles Sturt took on their various treks northward, as they attempted to cross the continent. We crossed the Mount Gibbs Station, where Charles Rasp, who discovered the ore body that would be named Broken Hill, once worked as a boundary rider. Passed the Corona Station, once managed by Alfred Dickens, son of Charles Dickens.
Wildlife was wonderfully abundant: red kangaroos, galahs, wedge-tailed eagles, kites, and a lot of emus. We could also see, off in the decision, a building storm. But it was far enough away from us that we didn’t have to worry, at least not yet.
The land around us now is arid and fairly desolate, and yet the number of faces that desolation wears is fascinating. There are different rocks, scrub, terrain, animals, colors. Always something to look at.
About noon, we stopped at the Pack Saddle Roadhouse. This is the only roadhouse between Broken Hill and our destination, Tibooburra. The roadhouse is named for nearby Pack Saddle Hill. There were cold drinks available, plus surprisingly wonderful lunch options, including tuna in satay sauce. Purchases made, we headed to the top of Pack Saddle Hill, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.
Waltzing Australia 