Committed Travellers

It was sunny early this morning but still very cold. We saw the caravan park manager feed white bread to a large, probably overweight duck. Many different varieties of duck live on the dammed section of Burra Creek behind out caravan site. We stopped at the bakery in Burra for coffee and refuelled at the nearby service station that had limited access for long vehicles. Our next stop was Farrell Flat to see the painted silos completed in November 2020. There is an abandoned railway station by the silos, as grain is now hauled by trucks. The town has a hall, pub and community run post office.  The early morning sun caused glare on the front silo affecting the quality of my photo of the engine, so the first photo has been copied from Silo Art Trail website.  The fruit shop now operates as a B&B. In one of the old houses in the main street pressed metal has been effectively used as cladding. We stopped at ...

After lunch the rain started more earnestly. The BOM radar image showed cloud moving north towards Burra so we stayed inside for a while. Burra has not been hit with any hail or snow, but less than 30kms north snow did fall at Hallett.  We watched a couple of episodes of Manhunt starring Martin Clunes which is based on true events. I googled the ending to make sure it wasn't going to be too awful. It is a good show. Tilly wanted to go outside so I took her for 5 minutes. I didn't think she would last that long in the cold as she won't wear a jacket, but she was ready to explore. She wasn't shivering or fluffed up. Blue kept trying to get Tilly to play with him. The little critters were very active much of the afternoon. To get our attention Tilly was playing in the bathroom sink.  

The wind and rain continued sporadically overnight. The temperature dropped to 4° overnight, but BOM recorded the temperature at 10.30 this morning as 6° which feels like -3°.  I felt like the Michelin Woman by the time I had dressed in warm waterproof clothing - long johns covered by warm water- resistant trousers, Uniqol thermal top, warmest ever Kathmandu cardigan, hooded down jacket, raincoat and gloves. Bluey wore his warm raincoat and seemed to be oblivious to the cold. I let him have a run off his lead in a fenced playground. Tilly has not left the van since we arrived here in Burra, savouring the benefits of our diesel heater. I called in to the Information Centre and was given a bundle of booklets and brochures in a brown paper bag. Tilly moved into the bag for a couple of hours and stayed lovely and warm. The critters had a prolonged wrestle on the bed. Tilly started it by jumping off the crate landing on Blue. It looks rough but neither of them even gets a sc...

We left Broken Hill about 8am for our drive to Burra. Our first stop was at Mannahill. We followed this load of sheep as we dawdled through roadworks. On a recommendation from friends we explored Terowie, an historic town that is almost abandoned. The town grew late in the nineteenth century as a transhipment point from broad gauge rail to narrow gauge. In the 1970s the line to Peterborough was converted to broad gauge and Terowie became a near ghost town. Several abandoned shops are now owned by the South Australian Government. Unfortunately there is a risk associated with asbestos being blown around the town. The population fell from about 2000 to 130. In 1942 General Macarthur passed through Terowie on his way to Adelaide and Melbourne. He made a public speech at the railway station famously asserting "I came out of Bataan [in the Phillipines] and I shall return". A plaque marks the location at the rem...

The cafe up on top of the mountain of mining waste has great views but neither coffee nor food come recommended. The Line of Lode Memorial is built from rusting steel. Inside the open ended structure there is a display with the names of more than 800 men who died as a result of working in the mines. The Block 10 Lookout is located near some of the original mining activity. It also offers good views but there is a 300m walk up rough ground from the car park.

We mostly stayed in the caravan park today. Blue and Tilly had lots of time in their playpen, walking, and in Tilly's case, being carried about in a shopping bag which is what she likes.  She was very tired. While is has been sunny during the days, at night there is a lot of moisture in the air. This photo was taken a couple of nights ago at our caravan park. We cleaned and tidied the Toyota. Some things had been thrown in at the last minute when we left home, but they are now packed away. I topped up the water tanks in the Bushtracker and packed away the hose - one less job to do in the morning when we pack up to move on to Burra. Our caravan park neighbours are also spending the next two nights at Burra. We went to my nephew's place for pizzas made by Sarah which were very good. Little Ivy Blair was full of beans so I was able to play with her and let her nibble on my Magnum ice cream after she had eaten her baby food dinner and dessert, an...

After writing yesterday's blog the internet failed and my efforts disappeared - Grrrrr! I started again planning to save my draft as I went along. After the first save command it all disappeared again 🥴😬🤨 By then I had the shits and gave up. Here are some photos I took yesterday along historic Argent St. There are some wonderful buildings built with mining money, but my favourite is the Town Hall. We visited the Outback Whips and Leather shop, which is not an outlet for S&M gear.