By 9.30am the sun was shining as we made our way to Silverton, west of BH. As we parked opposite the pub we were welcomed by four very friendly donkeys, who were keen to have their ears scratched.

The historic mining town is as I had pictured it, with the wide dusty streets and some tumble down shacks, some of which are used as art galleries and homes, as the permanent population is just under 50, though at it's peak in 1885 it was 3000.

At Mad Max's Museum we saw the obsession of  a mad Pom, which brought him and his long suffering (IMO) wife to Silverton a number of years ago. I've never been a fan but what impressed me was the fact that all the modified vehicles were still in working order. The mad Pom fired up some of them for us while we were there. The other impressive thing was the lack of dusting required with this collection - the more dust the better the effect!

We had a picnic lunch at Penrose Park, an area established in 1937 for the miners and their families with a Trust continuing to support it through money from mining companies. There is a camping area and lots of birds in big old aviaries. We also spent some time in the restored Gaol Museum until we were chilled to the bone and had to get back in the car to thaw out.

After a visit to the Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout, where the curvature of the earth is supposed to be visible to the naked eye- though we couldn't see it - we went back to BH for one more gallery, and Rick was so glad we did! It was Jack Absalom's place, and the man himself came and sat down in the corner while we were browsing. At 90 years old, he still goes out with his 4WD and caravan to paint. He told us about the set up he uses as a mobile easel, where a frame is carried on the top of the car which swings down to put his canvas on. He certainly seemed full of beans. 

I had an appointment for a haircut at 3pm so I left Rick working at the van and parked outside the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery in town where I went in for a look afterwards. The Gallery is now in the old Sully's Emporium Building which has been beautifully refurbished.