Outback Australia

It's hard to say where outback Australia begins and ends. It's that vast and varied an area you can never grow bored with it. Even when it seems like you are engulfed in a place with a horizon that knows no bounds.

One of the ever present dangers of the outback is something unforeseen happening and not being able to get help fast enough. On one trip through south central New South Wales I came across an old bloke putting out a fire on his caravan tyre. We managed to put it out but unfortunately the fire had gotten into the lining of the caravan. After many many litres of water, 2 fire extinguishers and a lot of running around the local volunteer fire brigade arrived. Way too late to save the caravan. When I asked what took them so long I was told they got to the scene as quickly as possible but it took a while to round up everyone and get out to where we were. Thankfully the old bloke was fully covered by insurance and we managed to get some of his things out of the caravan before it became a molten mess.
Every now and again you get to see some weird unexpected things out in the middle of nowhere. I came across this stop sign just north of the town of Tibooburra which is located in far north west New South Wales. The stop sign was there as a road gang were doing some repairs to the road. It seemed real silly waiting at a red light when you could see that there were no vehicles on the road for at least half a kilometre. Also considering where we were I doubt anyone would have turned up and put us in any danger. Still bureaucracy must have its way. Even out in the middle of nowhere.
The thousands of kilometres of dirt roads can seem to go on forever. Many people get into trouble out here because they drive the dirt roads as if they are bitumen. They must be driven more slowly and as if you are driving in the wet. Sliding and swaying is common and must not be overcorrected or else you will easily run your vehicle off the road. As for when the roads actually do get wet. Look out. You either end up being stranded and have to wait for them to dry out as they are impossible to drive on or you are in for slow going in four wheel drive. On this occasion I had to drive for about 2 hours in second gear sliding all over the place struggling to keep the Troopy on the road. I didn't dare stop as I would have been bogged. Even had to drive sideways for a while. The back wheels of the Troopy in a ditch and the front on the road.
North of Broken Hill is Mootwingee National Park. It has a long history with Aborigines living in the area for thousands of years. When whitefellas arrived it became a sheep station. The Park has many places that show signs of both peoples and is managed by the local Aborigines. It is a beautiful places with gullies and creeks. There is plenty of wildlife and it has good camping spots. You do need to be self sufficient as it has no guaranteed water and the nearest town is some 120 odd kilometres away. It's the remoteness of the place that makes it special.
About 24 kilometres west of Broken Hill is the once thriving, then ghost town, now tourist attraction of Silverton. Silverton is a fun place to visit. It has been slowly reborn and now is a thriving and offbeat art precinct. It's kind of strange being so far away from a major city and getting to experience quality art work. Near Silverton is also the sculpture desert. Artists have sculptured various works and they have been placed in the desert. The modern works of man against the backdrop of the ancient land makes for an inspiring experience.
I am standing beside the Dingo fence. It is the longest man made structure in the world. It runs from Queensland to the western South Australian coast. It was built to stop dingoes from attacking sheep. On one side you had the sheep stations. On the dingo side you had the cattle stations. Today it's a bit of everything. It is still maintained today as it does keep dingoes out. They have workers who constantly maintain it. Your not supposed to drive along it so after taking this picture we got out of there. Still being out in the middle of the outback there isn't much chance of getting busted.