Go West Young Man

Introduction

I have decided to follow Horace Greeley's 1865 advice and "Go West Young Man".  Some of the less classically educated of you may have to look up the origins of the quote. 

As some of you may be aware I have decided take an extended road trip to parts of the great state of Western Australia.  I have not been to WA before and I am thinking that it will be a bit of an adventure.

I don't intend to post to the blog everyday so if there are some gaps in the communication do not panic, I probably haven't been kidnapped by itinerant opal miners or fallen down a mine shaft and then kidnapped by itinerant opal miners.

Depending on the vagaries of the blog site and hotel WiFi I intend to post some interesting photos on this site and as usual there will be no & I emphasize no food photos and requests for food photos will be treated with the contempt they deserve.

I also look forward to your comments on my witty and informative commentary and my excellent and interesting photos.  

As usual there will be lots of photos of war memorials, military museums, interesting military equipment, interesting historical military aircraft and notable & important naval vessels.

I reckon you can all hardly wait for the adventure to begin.

I am departing on Monday 20 July and back early September.  Various people have been telling me of places and things that I should see, including the Wave Rock and some things that look like rocks but are really the world's oldest living things, got me beat how they can tell.

First point of call is Mildura and then on to Broken Hill via Pooncarie and Menindee.  Thisroad follows part of the Darling river and Menindee is famous for the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition stopping there, see, the blog is already educational and interesting.

Another famous expedition camped on the Darling river, the not so ill-fated Miller Phillips Trans Australia Expedition 1977.

Lots more to follow!

Days 1 & 2 - Monday & Tuesday 20 & 21 July 2026

Weather in Mildura fine & sunny and 18 degrees today, warm enough to doff my jacket whilst wandering around.

Just over 10,000 steps recorded by my ever reliable Garmin watch wandering around the central part of Mildura and a walk beside the river.  Getting campaign fit.

Yesterday's drive from Melbourne to Mildura was long but uneventful, just a bit of fog along the way.  It was sad driving through some of the small towns to see a lot of the shops and businesses closed down and boarded up.  Mildura also has a lot of closed and empty shops in the main business area.

Although most of the highway after Bendigo single lane each way the speed limit was 110kph, and I did not see one car that had come off the road due to driving at that speed.   I also avoided some significant pot holes which are only to be expected in "Victoria, the Pot Hole State".

I am staying at the Mildura Grand Hotel, which in it's day would have been one of the flasher hotels in town.  It was first established in 1890 and in its day it had a sunken garden, swimming room, billiards room, a board room and other grand facilities.  It has sorted faded into genteel elegance but the staff are friendly and the water hot.

The hotel has a fine bar with happy hour between 4.00pm & 5.30 from where I am producing this fine blog.  

The hotel also has a very verry good Argentinian steak restaurant where I had dinner last night.  I had a prawn entree and a medium rare steak with whipped garlic butter and crunchy chips.  All of which was delicious but certainly not cheap.  It was so good I will probably eat here again tonight, also there is not much else around.  I even broke one of my own rules and took some photos of my meal last night, but unfortunately the fillum isn't back from being developed at the chemists.  

Tomorrow I am driving to Broken Hill via Wentworth, Pooncarie and Menindee this route follows the Darling river for much of the way from Wentworth to Menindee.  I went to the local police station today to check on the condition of the road.  The last time I was there on the infamous Miller Phillips Trans Australia Expedition 1977 (souvenir tee shirts still available but selling out) when the Pooncarie road was a fairly rough dirt road.  The young constable I saw at the police station, who was probably born 40 years after the 1977 expedition went through here, seemed surprised that I need to ask the question as the road has been sealed for many years.

Must run, happy hour about to finish, its a bit like the 6.00 clock swill here at the end of happy hour.

Days 3 & 4 - Wednesday & Thursday 22 & 23 July 2026

Wednesday was a big travelling day with a drive from Mildura to Broken Hill via Pooncarie & Menindee.  This blog entry might be slightly truncated as I have been mucking around for the last hour trying to transfer some photos from my camera to my laptop.  I am not sure if it is my aging laptop, my aging DSLR camera or my aging me that is causing the problem but this evening they both very nearly ended up in the rubbish bin.  Lucky I am a tolerant and patient man.

The trip on Wednesday was pleasant through very green grazing land with lots of water around.  I saw one live active kangaroo and many lazy kangaroos sleeping on the side of the road (in case any kiddies are reading this).  I saw 3 live ostriches and quite a few goats, isn't nature marvelous.

I arrived in Broken Hill about 2.00ish and that's allowing for the half hour time difference heading west.  Broken Hill isn't quite what I expected, not disappointingly  so, just different.  At one stage the town had something like 75 pubs but is now down to some 9 or 10 operational venues and 3 clubs.  Strangely enough there isn't a RSL Club here having closed down in the mid 1980s due to some scandal so I have been told.

Yesterday saw me achieve around 10,000 steps again although most of this was in an attempt to find a pub that was open, but gentle reader do not panic, an open pub was found and it was good.

Today (Thursday) I have been doing touristy things, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service Outback Experience, a visit to the Miners Memorial, a visit to the Sulphide Street Railway and Historical Museum and the Titanic Memorial.

All interesting, informative and educational.  The Titanic Memorial is in a park and was erected by the bandsmen of Broken Hill in 1913 as a memorial to the musicians who went down with the ship when the RMS Titanic sank.

Another interesting feature of the town is the number of houses built of corrugated iron.  Not just the roofs but the external walls as well.  They appear to be old places but there are lots of em.

This will do for today.  Because so many of the pubs are closed I have a bit of a walk to the nearest one so that will get today's step count up.

Maidens Hotel Mennindee

Pooncarie Pub