May 26th, 27th, & 28th, 2011. Broken Hill- Silverton Penrose Park

Thurday May 26th saw us up early and on our way to Broken Hill. This was a fairly long travel day but quite easy. The road is fairly good and not too many stops along the way. We fueled up in Wilcannia which has beautiful old buildings but unfortunately is not safe to stop in for any length of time.

The outback was a big change from the previous scenery but not near as barren as I had expected. Apparently they have had good rains the last few years and it is much greener than usual.The wide flat expanses are very impresive however.

We continued on to Broken Hill arriving in Penrose Park about 4PM. Park is at Silverton which is about 25km north of Broken Hill. Quite a slow trip as there are numerous dips in the road for water drainage (39 I believe). We met up with Sandra's sister Carol and husband Stephan there. They are the last two of our group of six and now the trip has really begun.We enjoyed a group dinner and a few drinks. The park is quite nice and set on 80 acres. You just find a spot you like and find a power point if available. Amenities are rather basic. We found a nice big area where the 3 of us could setup. Unfortunately two other vans decided to join us over our stay. It is amazing how with an almost empty 80 acres people will decide to park their vans right next to you!
Friday the 27th we toured the historic Silverton area. We went out to the Mundi Mundi lookout and Reservoir north of Silverton. The Lookout show the true expanse of the outback and makes you feel like a small part of the world. We got some good photos of a dry river bed along the way.

We then toured Silverton and the many historic buildings there. Got pictures of many including Mad Max 2 Museum and had a drink at the Pub. Mad Max 4 is to shoot there as well but has been delayed because get this; things are too green! Finished the day off with a fire, big dinner, and more drinks.

Saturday the 28th we toured Broken Hill itself. Stopped at a number of gallerys, tourist info centre, lookout, etc. Had lunch and did some shopping in early afternoon before heading home to park. Took some more Riverbed photos on return trip. John, Sandra, Carol, and Di went to historic cemetery at sunset for some more photos and a walk. Very old cemetery with headstones from 1880 time frame. Terry kept the fire going for the 3 days we were there although firewood was a challenge to find. Had another good feed and did some preparation for next days trip.