October [week 2]
Laura & Mark - 8th October 1999
We arrived in Mildura at just before eight in the morning. Thanks to the wonderful co-operation of the different bus companies, McCaffety's dropped us off several kilometres from where the Greyhound coach service would pick us up. So to a normal town bus for a change. This got us to our destination in plenty of time, with a short scenic tour of the beautiful and peaceful Mildura (definitely a place to visit properly sometime).
We did not have to wait long before the Junction Tours bus came along (rented by Greyhound services) and we were ready to go again. Off along the long road that's suitable for "Road Trains" (the huge long trucks you see on TV documentaries). Off, far into the bush, the desert in fact. All along the way we should have been able to see the occasional emu and kangaroo along the side of the road, and we were successful: the emus blended in with the bushes so well it was almost impossible to photograph them, and all the kangaroos we saw had been blended into the road (not a pleasant expression we know, but it wasn't a pleasant sight).
We made it to Broken Hill safely though (without adding to the kangaroo deaths) and went straight to the Youth Hostel. This was very clean and quite large, with a kitchen, games room, laundry room, swimming pool, and sign that said we couldn't use the swimming pool.
The first (and most urgent) thing we did was the laundry! Fully ignoring of course any parental advise about tumble dryers, we managed to successfully shrink all our underwear, a few t-shirts and a pair of shorts. After a little pulling to get into them we managed to stretch them back to (almost) their original size.
We went on a little exploring trip of the town, but a very nasty piece of glass attacked Mark's wrist while we were quietly looking at the map, so swimming was out of the question. We returned to the hostel to cover it up while Laura nearly fainted at the sight of all the blood.
It was a shame that the swimming was no longer possible as it was still 32 degrees outside at 4.30 in the afternoon, so a trip to the refreshing freezer department of the supermarket was plan B.
What shall we eat? We feel like chicken tonight, like chicken tonight, so we did!!!!
Well fed and highly satisfied once more we went to bed.
Laura & Mark - 9th October 1999
Well, by afternoon sometime it was time to get up. Having finally caught up on the loss of sleep from sitting up nervously in Griffith. What to do on a hot afternoon like this: SWIM.
The hostel still held on to the "Pool not in use yet" sign, so we started walking in the direction of the public pool. At 17.20 we got there, and went in for a very quick dip. At 17.45 we were chased out because it was closing, but never mind, we were fully refreshed once more. With a long walk facing us back to the Youth Hostel, we decided to detour past the Rodeo/Western Weekend events. It was sadly already over, but that's nothing that a good trip to the supermarket won't make up for.
Tonight we were more adventurous, with the delicious menu of: Pepper steaks, peas and carrots, and spud heads (potato things like chips, only shaped like faces, until we'd cooked them).
We sat back to watch the evening's heavy thunderstorm, and all the rain, and then went to bed.
Laura & Mark - 10th October 1999
Today's the day we go to Silverton. A "ghost" town roughly 25km from Broken Hill, which is "famous" for having various films and adverts filmed there like "Mad Max 2" and "A town like Alice". On the way to the town we went past a park which was originally sponsored by the miners, but which people can camp in and picnic in even today. Here we saw our first LIVE kangaroos. Four of them, just further on from the park itself, sitting and watching the van.
We visited a few art galleries and were told lots of interesting stories by the guide on the bus. We then visited the Coin Carvery, where one man uses a little hand saw to cut old coins into different pendants for necklaces and coats them in silver or gold. He was a very friendly chap and he told us about when he'd been to Hawaii, and one thing that we really had to do when we go there: Maui downhill. It's a bike trip, they take you to the top of the volcano at 2.00 in the morning, where you watch the sunrise and then cycle down. We'll tell you more about it when we've done it.
We said goodbye to him and paid a quick visit to the Silverton Hotel before carrying on into the outback. Here we saw some more emus, and the first kangaroos that actually proved themselves to be real kangaroos by hopping away into the distance. A very strange but beautiful sight.
