Wednesday 29 May. Broken Hill

Another sunny day and possibly our last. We drove out the Silverton road and turned off to the Day Dream Mine, as we had booked in for the 10 o’clock tour. Spoke to the bloke on the phone last night and he made it sound all right.

The above ground part of the tour was fine though our guide was clearly not a believer in climate change. But he had a good spiel which he had clearly developed over years. We donned hard hats with lights and started down into the mine. His idea of steps and mine differ greatly. There were some big steps, none of them were clearly defined and we were bent right over because the roof was so low. Thank goodness for the handrail. As usual I was slow because I was being so careful with my footing and by the time we had gone about 20 metres I decided that I was too slow, it wasn’t fun and I was worried about getting back up those giant steps. So I let them know I was heading back and they went on. Because of the handrail, getting out was easy after all but still not fun. About an hour later Renee and the rest of the group reappeared and Renee said that was the last mine she was ever going into. They were bent right over the whole way and the walking was not easy. It was interesting though. The best part was the Devonshire tea they served as part of the deal.

As we were more than half way to Silverton we decided to go back and have a look at the Mad Max Museum. My god daughter, Susan, has been watching all the movies in preparation for the new one just out. Took a few photos for Susan but the best thing about the place was meeting the owners who come from Bradford in Yorkshire. They loved the movies so much that they came out here, stayed and built the museum! 

We had a look at a small gallery with some amusing pictures. The owner was also an expert on Mad Max though he looked much too proper. I think you have to know the films well if you want to live in Silverton.

Back in Broken Hill we finally found a coffee shop shop that was open (in the bookshop). Everyone we meet is really friendly and loves living in Broken Hill.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Sculpture Park, a magical place at the top of a hill with a fantastic view back to Broken Hill and all around. The sculptures were a bit weatherbeaten but still beautiful and in the most amazing and inspirational location. Lots of people go there at sunset to take photos with the colourful sky behind the sculptures but we wanted to be able to see the carvings. The concept and the achievement of that sculpture park, with its artists from around the world is quite remarkable.

Dinner tonight was at the Astra Hotel. A great meal in one of the swankier hotels of Broken Hill. Very pleasant.