We started the day with another continental breakfast on what appeared to be another perfect outback day. Today we realised that we would be commencing our journey back towards home when we returned to Wilcannia and turn left. We have now reached a point where we know most of the people in the group and happy hours are getting a little longer each day.
Before leaving White Cliffs, we drove to a high part of the district and took some photographs. We passed the old solar power generation plant and had a view of the distant hills from where White Cliffs got its name. With a pub and a general store, it is probably one of the smallest towns we have ever visited.
The drive back to the Barrier Highway at Wilcannia was pleasant and we stopped briefly to photograph a specimen of Sturt’s Desert Pea. This area is also abundant with purple flowers (Patterson’s Curse) that make the landscape very colourful when mixed with the rich red earth. The miner we spoke to at White Cliffs indicated that he had never seen the landscape this way and he had lived at White Cliffs for the majority of his life. Outback NSW is alive with colour.
Today the drive was relatively short to a roadside campsite (about 90 kilometres east of Wilcannia) for our overnight stay. The campsite is adjacent to a roadhouse called Emmdale.
Unfortunately the proprietor of the roadhouse is not the most friend person on the planet but fortunately the roadhouse has been sold and hopefully the new owner will provide better service.
We had a great happy hour in the bush with several other travellers joining us. The BBQ was lit for dinner and was followed by a great camp fire. We slept the best since leaving Sydney.
In “His” mind one of the highlights of this stop was being able to see the night sky without the influence of any lightning. One could have looked at it for hours. This was also a spot with no NextG connectivity.
Travelled through Emmdale October 2010 the new owners had only just taken over. They were very friendly and hospitable, they were renovating the shop while we were there, but that didn’t stop them from serving up a great meal. While we waited for the meal to cook we helped them move the drinks fridge and other shop fittings, a couple of truckies dropped in and gave a hand as well. Great little place to stop to refuel and have a chat.
Thanks Linda
Emmdale was a disaster when we were there. I hope that the new owners make a fortune there as we saw it as an opportunity waiting to happen. Thank you for letting us know.
Cheers
John