Instead of going straight from Wilcannia to Broken Hill , I turn left to follow the Darling River in South west direction through the Menindee region with all its lakes and birdlife 
And it doesn’t take long to spot some bird life, testing out the Canon 600mm lens 
need a steady hand if not using a mono pod 
She’s doing good sofar, starting a collection of bugs on the front though 
Balaka Lake 
I have seen this from 33000 feet, and always been keen to see it from ground level 
these are taken with 600 
so it brings the background closer and even though I’m shooting at F11 or higher ( great depth of field ) the background is not sharp 
still looks good 
so now the same spot but with the 17-40mm 
and everything is sharp 
my poor Blundstone 
love this place 
could easily spend a day here 
textures 
imagine sunrise and sunsets here 
and then print a few of these poster size 
I keep wandering along, filling up my memory card 🙂 
but I must keep driving 
as I get back on the track after a getting off road to see Balaka lake 
I bump into this little family 
very protective mum 
a decent size flock 
Fast forward 200 plus kilometers, crossed state border ( into South Australia, and need a permit back then ) and re fueled at Broken Hill, we get to a little town called Olary
Old settlement on the Barrier Highway ( just one road out of Broken Hill to South Australia ) Olary Creek and is one of the easternmost settlements in South Australia. The name “Olary” was first given to a nearby well or waterhole by pastoralists Duffield, Harrold and Hurd. 
yesteryear 
the outback colours 
seen better days 
from Wikepedia
This small settlement was established in the late 1880s to service the highway and the railway which pass through here. O’Lary Post Office opened on 12 October 1886, was renamed Oolarie around 1888 and Olary around 1896.[10] After the modernisation of transport which travelled between Adelaide and Broken Hill the village population declined. However it still has a hotel and general store to cater for the transient road and railway workers and travellers.[11]
The Flinders-Olary NatureLink includes the mountainous Flinders and Olary Ranges together with the connecting plains country to cover 6% of the South Australian state.[12]
In 2010 the historic Bimbowrie Cobb and Co coach house near Olary became the scene of a traditional restoration operation with almost 20 tradespeople attending a five-day training course in stonemasonry restoration techniques. Low-security prisoners from the Port Augusta Prison were among those who assisted with the project.
36 Km further down the road and we get Manna Hill 
At the 2016 census, Mannahill had no people living within its boundaries 
but it does have a rest stop 🙂 
sun setting on a very long train 
reflections
continue driving into the sunset 
still a long way ahead of me 
camera out the window as I’m driving 
