Beginning of the Outback

I'm not sure just where the Australian "outback" starts, but I think it must be somewhere near here. Broken Hill is in far western NSW, not far from the South Australian border. The further west you head along this road, the deeper into the "outback" you go.

During summer the temperatures reach 50 degrees centigrade. We expected hot weather - it was 35C here on Friday, but there is a cold change and we wish we had brought winter rather than summer clothes. Apparently it is snowing back home in Blackheath.

Today we drove to the old mining town of Silverton. It would now be a ghost town, except for tourism, partly assisted by its "movie star" status. In recent years it has been a popular location for filming of iconic movies including Mad Max 2, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Razorback and A Town Like Alice.

We did a mine tour and learnt of the arduous conditions endured by miners of yesteryear, some as young as 8 years old. It was hard enough just getting down and up the mine with hard hat, head light and camera - let alone just a candle (purchased from the company) and heavy pick.