Sunday was going to be warm – but a bit windy (‘significant breeze’, a Broken Hill local called it). So we were off to Silverton and the Living Desert Sculptures. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way by 9 am.

Silverton

About 25kms outside Broken Hill lies Silverton, a little ‘ghost’ town. The town sprang up in 1867 with the discovery of silver, but when more extensive deposits were found at Broken Hill, the population moved there. It now has a permanent population of 89 and is a major tourist drawcard. Mad Max and many other films were shot in and around Silverton and the Mundi Mundi Plain.

Mundi Mundi Plain

The local donkey here wanders the town. We came across him again about an hour later on the veranda of one of the cafes. (I half expected to see Clint Eastwood step out from behind the building 😉 Silverton is a very popular place, and according to the publican, Sunday is his busiest day. Even though we were there by 9.30, the area was still busy with cars and bikes. 5kms further down the road is the Mundi Mundi Plain, where the land is so flat you can see the earth’s curve.

Living Desert Sculptures

After lunch, we returned to Broken Hill for a brief siesta before returning to the Living Desert Sculptures. Fantastic place, busy too. There was even a coach bus up there! I would have loved to have been able to see it without the crowd. One chap had a humongous video camera on a tripod to catch the sunset. He was hogging the best spot. Everyone is trying to shoot around him. Artists worldwide created the sculptures in 1993, which sit atop the hilltop in the Barrier Ranges.

I love this place and highly recommend it if you are in the area. After leaving the sculptures, we returned to town and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Demo Hotel. Then, it was back home, and the lights were out by 9.30 pm. We have to go to stop getting up so early!