Wild van of the plains (Silverton Creek)
Autumn has broken the back of summer and with the good rains bought about by cyclones up north, the waters are coming down through the Culgoa, Paroo and Warrego River sytems, and into the upper Darling. So we thought that we would load the panno and take a round tour out through Ivanhoe, Menindee, Broken Hill and then back on home through Hay. We didn't count on hitting the first swarms of locusts at Cowra. The good summer season has set up a fine population and we drove nearly 1000km with grasshoppers coating the front of the HQ.
Quamby Swamp. (Full, looking east)
Evening on the water.. almost bat hour...
Me off on the bike for an explore... wheres Wally ?
Ivanhoe country has changed a full palette octave since our last visit and was greens and reds. For the first time in 10 or so years, the 'swamps' (low water holding depressions) have water again and the bird life will be on the rise. HD and me took a few paddles about the lake sized puddle and a few bird watching missions. The water is surprisingly clear and warm. We spent a few days touring the back hills and were even held up off the next tour leg by a welcomed 20 mill of rain.
Quamby swamp facing west through the Box trees
We hit the Ivanhoe - Menindee road with vengeance. The graders had just been through and the road was surprisingly kind to the suspension. We had to go bush to get around a few big wet driftways, but made it into Menindee just as a new shower started to pelt down. (The Menindee road gets a little sticky when wet).
We pulled over to watch the water thundering out the spillway and into Menindee Lakes. The drizzle made the lakes look even bigger, as you couldn't see to the other side. Only dead trees disappearing into the mist. The lake has been as good as dry for a few years.
Drink-up Menindee, but leave a bit for downstream too..
The road through to Broken Hill was wet and removed the first layer of grasshoppers off the panno. Broken Hill loved the panno too. We got a few thumbs up around town. The wave given out on the road by oncoming drivers varies a fair bit. Often the mega-van tourists dont even acknowledge you, it is the locals, truckies and holden ute drivers that see you coming and give you a big 'G'day!. (even had lights flashed). We perused the galleries around the Hill. We were impressed by the town gallery (and the building). We checked out a few lookouts around town and took a gander at the rock carvings and people taking photos of each other and 40 variations of the sun setting.
On top of the Hill... (we didnt break it)
Some extra deep prose chalked on the old tanks.
The Hill country is looking great. The Bluebush is all resprouting and grasses are coming up in tall clumps in between. The damp earth and rocks really accentuate the colours.
Silverton Creek (sorry if it is called Silverton River) and the V Dubs and Emus
Saturday morning we were roused bny the Corellas (great....3.30am... at least it wasnt some bloke with a generator) and we headed on out to Silverton.
Last of the V8 interceptors, hey Max? The Looney Tunes sun-visor is a nice touch.
I really enjoyed Silverton for a visit. The rains overnight had most of the causeways running and the Silverton Creek was running. We paused to check the local art, had a beer and a pie, posed with the Mad Max Coupe and then wandered out onto the flats where the old town once stood in its heyday. We saw that there was a museum so we went and had a good yarn to Norm at the desk (who owns a tidy HQ wagon) and found that he lived as a young boy, just up the road from our own place. (small world). We parked on the edge of the Mundi Mundi plains and even payed homage to the truck-crash location in Mad Max 2 movie.
Mundi Mundi plains. The mega-vans and their generators are just out of shot to the right... They were sitting up in their bus watching some TV...good one people...
Silverton architecture, plenty of interesting graffiti scratched into the walls.
They have cleaned up the truck wreckage.... bummer. (I guess Max was filmed 25 years ago)
The road home was uneventful... more grasshoppers thuding and clunking against the front of the panno. Most hoppers on the road would jump up to fly just as you passed over them and so the bull-bar and lights and underside of the engine got an extra coating of locust genache. Slow cooked on the pipes..... lovely! Dropped into an old uni mates' joint for a cuppa. Good to see that some lads just don't change. (on ya, Seano)
One last thing.... I was passed a kind gift from HD's aunty. A blacksmiths anvil which may have belonged to HD's great grandfather.! We gently lifted it into the back of the van, tied it down and took it carefully home (not wanting to dint it see). It sat the panno down an extra inch. It now has pride of place out the side of the shed and rings true!
Anvil picks comin soon!
