Like I said, I would have liked to linger in Broken Hill, but we were on a time limit…
…so we made a dash for Silverton – a delicious dust bowl of a frontier town, so perfect in the image, it could be a pop-up movie set.
With such an incredible location, it's not at all surprising that the town has been the backdrop for more than twenty films, and countless commercials.
But it's Mad Max 2, with it own dedicated museum, which appears to have the money shot.
The Interceptor, with my kinda hood ornament!
Although the way the XB seats are so low-slung and the window glass so narrow – it would drive me crazy with that limited field of vision.
But Silverton didn't get it's name from the silver screen.
The Daydream Mine is about 15kms away, along red dirt road that was the ideal for an in-car boredom-buster…
Too much fun!
The historic mine was opened after the discovery of silver there in 1875, and by the mid 1880's a town had sprung up, housing about 500 people. You wouldn't know it now though, there's not a lot out there.
The mine tour is informative, offering a little insight into the working lives of the (mostly Cornish) miners. It was a hard lot. 12 hour days, 6 days a week, chipping away by hand with only candlelight to guide them. The life expectancy of a miner was just 40 years old, a tough call for the children (as young as 8) who worked underground!
Minor miners…
Mini miners?
Well, they're over 10, they should be earning their keep, shouldn't they?
We headed for the border.
Tracks – not sure what owns these
but this is the emu's
Yep, we're all shutterbugs
Fruit fly inspection station
Almost at our destination
We arrived in Port Augusta late, and stayed at the Acacia Ridge Motor Inn. Our interconnected room was big, clean and comfortable. It was well-priced, with breakfast, and the staff were friendly.
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