This Broken Hill AirBnB has been quite a wildlife experience!? When we arrived we found generations of daddy long legs (living and dead) hanging behind the bathroom doors. This despite the fact that the owner messaged Cathy on Sunday to say that she had cleaned the house ready for our arrival because her cleaner was sick. What!? Obviously neither of them can see spiders and their webs!! Yesterday, Cathy surprised a skink amongst some carry bags they had in the lounge room. This morning I reached into my toilet bag and took out a tube of hair product that had what looked like Persian fairly floss on it. Ooh, I said to Bernie, I wonder if its spiders web just as a small huntsman crawled out of my toilet bag! Fortunately Im OK with spiders.
We decided that we needed to take lunch with us today. Before leaving Broken Hill on the Silver City Highway, the Gatts went to the Sufi Bakery to buy almond croissants because they had been highly by our guide, Ray, on Monday. Meanwhile the Gaffneys went to Woolies to buy some bread rolls, salami, Brie and tomato.
into the outback. kilometres out of Broken Hill we turned west towards Mutawintji National Park and it was not long before we left the bitumen behind us and found ourselves driving along unsealed road with more dips and floodways! There was more evidence that water had flooded across the roads in this part of the world earlier in the month. We imagine that the road was probably closed for a few days after the flash flooding but, fortunately, it is open again in time for us. The recent rain means that we are seeing the desert uncharacteristically green.
We were motoring along fairly sedately on the dirt road, but still doing about 90 km/hr when a crazy person streaked past us like we were standing still. Probably a local who is familiar with the road and the road conditions? When we reached Gairdners Creek we found Cathy and Steve parked beside the road, so stopped to check that all was OK. Cathy had decided to stop for a photo from the Gairdners Creek Bridge and was on the bridge when the SUV that had passed us, flew over the bridge. Despite a that the bridge
be navigated at 45 km/hr he didnt slow AT ALL. Cathys heart was still beating fast when we arrived. Despite her near death experience Bernie and I wandered onto the bridge to take photos!
Arriving at Mutawintji NP we used the facilities at the entrance. Flushing toilets no less! The plan was to proceed to the Homestead Creek picnic area to do the Thaarklatjika Mingkana walk. Its an easy 800 metres walk to the Aboriginal rock paintings from there. Unfortunately the road into the picnic area was closed so we had to backtrack to the Homestead Creek campsite where we ate the almond croissants for energy, now that we were going to have to walk the 1.5 kilometre Link walking track BEFORE we could start the Thaarklatjika Mingkana walk!!
Most of the walks in the park are Grade 5 so it was a relief to be able to view the rock paintings without a strenuous hike. Even so, we reached the rock overhang adorned with Aboriginal rock paintings and then spied the (now) dry waterbed trail below which looked so pretty that we had to venture down for a few photos before finally turning around to return
We had hoped to do the Old Coach Road drive after lunch. We headed in that general direction and reached the gate that leads to the restricted area of the park that can only be accessed with a guide. We took the left turn heading for Eagle Rock, but had only driven a short way when we decided that the road was in no fit condition to continue.
We our route to the Mutawintji Road, where we turned towards White Cliffs. The road is unfenced so we saw a range of animals on and near the raod - cows, sheep, goats, a kangaroo and, of course, birds. One large flock of sheep started to rush across the road in a panic as Cathy and Steve approached.
