Broken Hill

Swollen Darling River at Wilcannia

Flooded Caravan park

The 'Desert' driving into Broken Hill

We had a couple of lovely days at Wellington caves, time to recoup and gather our thoughts. The days were lovely and warm, with cooler nights. The girls enjoyed the caves, especially the fossils and the story of the Diprotodon bones. They played in the pool and we even had a moment to read. A family of mice attempted to take up residence with us, but we chased them off. We had a big drive to Wilcannia on the Monday. Coming in to the town was beautiful, with lots of emus and water in the billabongs. The country is incredibly green. We were assailed by swarms of crickets and dragon flies as we drove. Wilcannia caravan park was flooded and the Darling River very swollen, so there was no where legal to camp. Russ managed to find a picturesque spot next to the river, on the opposite side of the river to the caravan park. We were almost eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was worth it for the view. Wilcannia is a very sad remnant of a town. It has descended into a version of Heart of Darkness, with boarded up shops, children roaming the streets instead of attending school and nightly violence in the streets from adults affected by grog and years of unemployment. Leaving town, we headed for Broken Hill. The flat landscape was a carpet of green, a sight rare to behold, with water in the 'lakes', fatted sheep and emus roaming  peacefully in the lush country. We will stay in Broken Hill for a few days to catch up on washing and school work, wait for some roads to dry out and hope that they reopen the road to Mutwintji National Park