Shorty's RV Adventures

Broken Hill – Day 4

Posted on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 by shorty

The weather was pretty miserable all day today. No actual rain, but just dull grey, windy and very cold.

I started my day by going back the hospital for a follow-up visit. Although I had only been on the tablets for 2 days, the doctor was pleased with the extent to which the swelling had gone down. He said to complete the original prescription and to get the repeat filled to have on hand just in case. Very practical doctor.

Meanwhile Ann stayed back in the caravan doing some book-work. When I got back we spent a bit of time trying to sort out an issue with my credit card. I was embarrassed when my card was declined. A call to the bank today revealed that my card had in fact been blocked due to a suspected fraudulent transaction, but no-one had told me. So a new card has been issued which I will receive in due course. Not a fun way to spend an hour or two I can assure you! And it was all on the mobile from Broken Hill!

After a quick lunch in the caravan, we had a look at the Pro Hart gallery. Parked out the front are several of his Bentleys and Rolls Royces, including the famous painted Rolls.

The approach to the Pro Hart gallery

Painted Bentley by Pro Hart

Then we drove to the BHP Miners Memorial. This is a huge steel structure built as a memorial to the 816 workers who have died in the BHP mines since 1883. Names are listed by year, and include the name, age, and cause of death. The youngest we say was aged 12 and the oldest was 78. Causes of death were quite horrific and included death in explosions, suffocation, buried in pits, and so on. The last death recorded was in 2007, which is actually since we were last here. It is a very sober reminder about industrial safety.

Miners’ Memorial

Floral tribute to each fallen miner

Old mine near Memorial

Broken Hill sure ain’t flat

We then dropped into the supermarket for fresh supplies and drinking water and then back to the caravan to hitch up and prepare for our departure tomorrow.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broken hill

Broken Hill – Day 3

Posted on Tuesday, June 4, 2013 by shorty

After a cold early morning, it turned out to be a fine cloudy day. My face is still swollen but we decided to drive 25 kms to Silverton for the day.

The road to Silverton is renowned for its dips. One Gallery in Silverton is called Beyond the 39 Dips but we are sure that there are a lot more than 39! We bounced along past the Day Dream Silver Mine, until we came to the old Tramway Station on the outskirts of Silverton.

The first of many dips in the road

Arriving at Silverton

Old Tramway Station

Our second stop was Penrose Park where we had planned to stay. With all of the rain we changed our mind and stayed in Broken Hill. Just as well. Penrose Park would be a great stop but not earlier this week. Parts were still under water and it looked like the road to the park had been closed or at least under water. We would like to go back another time.

We headed into town and stopped to look at the Municipal Offices building when a donkey came trotting towards us and braying. We greeted him and he just stopped and watched us and waited until we got back into the ute. Then he came over to the window to say goodbye. Very friendly!

This guy came to greet us

Got up close and personal

The old Municipal Offices

We then drove around past the Silverton Hotel and up the hill to the Mad Max Museum. I spent some time in there while Ann went for a browse through the Art Galleries around the corner. It is a very quiet eerie town now but it would have been all hustle and bustle in its Hey Day. Click Here to see other photos from my visit to the Mad Max Museum.

Interceptor Love Child outside Silverton Hotel

Outdoor bar area at Silverton Hotel

Stage in the outdoor bar area

Inside the hotel

Mad Max Museum

Charming old cottage still standing

Local artwork

Same artist different canvas

Different artist same style canvas

By the time that I had finished at the museum and Ann had returned from the galleries, it was lunch time so we decided to try the Café on the hill. Excellent choice! We both had a hearty bowl of Drovers Beef Stew with damper and a plunger of very good coffee. It was VERY good!

Silverton Cafe

After lunch we drove to Mundi Mundi Look out, which has also featured in a number of movies, then on to Umberumberka Reservoir. This was built in 1915 and still supplies water to Broken Hill. It is huge.

We did a lot of walking today and I was pretty tired so Ann drove us home.

Horses roam free at Silverton

View from Reservoir over Mundi Mundi

Camels roaming beside the road

Look who’s driving

Other Interesting facts about the Broken Hill / Silverton Region:

Broken Hill has among the worlds largest Silver–Lead–Zinc mineral deposits.

In 1880 the nearby town of Silverton was established and was, in its heyday, a booming mining town with a population of 3000. Today Silverton is a ghost town with a population of about 60.

The Trade Union Movement originated in Silverton in 1884 with the formation of the Barrier Ranges Miners’ Association of Australasia. Under the banner “United we stand. Divided we fall” unionism was born in the region.

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company LTD (BHP) was formed in the Silverton Hotel in 1885 and became Australia’s largest mining company.

