Tuesday morning, as pre-arranged the night before, everyone was up in the dark, out the door by 6 am and heading down to the Mildura Wharf for sunrise. 

Sunrise On The River

The river was still and quiet, save for the morning bird calls and the odd early morning jogger going past.  We were set up on a lovely wooden walkway that gave a good view down (up?) the river to the bridge over the Murray. But, even at that hour, there was a constant stream of traffic across the bridge.

By 6.45 am, the sun was coming up, more joggers and walkers were going past, and traffic was picking up… the river and the houseboats all remained quiet, though.

Back On The Road

Once the sun was up, we headed back to the motel for breakfast and showers, then booked out and headed to Broken Hill, 296kms up the Silver City Highway.  The road is well-maintained bitumen but long, with the occasional bend to keep you on your toes.  Between Mildura and Broken Hill, reception drops off quickly once out of Mildura, and you don’t get it back till about 20kms out of BH.  There is only one little general store between Mildura and BH and three unattended rest stops.  Apart from that, it’s just you and the goats..lots and lots of wild goats beside the road and the emus.

Broken Hill

We made it to BH by around 1 pm – where the group met up again at the  Demo Club.  The club began life as the  Barrier Democratic Social Club, a working man’s club similar to the RSLs,  but it has evolved into a curious cross between a pub and an RSL.  There are no half-full wine glasses here.. every glass was a millimetre from the top and half the price of the victorian pubs.  We booked into our rooms at the motel from the demo club, unpacked, and took a brief rest before heading off again.  This time we were off to the Line Of The Load, a miner’s memorial overlooking BH.  It has the name and cause of death of every miner who has worked the mine in BH… and there was a lot.  No such thing as OH & S a hundred years ago.

Sculptures In the Desert

From the memorial, we headed just outside Broken Hill to Sculptures in the Desert – 12 sandstone sculptures on a hilltop.  With Bill and Deanne Holmer from Melbourne Light Painting, we would shoot the sunset and then do a little bit of light painting before the ranger kicked us out at 7 pm to lock the gates.

Right on clockwork, the Ranger turned up at 7 pm and dispersed the party…then it was back to BH for dinner at Mario’s Palace Hotel…made famous from the movie Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.