We have been somewhat slack in failing to post details of the last couple of days of our trip but when you combine work, minor illnesses (coughs & colds) and cold weather, well………
Courtesy of information available in the Information Centre, we discovered a walking tour of Broken Hill that sounded like something we wanted to do.
So, armed with cameras, water and backpacks, we arrived at the Visitor’s Centre for a 9:30am departure. We had to be careful as we had decided not to change our watches to reflect the 30 minute time difference between Sydney and Broken Hill.
The walking tour was hosted by an elderly gentleman who had spent the majority of his like in Broken Hill and the mines. He had many a tale to tell before we started walking and he also produced samples of the ore that is mined locally. He was more than happy to provide us with a couple of pieces of ore so we could show our grandson.
The tour went for a couple of hours and we learnt more about Broken Hill during that time than in the pays prior and the two previous occasions that we had visited the town. Not only were we informed of the history of the area and building, we saw the memorial created for the Titanic disaster and also the bed of roses that has been created as a memorial to those killed at Port Arthur. Broken Hill really is a very special town.
We were also told that the trailing from a smelter that was once operated by BHP is estimated to have about $60m of gold embedded in it. Unfortunately the recovery cost is about $55m which would yield a profit of $5m. Apparently BHP has better things to do with time rather that make $5m. We checked out the trailing but they are well and truly fences off.
We decided to have lunch in a local restaurant (we had eaten there before) before heading to a local shopping centre before finally heading back to the caravan park for the evening.
We thoroughly enjoyed the day.