Gismo Queen and her King

Day 55 - Silverton to Ivanhoe (via Broken Hill and Wilcannia)

So, we really were leaving this morning. Up, packed and on the road by 9:15am. Our few stops in Broken Hill took much longer than we expected (supermarket, dump point at Visitor Information Centre, servo) so it was 11:30am before we were on the Barrier Highway heading north-east.

We have previously taken every other road out of Broken Hill so we decided to save the Menindee Lakes for a warmer time (and make a trip of it proper) and instead headed for Wilcannia, another mining town 200 kilometres away. The road was straight, flat, with desert either side so we trundled on for kilometre after kilometre. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful rest area (Lisa, you would have been impressed - toilet, playground, free BBQ) and were joined for lunch by a couple of emus! We arrived in Wilcannia a little while later and were dismayed to see that time has not been as kind to Wilcannia as it has been to Broken Hill. Very run down and derelict, although a couple of nice old buildings. We kept going, aiming for Ivanhoe.

The Cobb Highway turns south about 20km out of Wilcannia and the majority of the 166 km to Ivanhoe was dirt. However, we can safely say this was the best dirt road we have travelled on during this entire trip. I know it's a highway and all, but those northern roads could learn a lesson or two from the road authorities down here. A few ruts but for the most part, a really good run. And such compacted dirt that for the most part, we caused very little dust (which was good, as I hadn't taped the van).

However, it was still 5pm (especially given that we lost that elusive half an hour today - a way down the Barrier Highway we saw the time zone sign telling us to add 30 minutes) before we arrived in Ivanhoe. A small town, but looking a little more industrious that Wilcannia, we pulled over to search for a free camp but lo and behold, there are no such places up here. Never fear, the Ivanhoe Servo and Caravan Park (now, doesn't that conjure up pleasant images?!) prevailed and we met Wendy the proprietor, who only recently took over, and she set us up for the night.

It's a pretty cool and windy night but we are tucked up snugly in our van and so caught up on TV via the internet and ate dinner. It's caravanning in the 21st century!

posted by Tracey @ 9:32 pm