Day 232 - Cobar to Bourke

Cobar lived up to its reputation as one of the hottest places in NSW last night.  The air conditioner worked all night to allow us to sleep.

This morning was about 31 degrees but it was overcast.  The overcast skies were with us for the 175km journey from Cobar to Bourke.  It has been trying desperately to rain all day, promising so much but delivering so little.  However the temperature has been kept down as a result.

We had a quick look around Cobar before we left.  It is a mining town so it is full of history and some of the relics have been recovered and put on public display.

241114 Old Cobar copper mine facade as you enter Cobar from Ningan

241114 Cobar's Main Street

241114 #1 Headframe from the Chesney Copper Mine (1938)

241114 Recovered boiler, engine and stamper batteries
used in the Cobar Goldfields

There are two operating mines but we only saw one up close.  This was New Gold's Peak Mine.  This is a gold mine and we were able to see its entrance from the Fort Bourke Lookout just outside Cobar.  A lot of rock has been removed to make a pit which provides access to the underground mine.

241114 Peak Mine owned by New Gold - RHS of the pit
(250m wide, 380m long and 150m deep

241114 Peak Mine - LHS of pit

241114 Peak Mine - bottom and access to underground mine

The other mine is a copper mine owned by Glencore and called the CSA Mine.

The road between Cobar and Bourke is part of the Kidman Way. It is named after Sir Sidney Kidman, Australian cattle king and philanthropist who owned a large number of cattle stations along the path.  Many are still owned by his descendants. We saw plenty of goats and goannas on the roadway.

241114 More straight road between Cobar and Bourke on the Kidman Way

We are of course in the outback and the countryside remained quite barren, dry and uninspiring - other than for its immensity that is.  Even so, there is beauty if you stop, which we did for morning tea.

241114 At our morning tea stop outside Cobar

241114 Other things of beauty at our morning tea stop

At last we have arrived at "Back of Bourke" and we will tour the town tomorrow.  Meanwhile we remain content to listen to the pitter patter of the rain drops on the van and to enjoy the relief from the heat the rain has provided.

241114 Our first sight of the town of Bourke