Spirit of Photography

Share Your Work => Travelogues => Topic started by: rod1 on May 31, 2008, 06:44:25 PM

Title: Western New South Wales via the "Road Less Travelled".5. Bourke to Broken Hill.
Post by: rod1 on May 31, 2008, 06:44:25 PM
Leaving the outback river port of Bourke, we immediately re-entered the dry and dusty, red, outback.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2427.jpg)
Meanwhile, my fascination with 'clouds', kept me trying for that ultimate shot. My repeated failures were rather abysmal!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2431.jpg)
None the less, we continued down the  road. It was 'open', as travellers say..
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2433.jpg)
The road went on, and on, and periodically, there were roadside memorials to persons now gone. Seeing this one, so far away from anywhere, I stopped to look more closely, and pause to wonder over 'baby Sam',  who had died, just after my now 12 year old son had been born!. Who was he? What tragedy had occurred that a memorial had been  placed way out here, and, did anybody else
 stop and think about him? So many unanswered questions!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2436.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2435.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2435a.jpg)
This was the real 'outback', and I remembered area's in western Texas that I had ridden through, by bicycle almost 20 years ago. It was certainly easier by car!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2443.jpg)
 This interesting little stop with no one there was like a long forgotten memory. The door was open, a vehicle was there but no one was around. And.....there was no where to go!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2446.jpg)
We quickly decided to go a little further and stop at a 'Rest Area' for Soup and Biscuits. Pulling into this
lovely, cared for spot on the side of the road, where the big truck was resting, the birds quickly gathered for a free feed.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2460.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2463.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2449.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2457.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2469.jpg)
The size of these enormous road trains compared to our tiny ute made me feel like a Matchbox Toy.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2476.jpg)
The country side varied, sort of (!), from this.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2477.jpg)
to this.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2483a.jpg)
to this
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2486.jpg)
Soon we reached Willcania on the Darling River.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2495a.jpg)
 Once the third largest inland port in Australia,  Wilcannia was known "Queen City". Sandstone was quarried during the boom years of the 1880's and several beautiful buildings still remain as a remnant of that era. The court, goal and post office are all of interest as well as the Red Lion Brewery housed in the golf club
 (http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2498.jpg)
The Center Lift Bridge, constructed in 1896 remains as a reminder of what was here all those years ago.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2513.jpg)
I was interested to see the new beside the old,
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2506.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2508.jpg)
 as well as the depth the river could rise at times of 'peak flow'. It was interesting in coming days to see this same type of 'Lift Bridge', had been constructed over all the major river crossings, all the way till the Darling River reached the River Murray. remnants of a bygone era!
The Country from here to Broken Hill was more of a rough desert with typical salt bush type scrub. Always, that amazing landscape!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2517.jpg)
A road stop, on the shady side of  big road train afforded us with this amazing vista
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2518.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2520-3.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2525a.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2526.jpg)
and...the most isolated toilet in Australia.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2532.jpg)
The bullet hole in its back caused me to wonder!!!
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2531.jpg)
Emus running along a fence beside the road quickly caught my attention and I attempted to photograph them.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2534.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2544.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2551.jpg)
Broken Hill was coming soon and we continued on through country much like this.
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2553.jpg)
(http://spiritofphotography.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10031/DSC_2558.jpg)