We visited a reservoir, and some more galleries before heading back to Broken Hill. Before we got there however, there was one last important stop to make: turn left 100m after the wild camel by the side of the road. Into the tame camel farm. Here we both (yes even Laura who's terrified of animals) went for a ride. It was very exciting, and very peaceful at the same time, and we were lead by the owner in a little train of camels for about 15 minutes.
After that we ended the tour on a hill in Broken Hill where we could see most of the city, and behind the hill the sun set beautifully, sending all sorts of different colours into the sky and across the mines.
Back to the Youth Hostel for pizza! Cooked by ourselves of course. Then what do Mark and Laura do best (other than their new found talent for camel riding): watch films. Where: the cinema.
So yes indeed, to Broken Hill cinema we went to watch Big Daddy, which turned out to be very funny and well worth it.
Laura & Mark - 11th October 1999
OK. What are we forgetting to see? What is Broken Hill famous for across the globe? It's flying doctors: Kate, Jeff, Vic and Maggie. So we went off in search for them. The Royal Flying Doctor Service was located (and no surprises here) at the airport. So that's where we went. We paid $3 each for the tour, but it was well worth the money. They had lots of interesting displays with the history of the service and interesting facts. It used to be the Flying Doctor Service, but when Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1954 and signed their guestbook, they renamed it the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
We then watched a video and had a little tour of the building. It's the headquarters of the service for the entire country (the entire service covers 90% of Australia). Apparently from that particular place they still have to send out an average of two planes a day (to pick up people who can't be treated over the phone), along with the usual clinic runs.
Back to town and to a phone, as it's time to call Mark's mum for her birthday. Of course Broken Hill is half an hour (?!?!!) behind in time from Sydney, so we'd timed it all wrong and missed her. So to the trusty internet, and on the Gouden Gids we found the phone number of her work and saved the day.
After all this we went to the little supermarket thingie and bought some chips and a chicken and vegetable pie to eat for dinner (our last night in Broken Hill), and returned to the Youth Hostel. Sadly, the night tour that we had wanted to go on out into the bush and to the aboriginal sculptures didn't go through because the trucks were stuck somewhere due to the rains. Never mind though, as we'll be back this way and as for tonight: table tennis, a good dinner, a program on lightning (the Raging Planet), and the X-Files is fine with us.
Time for bed again.
Laura & Mark - 12th October 1999
We got up in time to pack our things and have breakfast before getting on the Greyhound coach to Adelaide. This was all very luxurious, and we even had the front seats which gave us a great view of the countryside..... and the film.
The journey went quickly and smoothly and we arrived in Adelaide 7 hours later. We were then mobbed by Backpacker accommodation representatives and eventually chose one close to the shops, cinemas and other inner city stuff. It turned out to be reasonably priced ($35 a night for the double room) and very oriental. In fact to get to our room (which mysteriously has not only a double bed, but also two singles and a bunk bed in it) you have to duck under several palm trees in the court yard and enjoy the smell of Japanese cooking.
That's OK for now though, as we could easily walk into the city where we found an internet place, and another cinema. Oh dear, our addiction got the better of us and as it was a Tuesday night (cheap evening for cinemas in Australia, only $7) we treated ourselves to "The 6th Sense". This was also very, very good, and we walked back to the Youth Hostel satisfied, but being slightly rained on.
Laura & Mark - 13th October 1999
Another latish start, all the travelling does make you very tired and we set off in search of breakfast (or lunch). We decided not to brave the bathroom at the youth hostel, at least not the one in the court yard, as it seemed a little dodgy, so we brushed our teeth at the coach terminal and went in search of some other accommodation. From tomorrow we will probably be staying a few days in the East Park Lodge, which promises to be cleaner (and has a pool).
We then found the place where we can use internet for free, and took advantage of it for a little more than our fair share of time, but there was no-one waiting so that didn't matter.
After a while however we were forced to move on, which was probably a good thing as we still had to eat.
