Broken Hill - Anyone know it well ?
 

This wouldn't be until next year, but friends live there, for a family are there things worth seeing / doing / interesting ?, It sounds strange but as we've been 'invitied' not so easy to ask our friends if it is 'worth going there', any small reasonable hotels.
I belive the train line goes though there (?)

Thanks

Haven't been for a long time, but Broken Hill is now renowned as an arty place - lots of artists and sculptors. Absolutely amazing landscape - you can't beat big skies!

I'd leap at the opportunity - a very interesting place and worth seeing.

Have a look at these sites to give you some ideas:
http://www.visitbrokenhill.com.au/pages.asp?code=5

and
http://outback.visitnsw.com.au/scrip...SWLive:outback

and
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=16721

and Silverton
http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=16947

The train does go, but depending on where you go from, a road trip could also be good - you could factor in a stop at dubbo at the zoo, depending where you start from.

I don't have recommendations on accommodation, but there is plenty of it.

For my money broken hill and surrounds is the place for the aussie outback experience...more variety than the big red rock away to the north west.

flying doctor service
school of the air
rent a "miners cottage" for accommodation.
take a koori tour of mutawintji national park
stay underground and buy opal at white cliffs (PJ's B & B)
keep going to the darling river..farmstay at trilby station
have a beer at the louth and tilpa pubs

Hi James,
I was in Broken Hill in April, and thoroughly recommend the Delprats Mine Tour , you go 200m down the mine for a couple of hours with one of the miners it's difficult to explain why but it was just brilliant.
The Living Desert sculpture park at Sunset on the outskirts of town is great too.

A little further afield Mutawintji National Park has great scenery and wildlife and sensational Aboriginal Art Sites and a couple of times a week an aboriginal guide gives explanations of a number of the paintings and Dreamtime stories.

A bit further still is the opal mining town of White Cliffs, which is good for an overnight trip and has a few options for sleeping underground. I've stayed at 'White Cliffs Underground Motel' and
'PJ's Underground Bed & Breakfast' and they're both good.

Alternatively depending on the season Lake Mungo (Willandra Lakes) about 300KM away is well worth an overnight stay too. I can't do it justice so just google it for more information. I camped but there is accomodation at the old woolshed.

Good luck - I'm sure you'll enjoy it

Mike

Sorry so long to offer thanks for the help, it looks like there will be plenty to see ! Thanks for all those links.

Does the train line go thru there ? What about drive time from major city ?

James, sadly I haven't been there yet, but Broken Hill is about 1100 km from Sydney and 500 km from Adelaide. The roads will be almost entirely 2-lane with a speed limit of 100 km/hr. That looks to add up to a long day's drive from Adelaide and two days, with an overnight stop, from Sydney. I would think however that two and three days respectively would be more realistic, especially given the risk of colliding with kangaroos outside of daylight hours. Good luck - I'm sure it will be well worth your time.

If possible read "The Bush Soldiers" by John Hooker before you travel - a quirky but beautifully written and insightful alternative history set in Australia between the Wars, with evocative descriptions of the country around Broken Hill.