2020 Broken Hill

  Tuesday 15 September We didn’t have far to drive today so we took our time checking out. Away by 9, we went to find Perry Sandhills just out of town for a bit of fun. The area has been used in various movies over time. Then we headed back into town to the river so we could see where the Murray and Darling Rivers join. It was such bright sunlight it was hard to see the line which clearly defines the brown muddy waters of the Darling where it joins the clearer, deeper water of the Murray. Paddy melons a desert scourge. An introduced weed. Darling River to the left, Murray River to the right A quick coffee in town before we headed north on the Silver City Highway to Broken Hill. This far western NSW town is ½ hour behind the rest of New South Wales. That is how isolated it is. It is closer to Adelaide and Melbourne than Sydney. Lots to see and do. Random entertainment at a roadside stop a dry lake Emus are a common sight wandering through the scrub After checking in to our accom...

  Wednesday 16 September Today we had booked a tour out to Menindee. The lakes system and Darling River have a chequered history due to drought and man-made restrictions to water flows. Menindee Lake is dry and is not likely to ever fill again. This is bad news for those people who have property at Sunset Strip – Broken Hill’s holiday location on the lake in days gone by – now almost a ghost town. Indigenous locals would also be feeling the loss of this massive billabong. Quick stop at a Burke & Wills camp site Map of lakes system The main weir across the Darling River  View out across the dry and empty Menindee Lake This thistle flower is now taking over in the area This drawn map shows a little more detail of the area Copi Hollow is a man-made body of water which was created by accident when workers on a channel built to siphon water from the Darling River, created a channel of their own and the lake was created. It is the only lake which allows water sports. Co...