Big Bogan to Big Mines - Day 2

Route : Nyngan - Cobar - Wilcannia - Minendee - Kichega - Broken Hill

Nyngan was just the beginning. It was time to drive upto Broken hill . We were up and about at 6:30 am. Taking the Barrier highway from Nyngan - it’s a damn straight road up till Cobar, where we decided to have our breakfast. We were just cruising along the uneventful road and bang!!!!!

There it was the massive Cobar welcome sign. When I say massive I meant it!!. A good vantage point for pictures.

Another interesting place in Cobar is the FORT BOURKE HILL LOOKOUT. Rising 300 metres above sea level it’s a must see landscape - like an open pit mine where once gold was mined. Afterwards it was time for breakfast and we headed towards the town center.

Cobar is a small mining town with all the basic shops and cafes. We found a cute shop and café called Gumnuts. Basic egss on toast did the deed. Fueled up, straight onto Barrier highway WITHOUT a petrol pump for 158 kms. The drive is full of bushes, spotted a few roos on the way.

Connectivity is pretty unstable here so we would recommend offline music / downloaded music for the drive.

We entered Wilcannia , stopped at the servo for a refreshment. It’s a very small outback town, most of it was empty and shut. The plan was another straight drive to Broken hill but that’s what everyone does. We took a detour towards Menindee Lakes!

It’s a straight unmetalled drive from Wilcannia on the Wilcannia road giving you a very exciting outback experience.

Also along the way we spotted lots of Emus, Sheep and Roos!

Kichega national park is where all the lakes in Menindee lie. The Menindee Lakes is a chain of shallow freshwater lakes. The park fee is around 7$ (self-assisted) and its just ahead of the town. The town doesn’t have much to offer. The parallel running Darling river is the actual source to these rivers. The drive to the lakes can get tricky if you are going there during the month of Dec as most lakes dry out.

It was a good drive inside the national park spotting a few sheeps, roos, emus and after a while we found a few surreal spots near the lakes - quite spooky I would say!

After the lake sightings, it was time to head into Broken hill. After a straight drive towards whoop whoop we were in Broken hill -Where the real outback lies!!!

We had booked ourselves into a private cottage through Cosy cottages. It is located conveniently from the city center. It was a very beautiful miner's cottage with all the basic facilities for us to get through the next three days.

After a quick shower it was time for a chilled beer and what else would be best than the PALACE HOTEL. It had one of the longest balcony I have ever seen and really good beers on tap.

Do visit the hotel to see the architecture, the history it holds with the film( Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and for a good beer with a view. Though, we didn’t have any luck with the food there as the kitchen was shut being Sunday ☹, the second best option was Macca's Broken Hill which is open 24 hrs. Sweet deal!!!