The Hotel and the Silverton area has featured in a number of movies including Mad Max and A Town Like Alice.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broken hill, silverton

Broken Hill – Day 2

Posted on Monday, June 3, 2013 by shorty

We had two surprises his morning.

Firstly, we had hoped that by travelling some 300 km North from Buronga/Mildura that the temperature would get a bit warmer. Unfortunately it was cold and very foggy here early this morning but by 9 am, the sun was out and there was the promise of a nice day coming up. Despite clear blue skies and a few puffy white clouds, it only got to about 15 degrees.
Second surprise was that I woke with a very swollen ear and a big swelling down the side of my face (the same side of face that was affected by the shingles). Change of plans. We spent the morning at Broken Hill Base Hospital. No one knows what has happened but I have tablets to take and they asked me to come back on Wednesday. Bugger! Anywhere but here (the walls are plastered with signs about Hep-C and bottles of hand-wash are all over the place). They were good at the hospital but even while we were there, there was a violent incident with a couple of young guys, one of whom put their fist through the wall!

Broken Hill Base Hospital

While I was waiting in Emergency Ann had a bit of a wander around the hospital and was very impressed by some quilts on display.

Broken Hill Base Hospital Display Quilts

Ann extended our booking here and we will just have to cross our fingers and hope that my problem goes away in the next few days.

After sitting around in the hospital waiting rooms for hours we needed to get outside and walk, so mid-afternoon we went to The Broken Hill Sculptures and Living Desert Sanctuary. It is an interesting place and you get a fantastic view of the Broken Hill region from the lookout.

Broken Hill Desert Living Sculpture

They really don’t want you to use this entrance!

Our gorgeous grand-daughter Alex asked Ann why Broken Hill was called “Broken Hill” so we made it our business to find out. Well, in 1844, the explorer Charles Sturt saw and named the Barrier Range, and at the time referred to a ‘broken hill” in his diary. The ‘broken hill’ that Sturt referred to in his diary actually comprised a number of hills that appeared to have a break in them. The ‘broken hill’ no longer exists as Silver was discovered in the hills in 1883 by a boundary rider called Charles Rasp and since then the hills have been mined away. Good question Alex!

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broken hill

Buronga to Broken Hill

Posted on Sunday, June 2, 2013 by shorty

Although we suffered through rain and wind overnight, this morning promised to be a nice day in Buronga and a check of the weather bureau indicated that the weather in Broken Hill would also be fine. So that settled where we would head today.

Packing Up in the sun at Buronga

We took our time packing up and left by 10 am. We drove through Wentworth and on to the Silver City Highway until we stopped at Bunnerungee Bridge rest area for our morning break. Our Camps 7 Book told us that the rest stop catered for Big Rigs so we trustingly drove in and then realised that we were below the bridge over the creek and that the area had had 3 inches of rain in the last 48 hours. Fortunately as we moved forward (because we were too big to turn around) we realised that there are 2 bridges and that the water was under the second bridge. We drove further to explore this very interesting spot. We would be happy to free camp here. We enjoyed our coffee.

Coffee at Bunnerungee Bridge Rest Area

We walked and stretched a bit and then continued up the Silver City Highway to our lunch stop at Popiltah Rest Area. This is also a good spot. We pulled off the black top to a spot with a great view of Lake Popiltah. Because of the surface water and muddy conditions we engaged 4wd to get out and back on to the black top, but it was worth it to have lunch with a view.

View over Lake Popiltah

We then continued up the Silver City Highway to Broken Hill. There were lots of Emus, wild goats and sheep grazing beside the road. Because it was Sunday, we only passed 1 large truck all day which was very good.

Highway Views

Wild Goats by the Highway

Although we had considered staying at a free camp at the Racecourse, we decided to stay at the Broken Hill Tourist Park because of the amount of surface water everywhere after the heavy rain of the last 48 hours.

Welcome to Broken Hill

It has been sunny and warm in the ute today but there is a strong cold wind outside. Strong wind and mud and some rain forecast for tonight – not a nice combination.

Unhitching at Broken Hill

We were all set up in our big drive through site at Broken Hill by 3 pm. It is a bit of a worry that there are signs everywhere saying “Secure Your Belongings!” and the Caravan Park is surrounded by a high weldmesh fence with triple barbed wire around the top! Says a lot about where we are!

When we arrived the sun was streaming in to the lounge area of the van so we had a cuppa and reviewed the maps of the Broken Hill area.

Revived, we headed into town in the ute to explore the city and get our bearings. After a quick trip to the Visitor Information Centre to pick up some maps and brochures, we lashed out on take away roast chicken and roast potatoes for tea as we are pretty tired after our drive today.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: broken hill, buronga

Buronga – Day 3

Posted on Saturday, June 1, 2013 by shorty

A big storm started at about 8.00 pm last night and rain has continued pretty much through the day today. We’re glad that we didn’t take the chance on finding a freecamp further along the road.

