Jetty Tour Day 5 - Wilcannia to Broken Hill

There are so many great surprises on the road which many of the nomads miss along the way because they are either destination oriented or concerned by appearance. We found one today.

After leaving Warrawong on the Darling, just outside of Wilcannia, this morning we set in for the 230 odd kilometers to Broken Hill ... or near Broken Hill. Much of the first half of the journey was flat and the fuel consumption was splendidly low. Traveling on higher octane fuel than normal probably contributed its share as well.

We decided to stop for morning tea at Little Topor, purely on the basis that we read somewhere that the roadhouse there makes the best bacon and egg sandwiches in Australia. Big claim for a Little Topor. Impressions upon arrival didn't offer much but we have learned from past experience that places can look ramshackled and yet still have a gleam. The Hotel/Cafe/Roadhouse/Post Office is all there is of Little Topor, "population two" according to the cheerful owner. He's a diminutive, balding bloke who claims he was six foot two and long haired when he came to the place twenty three years ago. There was a range of customer: from the local property owner and his young, female backpacker who was now working on the station, to truck jockey and other regular drop ins. Their trade is mostly passing traffic but all the customers seem to know them well. We spent nearly an hour there, gawking at the massive breakfast one trucker ate (eggs, chops, sausages, has browns, chips, baked beans) and have a chat with folks. Brilliant experience. Sue reports the bacon and egg sandwich (served with chips) was the best she has had.

The next forty kilometres were a visceral smearing of kangaroo carcasses in various stages of mutilation. Kangaroo carnage! When spent a lot of the time dodging  body parts.

Click for today's photos

Our destination was the still very new Broken Hill Outback Resort, located on the Barrier Highway 15km short of Broken Hill. The original building was one of a series of outlier pubs that included Silverton Hotel, which avoided the liquor trading laws in the days when there was no Sunday trading. Folks would come out from Broken Hill for a drink on a Sunday. The pub was then known as the Mount Gipps Hotel and had traded for close to a century from the late 1880's but closed in 1987. The heritage building has been restored and additions have made it a first class restaurant and watering hole. To this they have added grassy power caravan sites with first class amenities and a soon to be finished motel. Despite being located just off the main highway and the busy railway line, its a quiet spot. They have a good range of beers, both on tap and bottled and a reasonable range of wines. The chef on site provides a surprising variation in meals, although we had gluten-free pizza.

A spot of sight seeing in Broken Hill tomorrow.