Broken Hill Road Trip
30 September 2023
DAY 1 SYDNEY TO MUDGEE
By Natalie Davies, Sydney Chapter, Photos Courtesy of Anda Clayton and Sharon Cassidy
After many months of anticipation, our road trip to Broken Hill finally commenced. We met up with seven other members at McDonald's McGrath's Hill before heading on our journey up the Bell's Line of Road to Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens where we had a brief comfort stop. Continuing down the picturesque Capertee Valley to Portland, we met up with a further five members (one from Sydney, and four from Canberra Chapter) getting acquainted during lunch in the park, followed by a look at The Foundations painted silos (which depicted former employees of the old cement works). Onto Mudgee where we had a little free time to explore the town before meeting up for 'Fivesies' then walked to dinner at the Oriental Hotel.
Red proved to be the dominant colour of this tour. We had three red NDs, one red ND RF, one red (maroon) NB, one blue NC and one silver NC.
DAY 2 MUDGEE TO COBAR
By Jo Blackburn, Canberra Chapter
An early start in clear blue skies via the artwork on the silos at Dunedoo A portrait of Wynx and his trainer, and the golden canola fields. Onto Gilgandra for morning tea at a small but interesting coffee shop, No. 41, with excellent car memorabilia. A very suitable venue for a car club morning tea.
A long 2 hour drive from Gilgandra to Nyngan for a lunch stop. The road for the last 50 km did not deviate by an inch from the starting direction.
Cobar has an interesting mining history. Gold and copper. Fort Bourke lookout is worth the walk from the car but you do have to get out of the car to view the open cut mine. The town is low key but with an interesting church or two.
Dinner at the Great Western hotel is an experience to be had. It’s a large hotel that looks old - a lot of unpainted and rusting wrought iron railing. Inside is nicer. But…They are too busy to do salad or pasta this evening, notwithstanding they are on the menu - and burgers are lunchtime only. The perch with garlic prawn sauce was perfect! An excellent second day of our tour.
DAY 3 COBAR TO BROKEN HILL
By Anda Clayton, South Coast
Tonight we're in Broken Hill at the start of the Broken Heel festival!
This morning Brian and I, as well as, a number of other MX5 members decided to make the most of our remaining hours left in Cobar to explore some sights of this mining town. We drove to Fort Bourke Hill lookout where we experienced a wow moment looking down into the massive open pit and entrance to its gold mine.
Our drive to Wilcannia was yet again straight! We clocked 11kms between crests of view. We couldn't really complain, as it made overtaking the caravans and road trains fairly easy and safe. The numerous goats along the roadside and the occasional emu reminded us that yes, we're in the outback!
Sharon had organised a pre ordered lunch in a cafe at Wilcannia which was very welcome after a 260km drive from Cobar with only an occasional comfort stop along the way. Fortunately we'd dodged the police - escorted wide load after one of our stops.
The cafe owner assured us that our cars were safe parked outside the cafe, as Wilcannia is a safe place now. Lunch took a while due to a mix up, but the result was worthwhile - good fresh sandwiches full of healthy salad, just what we needed!
After lunch the wind had picked up with gusts of 50km/hr which tended to stir up the red dust. Our brave Brigid decided to go "tops down" all the way into to Broken Hill....go girl!
Temperatures at this stage were 31C, so our air con and top up (what, you may ask, Brian actually had the top up?
) was a comfortable option. A few spots of rain along the way, but fortunately not very long lived.
) was a comfortable option. A few spots of rain along the way, but fortunately not very long lived.By the time we reached Broken Hill temps had dropped significantly.
Another 2hours of straight road and we were at our destination...Broken Hill! What a sight it would have been, seeing 8 little MX5's (mostly the red variety) cruise into town
Tonight we dined at the Palace Hotel of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert fame. A great night with some interesting characters getting into the swing of the festival.
DAY 4 BROKEN HILL free time
By Anda Clayton, South Coast
A day spent exploring the sights of Broken Hill. A cold "feels like 3 degrees" and windy day didn't deter these intrepid tourists!
A 20 minute drive west took us to Silverton Mad Max country. I could immediately see why the Mad Max movies were filmed here...a vast expanse of desert with amazing light.
By this time we were unsure what time it was - NSW or South Australia time? It was amusing seeing our phones change the time as we stepped from one side to another of a cafe next door to the Mad Max museum.
R&R at the Silverton Hotel and to wait for sunset. What time is sunset? It all depends on which time zone we were in....it was all a mystery!