So basically we were caravan bound all day. Ann took advantage of the situation to do a quick load of washing and drying and I shot down to Bunnings for a couple of things. The ducks and swans in the park have had a great day!

While at the laundry, Ann found out that the massive noise we had heard in the middle of the night was actually a head on crash between a truck and a car on the bridge over the Murray River just next to the caravan park. Apparently the bridge was closed for 4 hours, which wouldn’t have been much fun in the storm!

We are experiencing a bit of deja vu with the weather. Last year we also started our 2012 adventure at Wangaratta in rotten weather and experienced rain until we got to Cobar (on a Saturday night). That night was the annual Cobar rodeo which was actually cancelled due to the weather. We must attract the rain! However, our 2012 adventure worked out well in the end and hopefully the same will be the case this year.

At this stage we plan to leave here tomorrow, but exactly which direction we will go depends on the updated weather forecast.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: buronga

Buronga – Day 2

Posted on Friday, May 31, 2013 by shorty

We were woken again by the bird life here in the Park, but thankfully no rain. There are so many different birds that we took a photo of the Identification Board.

Birds of Buronga – one of many signs around the park

It was not raining this morning but when we checked the Bureau Of Meteorology website, we could see that there is some very heavy rain on the way on Saturday, currently forecast for 30 to 50 mm for this region.

As we were planning to free-camp for the next few days, we quickly reviewed our plans, and decided to book in here at Buronga for at least another 2 nights. That being the case we unhitched the caravan and put up the awning for some protection from the weather.

Our Set up

We originally stayed here in 2006 when the current owners had just taken over what was then a very run down park in a fantastic setting with million dollar river views. At that time we were one of 8 vans in the park that week. We came back here in 2010 and the changes were amazing. We were one of several hundred vans that year.

This year, the place is even more amazing. Multiple swimming pools, multiple camp kitchens, great facilities, tennis courts, multiple playgrounds, jumping pillow and a small farm. The many trees have grown and the many gardens are everywhere. Despite all these improvements, there is still a really friendly atmosphere that makes Buronga Riverside Caravan Park a great place to stay at a very affordable price.

Water level in the Murray is very low.

This guys loves to be hand-fed carrots.

Something for everyone.

Outdoor cinema.

New swimming pool.

Villas with million dollar river views.

One of the camp kitchens.

We bought eggs from these girls.

After enjoying some farm fresh eggs (purchased here) for lunch, we made a brief excursion into Mildura for a quick walk through the town centre and to pick up a few supplies.

All in all today was a very easy day and we were both able to catch up on some walking and reading.

Tomorrow promises to be wet, but we are well set up to hunker down inside the van all day if necessary.

One for Suzanne.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: buronga

Echuca to Buronga NSW

Posted on Thursday, May 30, 2013 by shorty

This morning we were woken early by the sound of kookaburras and cockatoos, and the sound of raindrops on the roof of the caravan. It was going to be a good day! After breakfast and then packing up in light rain, we left Echuca at 9.30 – we were not going to get caught up in the school drop off traffic!

It was raining more solidly by the time that we arrived at Cohuna so we decided to stop for a coffee and re-assess our plans. We were stunned at the lack of water in the lake. It was so inviting in 2006, but now, I think that the photos say it all. The landscape throughout the region is very dry. We experienced steady rain for the rest of the day today but several days of solid rain is needed in this region to have any beneficial impact.

Cohuna Lake in June 2006

Cohuna Lake in May 2013

After a quick coffee in the van we headed further north west up the Murray Valley highway. Just before Kerang we came across a quarantine stop. Ann quickly juiced some lemons and stored the juice in the freezer, and we ate the last of our mandarins. All refuse was carefully placed in the yellow quarantine bins.

About 8 -9 kms past Kerang, we could see lots of flashing lights in the now heavy rain. When we got closer we could see that a small white car appeared to have lost control on the bend and rolled and landed 5-6 metres off the road. The police and ambulance were in attendance.

We continued in the rain through Lake Boga and Swan Hill and stopped in Nyah to re-fuel and purchase a couple of hot country pies for lunch. We moved from the service centre to a nice new rest stop further up the road in Nyah. It was raining heavily so we set up in the van where we could relax, warm and dry and enjoy our lovely pies and coffee. The joys of being self-contained!

Lunch in the van out of the rain

We then continued further up the highway to Robinvale where we had planned to spend the night but it was only 3 pm and all available campsites were near water . We decided to keep going and had another quick stop Mallee Fowl Rest area between Euston and Gol Gol. At that point we decided to proceed to our favourite Caravan Park in Buronga about 5 kms north of Mildura (just over the river).

