{"id":711,"date":"2020-08-22T15:28:21","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T05:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arnobrok.com\/blog\/?p=711"},"modified":"2020-12-30T14:17:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T03:17:44","slug":"nsw-country-trip-august-18-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arnobrok.com\/blog\/blog\/2020\/08\/22\/nsw-country-trip-august-18-20\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW Country trip: August 18-20"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tuesday 18-Thursday 20 August \u2013 Broken Hill<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More to explore in Broken Hill…. A beautiful day, and Arno spent a few hours doing 9 holes of golf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After lunch we headed off to the Royal Flying Doctors Services (RFDS)<\/strong>, which have a base in Broken Hill.\u00a0 By coincidence, Endemolshine is currently here shooting doing a new Flying Doctor series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RFDS is an unique service, and truly a blessing to many people living out in the middle of nowhere. Apart from being an ambulance service and the medical \u2018housecall\u2019 in a case of emergency, they also provide mobile clinics such as dentists, optometrists and other everyday medical services that a city person generally takes for granted being down the road.  Many of the older generation have poor teeth; it was pretty usual in days gone by for people to use their pliers and pull a painful tooth out.  We discovered that a remarkable man by the name Reverend John Flynn<\/a> through his passion, empathy and perseverance, made this service happen when he firsthand witnessed the harsh life in the outback while he was in involved with missionary work in rural and remote areas.  The information supplied at this \u2018RFDS experience\u2019 was extensive and absolutely interesting.  We didn\u2019t even know that our old $20 note actually displayed all that information<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We got around to visiting one of the many corner \u2018hotels\u2019.\u00a0 At one time there seemed to have been 60+ of these, now there are fewer (they say, haha)…. For our overseas family members reading this, we\u2019ll just explain that these are the real traditional \u2018waterholes\u2019 (\u2018kroeg of cafe\u2019) of every ozzie regional town, regardless how large or small the population.\u00a0 Nowadays many of them have been beautifully renovated ($$ permitting) and that has been the case here in Broken Hill.\u00a0 However, sometimes it is hard to tell from the outside, so when looking for a nice sunny spot to have a drink, you have to understand that the outside would not give any of the internal secrets away….\u00a0 So, you go in and be amazed by beautiful restored, or totally modernised bars, bistros, and often \u2018beer gardens\u2019 (like an atrium or alfresco area in the back)… We opted for a drink the Broken Hill Pub<\/strong> (also known as the BHP!) and the place is lovely.\u00a0\u00a0 Our dinner was booked in at the Palace Hotel<\/strong> (famous for its appearance in the 1994 \u2018Priscilla Queen of the Desert\u2019 movie), and I think for that purpose it has been preserved in its old \u2018daggy\u2019 style, but warm and cozy, despite all the social distancing.\u00a0 The bar was closed as Endemolshine had taken that over, but we will probably pop in for a look later as their website<\/a> shows some impressive art. By the way, the food was excellent!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we had a \u2018dust-storm<\/strong>\u2019.\u00a0 The clouds were red, it was blowing a gale, and thank goodness Arno had rolled in the awning last night, as it could have torn. \u00a0\u00a0The night was cold, but our van\u2019s insulation is absolutely second to none (a hell of a lot better than our home\u2019s). A few minutes of heating, and the place is cozy as.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had noticed that as we travelled further west from Cobar, the trees became very low and eventually disappeared and was replaced with sparse bush. Our volunteer guide on Sunday told us that due to the need for timber (posts for the mines, and for heating fuel) all the trees in the vicinity had been felled.\u00a0 There was nothing left to hold the soil, and caused horrendous dust storms.\u00a0 An very early \u2018greenie\u2019 called Albert Morris<\/strong>, started a regeneration project<\/a> surrounding the town.\u00a0 The population eagerly participated in this and positive effects are felt today.\u00a0 We can attest to its success, as today\u2019s dust storm would have otherwise probably meant even more dust in every nook and cranny of our van, and our bodies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dust… red dust<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We visited the Silver City Mint and Art centre<\/strong>, and apart from more silver jewellery, more local art, homemade chocolate & nougat \u2018factory\u2019, we also saw what we came for, one of the top Broken Hill attractions: The big picture by Peter \u2018Ando\u2019 Anderson.\u00a0 This piece of art is exceptional in that it is a 1oom long circular mural (at some points 12 metres high) of all the different (desert like) landscapes in the area and which provides the backdrop of their various flora and fauna which the artist has built with rocks, grasses, and who knows what other pieces of materials. \u00a0This was truly a unique experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n