BROKEN HILL - September 2^nd - 10^th 2024   With Silver City Tours

Day 1

Travelled by the Outback Xplorer to Broken Hill a 13 1/2 hour trip! Up at 4.30am for the shuttle to Central Station and reached our motel at 8.15 pm. The day went reasonably quickly, and we were able to venture out onto the platform at several stops - cold, gale force winds meant we did not stay outside for long. Photo shows sunset at Menindee — the train slows right down to allow for photos!!

 

Day 2   -  City sights and heritage tour

1st stop the top of the Line of Lode to the miner’s memorial. Great views of Broken Hill from here. Visited the Geo centre to learn about the importance of mining in Broken Hill and the different minerals found here. Free afternoon to relax or go for a walk. Went to the Palace Hotel for dinner where the entrance hall walls all painted with amazing art works.

 

Day 3   -   Menindee & Kinchega National Park

Day trip to Menindee for a cruise on one of the lakes. The boast is they have more species of birds than Kakadu though we only got to see 3, pelicans, seagulls and a hawk.! In the afternoon visited the vast heritage listed woolshed at Kinchega - now used for tourism & educational purposes.

 

Day 4   -   Silverton Ghost Town

Once a rich silver mining town now used for tourism and TV shows - though the 3^rd Mad Max film is unable to be filmed here – it’s too green! This follows a few wet years. Broken Hill is no longer surrounded by desert – paddocks of salt bush abound! Artists love the area too – most buildings left have been turned into art &/or craft studios. In the afternoon we did the Art gallery trail in Broken Hill visiting the Silver Mint gallery to see the ‘Big Picture’, the Amanya Mitha Aboriginal Art Gallery and of course to Pro Hart Gallery.

 

Day 5   -   Railway Museum, Bells Milk Bar, Royal Flying Doctors and Sculptures at Sunset

A very full day – the railway museum houses a range of railway attractions as well as the Migrant Museum, the Hospital Museum and the Triple Chance Mineral Collection! Our guide was very enthusiastic and made it all interesting, could have stayed longer! On to the Bells Milk Bar where the 1950’s décor has been kept allowing us to reminisce about our childhood experiences in such places. At the Royal Flying Doctors we were able to see the progress that has been made to this essential service over the years. The day was due to finish with champagne and nibbles at the Sculptures – watching the sunset – a heavy squall put paid to that idea but we were still able to get a few photos before and after the rain.

 

Day 6   -   Free Day – The Broken Heel Festival Parade

ACelebrating the 30^th Anniversary of the making of the film ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ – an opportunity for a Gay Mardi Gras! We had a great time watching the parade, wearing our feather boas etc. A great bonus on our trip as we had not known when booking that it would be on!

 

Day 7 & 8  -   White Cliffs

Overnight stay in the White Cliffs Underground Motel. Visited the township of Wilcannia on the way, once a bustling port on the Darling River then a place with a bad reputation and now a quiet, peaceful small town. Visited the Red Earth Opal mine – where we actually went underground and witnessed how opals are mined. The guide here had the best sense of humour and made this a really fun tour. The overnight stay in the underground motel was different – all the bathrooms are on the outer edge so getting up in the night was an experience - we were glad it was only for one night! Brilliant sunset though from the ‘roof’ of the hotel (ground level but on top of a hill). Arrived back in Broken Hill early afternoon so plenty of time to relax and prepare for our trip back to Sydney.

 

Day 9

As day one but in reverse! The Steam train mural is outside the station – we were all very impressed by the murals both in Broken Hill and other places we visited – even more impressed by the absence of graffiti.