Off we drove in convoy to the Mundi Mundi lookout to view the sunset and curvature of the Earth. Fortunately John was driving slowly, as not only one but two 'roos jumped between him and Rob! Fortunately they missed the 'roos, this time! John vowed to drive back very carefully and at snail's pace!
Excitement mounted, cameras clicked as the sun set into the west..... an amazing sight, and I'm sure I could see the curvature of Earth. We even managed a group photo with everyone smiling...this must be a first!
We managed an uneventful return drive back into town and straight to dinner at S-Que restaurant.
DAY 5 BROKEN HILL TO MILDURA
By Anda Clayton, South Coast
Broken Hill Road trip - Day 5
Goodbye Broken Hill...hello Victoria!
Today was a short 290km, 3 hour drive from Broken Hill to Mildura along a yes, you guessed it, a flat straight road.
As we neared Coombah it was morning tea time and we all craved a coffee....ah a truckstop.....sorry, closed! No coffee, no fuel but the Telstra telephone worked! By the look of the rusted petrol nozzle and price of fuel it had been closed for some time. It was time to be creative. Out came Brigid and Rob's Snakes and Party Mix lollies and John's fivesies' cheese and bickies! A most unusual but enjoyable morning tea!
A few kms down the road we pulled into a rest area. Here we had a view of Menindee Lake. The road followed the edge of the lake for a number of kms. Here the landscape changed from tussock grasses to eucalypts, the difference water can make to vegetation.
As we approached the Greater Sunraysia area near Wentworth, some of us needed to dispose of our fruit. Lunch stop in Wentworth for a quick sandwich was a surprise. Who would've thought, that in a country town such as Wentworth we would find a trendy, beautifully styled restaurant such as Lock 10 & Weir! A great find, friendly efficient service, great coffee and food.
Wentworth lies at the Junction of the Murray and Darling rivers. The Murray forms the NSW/ Victoria border. A short drive over the bridge and we'd reached tonight's destination at Mildura's Golf Resort.
Tonight's dinner was most enjoyable - a delicious Vietnamese meal at Mr Bun Mi.
DAY 6 MILDURA free day
By Anda Clayton, South Coast
Rest day and some down time for us all to do as we pleased.
Brian & I, as well as John & Sharon decided to spoil ourselves with a cooked brekky on our "day off", venturing into town to the Langtree Cafe. Delicious, but portion sizes were huge - I'm sure Brian's scrambled eggs consisted of 4 eggs!
A pleasant stroll through town and over the railway tracks lead us to the wharf where our paddle boat, the Rothbury was due to depart. 10 of us enjoyed relaxing on the 2 hour cruise past Buronga and Gol Gol on the Murray River. We admired the birdlife and river front homes, and guessed the prices of the homes for sale.
So much more to do and see in Mildura, but alas time was limited and we had to say "next time".
Tonight we dined at the local RSL, where we farewelled our Canberra Chapter friends who will be travelling further into Victoria's wine country tomorrow.
DAY 7 MILDURA TO NARRANDERA
By Anda Clayton, South Coast
Our final official day of our run.
Departed Mildura for a 5 hour, 465km drive to Narrandera, leaving the groves of orange trees and vineyards behind us.
We were pleased to actually find coffee at our morning tea stop today at the tourist information centre in Balranald. Our drive to Hay via the notorious Hay plain was indeed very flat and monotonous. No wonder we passed a number of abandoned cars, even a caravan in many pieces! We came across a number of B-double trucks and a wide load. Despite a lack of dual lanes, overtaking was safe due to good visibility and run leader Sharon alerting us of road conditions over the 2-way.
Hay was a welcome lunch stop. A lovely town with many interesting old buildings, pretty gardens and interesting statues adorning the main street. Here we viewed the water tower art, dedicated to the servicemen and service women who left Hay to serve overseas during WWII.
On our approach to Narrandera, we began to see canola, sheep and cattle again. Tall eucalypts reappeared near the banks of the Murrumbidgee.
Our first stop was at the Narrandera water tower to view the murals. Inspired by the work of Owen Lyons, the artwork of a lizard, koala, Tiger Moth air plane, paddle steamer, river and Oakbank Brewery tower took 4 artists 120 ltres of paint and 11 days to complete.
We enjoyed our last very jovial dinner at the Ex Serviceman's Club. Service was slow, but food portions tasty and generous. Never mind, more time for one or two more drinks!
Thankyou to run organiser Sharon and run leader John for a fabulous week away to places Brian and I had never travelled. Thankyou Sharon for all of your hard work organising the run detail. This was a trip that we'll never forget.
As we make our own way home tomorrow, over and out.....until our next MX5 adventure, zoom zoom
