Silverton and the Outback

Another day of cool weather and we headed back toward Silverton. A few kilometers on the other side of town are the Mundi Mundi plains. This is the outback for real. Here is one of the original sheep stations in this part of Australia. And the history continues.

In 1981, Mad Max 2, a film by George Miller starring Mel Gibson, spent 11 days filming here. The plains are entered by driving up over a hill, then down on to the plains. Near the top of the hill is a lookout. Hee is a panorama of the scene from the lookout.

Although I walked down the hill a bit past the sign, there is one here indicating the lookout. This sign (or its predecessor) was in the opening sequence of Mad Max as he scrounged for petrol.

Back in Silverton is the Mad Max 2 Museum. A strange little place run by a very nice couple. It is filled wall-to-wall with photos, clothing on dummies, and various things signed by various members of the cast and crew. None of this was I allowed to photograph. Outback (no pun intended!) were some of the vehicles used in the shoot. Here a picture of the gyrocopter from the film.

A few kilometers further along the road we come to the end of the paved road and the Umberumberka Reservoir that supplies water to Silverton and Broken Hill. Near this reservoir, we found a Shingleback Lizard.

And a Golden Orb Spider. Although not poisonous, this is one of the largest spiders in Australia.

We had lunch in the Silverton Hotel. A nice burger and chips with a glass of cider. Afterwards, we headed back to Broken Hill and stopped along the way to examine a dry riverbed.

And just so you know, there is no shortage of Emu out this way as well. I know you were worried about this.

On the way out in the morning. we saw what appeared to be a Black-Breasted Buzzard feeding on a dead Emu. This is really large bird - well not as large as an Emu, but buzzards fly and he's pretty bid for a flying bird. When we drove up, he flew away. We parked nearby for about half an hour to see if he'd come back. Unfortunately, he did not. We may yet get him.