We're doing OK

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We stopped overnight at Cobar on Monday 31 Aug. It's a quiet little place that feels and looks like it's just hanging on to existence. There's lots of motels for travellers and we had had such a long haul from Gunnedah to Cobar that we were very glad we didn't have to unpack the tent.....we haven't unpacked it yet! While the buildings are a bit run down and in need of a good paint job, Cobar felt safe and the peole were helpful and friendly. We had a surpringly good Thai meal at the Services Club and slept like babies.

Cobar to Wilcannia seemed to take forever and it was interesting to see how quickly the vegetaion changed as we travelled along. It was quite green and lush when we left Cobar but quickly changed to red dirt and low desert tye vegetation. Just when we thought we were in the real desert, the vegetation would change again. It was when we got closer to Wilcannia that there were endless miles of flat nothingness. We did see lots of goats, cows, sheep and emus and sadly lots of road kill (kangaroos). We were hanging out for a strch of the legs at Wilcannia but we didn't stop. Its a sad, run down town that isn't very inviting. Along the road there are many well prepared rest stops with toilets, water tanks, picnic tables and shelter so we boiled our billy and did battle with the flies! I had packed so well, I couldn't find the Aeroguard!! Won't be making that mistake again. There is a wonderful peace and energy in the outback that we have experienced so far.....despite the flies!

We arrived in Broken Hill at quite a good time and had time to settle into our accommodation before doing the manadatory walk down the main street. It's a city full of history and many of the old buildings have been mainatined and are used today. They've done a good job with an historical walk, labelling everything and telling the story. It's easy to get a sense of the histroy quite quickly. The mine of course dominates the city and we had dinner at a great restaurant, Broken Earth, which sits on top of a huge pile of rubble from the mine and looks over Broken hill. A wonderful place for watching magnificent sunsets and for eating very fine food as the light glimmer like fairyland below.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we spent the morning visiting some of the fantastic Galleries. Jack Absolom has a beautiful gallery displaying many of his paintings. We were delighted to find that he was in the Gallery that day and we got to have a chat with him....I bought a book and some prints and he signed them for me....I felt quite chuffed! He's 82 now and as fit as a fiddle.....he's full of vitality and still paints. He clearly loves to work and keep fit! The Gallery that was a surprise for us was Pro Hart's Gallery....a magnificent range of art works on three levels. Blue Poles fades into insignificance compared to some of his other works. Later in the afternoon we drove out to a created area called the Living Desert where we followed some trails to look athe Flora and Fauna. Following that we walked 1.4kms up a winding path to the top of a hill where we watched the sunset. The feature at the top of the hill was 12 sanstones sulptures which were completed in 1993 by artists from around the world. I've taken some great shots of the sculptures whick look pretty amazingas the sun sets. There were heaps of people out there when we arrived but Allen and I were the only ones who styaed until the sun set.....it got a bit cold. However it was a great experience being out there on the top of the hill with out glass of wine and a few nibblies.

Today we're doing a load of washing then going ouit to Silverton which had a population of 250 in 1883 and 3000 by the end of 1885. Less than 60 people live there now and it has been turned into a tourist attraction. The town is often used as a TV and Movie location (eg A Town Like Alice, Mad Max and countless TV commercials). Well, time to hit the road again.....hope all is well in your world.....Love from Sue & Allen. xxx

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