Return trip to Broken Hill and a cracking sunset

    

  

Packing up the camp and dousing the last of the fire.

Intrepid explorers on the lookout for wild life.

A little bit of heaven. The outback is a strange place. At times it is so serene and spiritual and at others it is menacing and alienating.

A lot of the water holes had these thin spindly twigs reaching up to the sky. All sorts of water birds swoop and soar in the pellucid blue that stretches on forever. That is another thing about this country - it is vast beyond comprehension. We are just here for a few days and in the cool season. What must it have been like for those early explorers who struggled out here in all seasons for months on end? And what a bitter and lonely death it would have been for many of them. Even from our pampered perspective the dry atmosphere takes its toll. Our lips are cracked, our eyes are dry and our nostrils feel clogged with fine dust.

 Paul bet me that I wouldn't go into the water at Lake Pamaroo. My competitive spirit kicked in.

Here I am channeling my inner Wake in Fright. I am in awe of how my father effortlessly captured the very essence of this country in a few sparse words. I am very proud of my old man and very pleased we decided to embark on this nostalgic journey. It has given Paul and me the chance for mutual reminiscences. A time for us to remember our young selves basking in the light of our charismatic father.

Sunset at the Living Desert and Sculpture Park. At the top of a hill just outside Broken Hill sit twelve glorious sculptures carved from sandstone from Wilcannia. Even without the sunset these massive edifices were balm for the soul.

 

Beer, art,companionship and nature. What more could you ask for?

Slightly surreal nightscape as we head back to town for dinner at the Palace Hotel where we ate another hearty meal. Quite a few of the cast and crew from Wake in Fright were relaxing over a quiet beer in the main bar. We said goodnight as we adjourned back to the comforts of the Eumundi Tramway cottage which is our home away from home. And so one last sleep before we go on set and meet the actors and have some publicity photos taken with the stars. In anticipation I made a quick trip to Big W to buy some mascara.