Australian Journey 1987

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4 May, Monday:
After a late night packing the gear I left this morning about 7:45. On the trip up through central Victoria I used the full tank and two of the three spare cans of fuel. This will give me a range around 780 kilometres, which is well within my longest distance between service stations.
It was a long days driving to the border town of Wentworth, which was reached around 5:00 that evening. Did 356 kilometres today was advised by the police at Wentworth not to take the Menindee Road due to recent rains. I booked into a caravan park called Willow Bend, which rests on the banks of the Darling River. Car went well but the weather is overcast.


5 May, Tuesday:
The Silver City Highway is great. At Broken Hill I stayed overnight at a caravan park. I don’t think I’ll have the same trouble with possums as I did last night. Went to Silverton, which is a few kilometres northwest of Broken Hill, it’s a great little ghost town. Car running well, weather warm.


6 May, Wednesday:
Before I left Broken Hill this morning I had to fix my bonnet catch; it was wedged shut. The road north ranged from good dirt, bad corrugations and a 10-kilometre stretch of sealed road that was in the middle of nowhere. I later found out it was an experimental road surface laid to find out how it would handle the floods. Some parts did, other parts were breaking up.
Had a few beers at Milparinka before driving out to Depot Glen. Lost my exhaust and returned to Milparinka. Travelled the last 44 kilometres to Tibooburra without the exhaust.
Stayed at a campsite on the outskirts of town. Travelled 362 kilometres today.





7 May, Thursday:
Did one trip to see old gold diggings then went back into town and spent the rest of the day making alterations to the exhaust system at a local garage. The mechanic took the middle muffler out and put a pipe straight through to the back section. Got plenty of clearance now but it’s a lot noisier. If it gets me through the rough sections I will put up with it.
That evening had a drink at both of the local pubs. Went back to my camp just as it started to rain.

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Photos

Silverton
This pub has been used in many Australian movies.

Milparinka
The old court house. One of the few remaining buildings in town.

Silver City Highway
In name only! It was rough in parts and sections were even sealed.