A morning visit from Broken Hill to the Pinnacles, then 456km east to Cobar.

The Pinnacles are a feature of the Broken Hill landscape so we went for a morning drive to see the area where ancestor Joe Matthews wandered and fossicked with his father in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

Extract from Settlers Came (family history book):  Joe prospected with his father John in the country around Daydream, Appolyan Valley and The Pinnacles. They did find a rich pocket of ore, too far distant for them to work with success. Many years later on a trip back to the Hill, Joe accompanied by relatives in their sulky, went searching for the find, but they never did rediscover its location.

Dry creek on the road to the Pinnacles

There are at least four pinnacles and few rocky ridges in the area.

Daisy seed from earlier flowering

Another Pinnacle. Part of the road was closed off by mining companies drilling in this area for the planning of new large scale mining.

This wattle was commonly seen along the roadsides yesterday and today.

Chirriping wedgebills were active in low scrubs and on the ground.

Eremophila

Back on the Barrier Highway heading east – Dolo Hill

This was once a popular meating place.

Country opposite Dolo Hill

Netallie Rest Area view south to the Darling River floodplain

Wilcannia

Across the Darling River at Wilcannia

Talyawalka Creek is an overflow for the Darling River when in flood. Not much remains from the floods of last summer.

Great egret

I accidentally startle some woodducks near the creek

Pelicans soar overhead

Little pied cormorant makes a meal of this.

Black kites are common in the skies along this stretch of road

Young adolescent emus following the fenceline

Birds at McCullochs Range – Apostle bird (above) and Pied butcherbird (below)

More emus as we drive east

Leopardwood (Flindersia maculosa) was first formally described in 1848 from collections made during Thomas Mitchell’s expeditions into the interior of Australia.

Leopardwood flowers

Emu father and chicks at Emmdale

They’re baaaack! But if you said they’d never left, you would be right. This one is a bit smug – it’s a gloat.

Many more close encounters of the herd kind. Spring brings out the worst in goats. Usually they are very predictable on the roads but we went close to hitting a few crazy ones.

Gum blossom