At 16.45 we tucked into a tasty breakfast in the downstairs food court of one of the Malls (Mark: lemon & honey deep fried chicken and fried rice from the Chinese bit, with a can of Sprite; Laura: Spaghetti and meat balls with a can of Fanta). All very tasty and pretty cheap. We then went to the internet place that we'd been to the day before and enjoyed the music of Mental Theo and lots of other Dutch junk over and over and over.
After 2 hours of interneting we left, and were distracted on the way to the cinema (yes again) by the games arcade. A few little cheap games never hurt anyone and we definitely enjoyed it.
Then to the cinema again: "The Haunting". A truly superb film that we highly recommend everyone to see, but we recommend yesterdays one too. This was slightly more thrilling, and the story of the other one was very impressive.
Back to the interestingly oriental youth hostel, under the palm trees, and to bed.
Laura & Mark - 14th October 1999
Today we move Youth Hostels, so after enjoying our free and interesting breakfast we pack up and search for someone to pay. We succeeded in doing so and were ready for the off, but where would we go? First stop: Greyhound Bus Station. Where the toilets are clean and plant-free and where an entire wall lights up to show us accommodation possibilities. We decide to use their free phone to find out the prices of a few places as these are very conveniently not mentioned on the adverts. The second hostel we called sounded perfect: all rooms with ensuite shower and toilet!, 3 modern kitchens, internet facilities and free video service. We phoned and were pleasantly surprised to hear that all this luxury was packed into the price of $40 a night for the room. So off we went!
Upon arrival the friendly woman greeted us with a smile and gave us a key so that we could take a look first. This kind of service was truly new to us and so we almost ran up the 2 flights of steep stairs. We were rewarded once more for our efforts by the sight of a beautiful room, our own en suite as promised, and the cleanest kitchen we'd seen in a long time.
We ran straight back down stairs and paid for three nights. We picked up our backpacks. We went much more slowly back up the stairs. We showered for the first time in Adelaide (eurgh, smelly). We threw all of our clothes in the wash. We collapsed.
When we got up again a few minutes later and revived ourselves with some soup, we felt truly clean, refreshed and almost at home.
At this point we met a very friendly canadian woman (who also spoke dutch) who told us about the central market just around the block from the youth hostel. This supplied much of Adelaide we discovered, with fresh fruit and vegetables at a very cheap price, so we bought some food for dinner: chicken snitzels, carrots and potatoes.
We then set out to discover the free internet place as it was still only early.
This turned out to be in a very nice information office, with three computers in the corner, and a few minutes later we were on-line again, sending our messages out into cyberspace.
Once that was all done (or rather, when we were kicked off for lingering too long) we moved on in search of a beach. We took the old-fashioned tram to Glenelg (Adelaide's own "town by the sea"). These trams have been running for 70 years already, but you couldn't really tell, except for a little screeching of brakes.
Half an hour later, and there it was, one of the most beautiful and inviting sights so far: the sea, lit up to perfection by the light of the hot afternoon sun, cool, refreshing and glistening.
There was nothing we could do except be drawn by the call to the waves and so we dumped all of our things on the beach and ran to the water's edge. Here we paused, delicately dipped a toe in to test the temperature and although it was cold, the rushing waves and the twinkling water urged us on. We moved slowly into the swell, and onced we'd passed that difficult point where the water covers your tummy and chest, we were in and swimming happily.
After a little while of just enjoying the up and down of the waves, we decided to be a little more adventurous and got out to go in search of some body-boards. We found a little "Beach Hire" shop and rented two body-boards for an hour. This time going into the water was easier, and we ran through the waves, eager to test our skills on the surf. One small question came to us at this point: how do you body-board? After lots of running and paddling around, we both managed to successfully catch our first waves, and it was so exhilorating.
A happy and tiring hour was spent as we were rushed to the beach on the crest of a wave and then we slowly pushed our way back out to sea to do it all again. We caught the tram home just before sunset, exhausted but smiling.
We then cooked all of what we'd bought very successfully (except perhaps the potatoes, but they were yummy anyway). And relaxed in front of a little TV for the evening.