Australian Destinations - Outback Australia, Broken Hill, New South Wales

We had to see Mario's Palace Hotel in Argent Street, the hallway walls were lavishly painted and looked just fantastic. Michael Angelo must have visited Broken Hill once!

Wooden railings and staircases lead to the upper floors and tasteful archways and chandeliers give you an impression of glorious elegant times, long gone. The rooms were pretty basic but at a reasonable price, average price $45 p/p. We popped a gold coin into the donation box to help the new owners to keep the hotel's distinctive look!

How nice would a refreshing milkshake be after all this viewing!!!

Bell's Milkshake Bar is exactly the place where we were thinking of! Situated at 160 Patton Street, this milkbar was built in the 1950's and still has the original chrome décor and furniture – a pity the waitresses weren't dressed up in rock 'n roll skirts and beehive hairstyles. Famous for its over 50 handmade flavours of soda spiders and shakes, it also provides magazines of decades ago! Browse through the small museum, presenting objects used in old-fashioned cafes and milkbars.

We noisily sucked up the last drops of our delicious peppermint and raspberry soda and left to drive to the “Living Desert”, 9 km outside of town. A few raindrops and dark clouds made us wonder whether we will stay dry during the 2.5 km cultural sanctuary walk trail within the Living Desert Flora and Fauna Sanctuary. You will discover wildflowers, endemic plants, free ranging fauna, prospector mine site and aboriginal heritage. Rest a while and enjoy the view from the scenic lookout. Standing out brightly were hundreds of Sturt Peas, their blood-red leaf-like flowers presenting a colourful array between the quartz outcrop and arboretum of plants.

Within the Living Desert is the Sculpture Symposium. Completed in 1993 and created by artists from all over the world, it took months to carve these 12 sculptures. The artists worked without power tools on these colossal Wilcannia sandstones. Up to 3m high, they stand majestically on top of the hill and at sunset they glow in deep colours.

For vehicle access you need to obtain a key from the visitor centre ($10 deposit).

Alternatively you can drive to the Living Desert Carpark and walk up the hill on an easy sealed path, taking approx 20 min. Very enjoyable and great views! A $10 entry fee applies to each vehicle.

We spend a windy and wet night at the Broken Hill Lakeview Caravan Park in Mann Street (08 8088 2250). Everybody assured us that this is not the normal weather pattern!! Too wet, too cold for this time of the year! We thought of the poor cyclist on their way to Adelaide and snuggled deeper into the warm sleepingbags, smiling mischievously!

Broke Hill - Page 2

By Ingrid Merrett

Next morning we didn't let the weather bother us, put on warm jackets and headed to Silverton, approx 25 km northwest of Broken Hill. We soon felt like leaving civilisation and drove along vast plains and desert like country. Ruins of dwellings, rusty car wrecks in their front yards, welcomed us. Puddles and mud decorated the wide streets – the scene of a pioneer town in the late 1800s.

Between the spaciously placed houses mining equipment and old building materials were scattered in the yards and.....donkeys????What were donkeys doing here??? We got out of the van and followed them up the hill to an old methodist church. There they posed for our cameras and a local man explained that they belonged to the nearby camel farm (they offer camel safaris of various durations, also “hire-me”camels for weddings). Jack and Jill, as we called the donkeys ,were soon sick of our flashing cameras and trotted off, leaving us to enter an art gallery of most unique appearance. John Dynon bought fellow artist Peter Browne's ruin-like cottage, restored it and displayed his wonderful artwork in a charming way. Born in Broken Hill, he worked on various stations in the area and as an underground miner. His passion for the beauty of the Australian outback kindled his desire to become a full time artist.

A few people still live here in Silverton and where there was a mining town there must have been a PUB!!! Through the wet streets we wandered towards the famous Silverton Pub, once the scene for the movie “Mad Max II” and “A town like Alice” and other movies. The original cars of Mad Max were still parked in front of this charismatic outback saloon. It is one of the most photographed hotels in the country. A welcoming front bar offered 15 variations of ice cold beers and you could get cabin accommodation. The walls of the pub are covered with photographs from film makings and interesting shots of Silverton's past.

Adrian Bennett brought some excitement to this tiny town by setting up a Mad Max Museum.

An obsessed fan of the movie, he moved his family from England to Australia to collect anything he could find left after filming. He rebuilt a XB Falcon Coupe, just like Mel Gibson drove in the movie back in 1981. His passion resulted in a most unique display of all kind of memorabilia and for under $10 you can obtain access to this fantastic(fanatic) place. The car collection alone is worth a visit.

In the 1880's Silverton was the largest township in this area and in its heydays it boasted every convenience, from newspaper and gymnasium, church to hospital, footy club to ...a gaol.!!

A mere $3 entry fee let us step back in time when we passed through the front door of the gaol museum. Every aspect of life, how it must have been in Silverton, was represented and there were literally thousands of items on display. A wide range of photographs provided lots of information of old Silverton. Note the open-air prisoner dunnies!!!!

At the Opal Shop further down the main road we delighted in viewing a large mineral collection, various shells, paintings and jewellery. I was a bit amused to see a kangaroo shaped opal necklace, made in China.

Making sure we purchased a Silverton souvenir, made in India, we left Silverton on the road towards Umberumberka Reservoir, stopping at the lookout to view the vast Mundi Mundi plains, stretching out eternally. Rainfilled stormclouds gathered at the distant horizon, covering the setting sun.

We found these two towns to be a jewel for outback art lovers and ghost town–like photography. Unexpectedly we spent four days between these two towns, and there would be still so much more to explore. A pleasant surprise!

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