23/9/12

Today we went into the fantastic(but no longer functioning) Blinman copper mine. We learned how long they would have to work which was approximateily 12 hrs. And we also found out what they only ate which consived entirely of Cornish pasties.

This is a photo of my Mum eating a Cornish pastie at the wonderful Wild lime cafe

My Mum has an obsession of windmills. Ps this blog was by Flex

Stranded at Wilpena Pound we are forced to take time to breathe, do art, sightsee, roast apples in the fire, rest, explore and just be. It is utterly wonderful.

We crossed our first border on Monday and the south australia experiences have been coming thick and fast!
First we decided to stay the night in Peterborough and from the get go it was 'welcome to freaky town'!!! From the super loud fellow in the information train (?), to the deaf man who wanted Ruth and I to 'come and see his billiard table', to the bird that weed on me from a tree, we both agreed there was no way we were staying the night there. So on to Ororoo, (try saying that and not sounding like Scooby Doo) wher the car proceeded to break down. Yep, we had picked up a gremlin in freaky town and it was playing its tricks.

So we stayed in a cabin at the caravan park and at the local mechanics insistence, kept driving the next day. We pulled into the spectacular Wilpena Pound resort to pick up wood for our bush camping and boom. Car no go. So the trusty Tarago was towed away and Ruth got to have a nice smell of a truck (fetish!).

And now we are here, stranded in the achingly beautiful Flinders Ranges while the car gets a new transmission installed. But thanks to nrma premium coverage we are here for free and have an awesome Prado to drive! Silver lining!!!
This place is incredible. Yesterday we hiked up to the top of the pound (a vast natural oval shaped 'crater' full of arcing silver gums and flowers, animals and a rippling spring) and over the next few days we will use the resort as a base from which to explore the many gorges and indigenous sites in the area. Our camp looks out into a gorgeous dry creek bed and there are kangaroos and emu passing right by us all day long. And the showers rock!!! The boys have found another 'epic' bike jump and we are cooking over the fire most meals.
Love you all and wish you were here!

I'm perched atop the Line of Lode which is the massive pile of slump from the original mine here. The original 'broken hill' I guess....we have explored all things rocks and mining while staying at the lovely Penrose Park recreation area. Gone underground into the Daydream mine at Silverton ( so named because the young fellow who staked his claim there thought he saw silver glinting in the sunlight, presumed it was a daydream, had a nap under a tree, and upon awaking decided to examine the shiny stuff he saw in the distance....moral of the story - if you see something sparkling in the sunlight always check it out!!!).
We have heard the stories about the conditions miners worked in, some as young as 8. It really hit home for the boys when we visited the miners memorial and read the names, ages and causes of death engraved into the glass. " Paddy Baker, 17, fell down mineshaft".....or " crushed by ore bucket" or " suffocated on explosive fumes". A hardcore life for many, many men and their families.
The art here is pretty fun. We have viewed the worlds largest painting on canvas (4 tonnes of paint used), hiked up to the sculpture symposium and gloried at the sandstone works amidst stunning wildflowers and views to make your heart ache. The countryside is wild and sparse and lush and dry and colorful and subtle and hard all at once. Super prickly bushes next to the most delicate pale blue wispy flowers I have ever seen.
But the prize for favorite creative space goes to the Palace hotel, where Priscilla was filmed. So quirky and kitch and fun!

Cheers Broken Hill. We love you and don't think you need any fixing.

Having a birthday on the road is exciting and forces creativity! We made a cake out of a stack of pancakes with strawberries and cream, presents of blue tack and a balloon trick kit from a small town shop, and celebrated in style with breakfast by the Darling river, lunch in transit on the glorious red dirt road and finally hotdogs at the Silverton Hotel just out of Broken Hill!

Lucky has rebelled in being master of the birthday jellybeans and had a terrific day. I am so in love with the person he is!! Happy birthday to my youngest babe!

We went crazy doing art in an abandoned room at cobar caravan park.

We set up camp in the Paroo Darling national park .it was our first real bush camping experience and it was awesome!.

There are heaps of rugged and beautiful wild flowers around and we pressed some in Flex's flower press.

The scrubby bush out here is amazing.

Great for riding bikes.!

We found cotton by the side of the road which had blown from the huge bales which were ready for transport.

Wild melons growing on the train tracks. We smashed some open and they smelled like honey dew.

We also found a great pub to stay in last night in a place called Nevertire. Who knows what we will find next....(by Flex)

Helmets are on, spirits are high, and the zoo is ready for exploration...

"open up and say aaaaaaaah!"

Bonding with the swans....

Playing with feathers....
We are finding out groove slowly. Figuring out what goes where in the camper trailer, training the kids to put things away, shopping for camp food. After a blustery night we are ready for a good sleep, the bike riding muscles are sore! Also had a great experience at the dubbo men's shed where we met 'riverbank frank' who showed around the tools and gave us a book of stories from ordinary and interesting local blokes. It's so great striking up conversations with strangers. Hope to do more of it......

After a few months of prep and the last few days of anxious timeisrunningout last minute ideas and packing, we were finally ready to hit the road today. And hit it we did, driving for six hours in windy, dusty, beautiful, colorful countryside. The kids were plugged in to idevices ( in flight entertainment) a lot of the time but we did manage some silly song singing and alphabet games. We saw kangaroos, emus and lots of birds as well as tonnes of babies - lambs and calves everywhere!

We stopped twice , once for Arutha to pee behind a cattle grid (?) where we were sprung by the lady of the manor who proceeded to tell us all about her business selling bras and undies.... The other time to check out the 'salt' on a dried up river bed....only it wasn't salt. Any geologists know what it is???

Anyway, we are here now in windy Dubbo, the camper trailer is set up and our bellies are full. Arutha and the kids are playing chess and cards and after a long, hot shower my yummy bed is calling to me.... And I'm going to start the Hunger Games at last! Tomorrow, we go on safari....

Our Dad is an awesome human being. We made him a delicious cheese cake and together with some friends we had a great dinner party. We are lucky to have other cool dads in our life as well. By Flex