By the time we arrived, the rain was very heavy. We pulled into a drive through site, plugged into power and water and turned on the heating to dry our clothes and shoes. If the rain keeps up, this will be a very good place to stay until the rain passes.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: buronga, echuca

Echuca – Day 2

Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by shorty

We were woken up this morning by the sound of what seemed like thousands of birds flying over the park calling to all residents to wake up. It was a cold morning followed by a great sunny warm day.

At about 9.30am I walked into town and it was just as well I took my camera as what should I find but the National Holden Motor Museum. A highlight for me was the 1969 Holden Hurricane – a very futuristic prototype project that unfortunately didn’t get past the prototype stage. It has been temporarily on display in Echuca and soon heads off to the USA for a tour!

Holden Hurricane at the National Holden Motor Museum

If you’re interested, you can Click Here to see more about the Holden Motor Museum on my Classic Car Photography website.

Ann took her time, talked to the neighbours and caught up on her email. Later we caught up for a walk around the town and Port area as well as lunch at the Moama Bakery.

There is a huge redevelopment happening at the Port. The Port of Echuca Revitalisation Project and Interpretive Centre is due for completion in November 2013. We walked quite a distance along the River and were very surprised to see how low the water level is. There are very long ramps out to the boats and they seem to have to navigate their way down the centre of the river. Water levels appeared to be as low as they were when we were here in 2006. Melbourne has had a lot of rain but it would seem that the country areas have missed out. It will be interesting to see if it has impacted the water levels at Wentworth where the Murray and the Darling Rivers meet.

Very long walks out to the river boats

River Boats

Thong Trees

We were pretty tired when we returned to the van at about 2.30pm so we sat in the sun and enjoyed a cup of tea with the dozens of very fat and tame ducks who graze here in the park. They are not deterred even when we tell them that we have a very good recipe for braised duck with Asian greens!!

After we had recovered from our day wandering around Echuca, we drove in to the supermarket for some supplies. We timed it badly as we got caught in the after school traffic jams! What were we thinking!

Then it was back to the caravan for dinner, internet and TV.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: echuca

Wangaratta to Echuca

Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 by shorty

This morning was again very cold. We weren’t in any real hurry to get going and I didn’t want to pack up while everything was wet and damp so I let the Navigator have a bit of a sleep in. We finally left the caravan park in Wangaratta at 10.30am and headed off towards Echuca.

Early Morning In Wangaratta

As we were driving through Bundelong we were stunned by the destruction along the Highway. A tornado tore through the area on March 22, 2013 and has left huge gum trees ripped to shreds and even 2 months later the devastation is quite confronting.

We stopped for a morning coffee in the sun beside Lake Mulwala in Yarrawonga. One of the locals (a seasoned vanner) came out to talk to us and check out the hitch on the van. There was an all-weather, luxury cruise boat, The Paradise Queen, moored near where we stopped and we watched as a bus from the local retirement village dropped off a large group of people for a lunch cruise on the Lake.

The Paradise Queen

We drove on a bit further and stopped at Bourke’s Bridge Rest area for lunch in the sun (Camps 7 #249). Having downloaded the stops in Camps 7 into the Garmin GPS saved a heap of time (check out GPSOZ for the software download). Just as we were enjoying the relative tranquility of our lunch stop, a bus came along and dropped off a bunch of school kids, followed shortly after by a couple of utes loaded with canoes. Obviously an outdoor ed adventure in the making.

Plaque at Bourkes Bridge Rest Area

Students on Outdoor Ed Excursion at Bourkes Bridge

After lunch we drove on to Nathalia and stopped and walked around the town and had a coffee at the bakery.

We arrived at Echuca Holiday Park at 3.30pm. This is a great park with big drive through sites and walking distance to the Historic Port precinct.

So far I’ve made reasonable progress on the photos from Historic Winton 2013, but there is more work yet to be done. If you are interested in seeing my Classic Car Photography, please Click Here.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: echuca, wangaratta

Wangaratta – Day 3

Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 by shorty

After a cold morning, it was a lovely day here in Wangaratta today.

Painters Island is a lovely van park especially at this time of year with the trees changing colour.

We went for a long walk into town this morning. From Painters Island you walk across the new swing bridge to Café Pre Vue. Sit by the fire and experience great coffee and good food. The trouble is that more people have found it and the whole precinct is being redeveloped. We will have to learn to share “our place”. It was a good place to start exploring the town. There seems to be a lot of development happening here at the moment. It is a lovely town with fantastic family friendly facilities.

I spent the afternoon sorting my photos from Winton while Ann cooked up a storm using up our fresh produce rather than throw it out at quarantine check-points further up the highway.

All going well, we plan to leave here tomorrow and decide where we are going once we hear the weather reports.

Categories: 2013 Big Adventure | Tags: wangaratta