Another brisk morning on the
racecourse today, but clear as a bell. After breakfast we headed out of town on
the bikes to see the "Living Desert and Sculptures" area. It was 16km
out of town on a nice wide, flat road, so we were warned up nicely by the time
we arrived. As soon as you leave the outskirts of BH you are in the desert, red
soil/sand with low scrubby bush. The sculptures are located on top a hill overlooking
some of the most rugged, but beautiful country you'd ever want to see. Every
one of the rather large sculptures was done by a different artist and therefore
is very different. They were each explained on a sign and it was all very well
done. At a nearby picnic area there is also an electric fence area (Living
Desert) for some lovely little furry things.
Our next stop was the other
iconic attraction for BH, the Pro Hart Gallery/Museum. He was an amazingly
prolific artist who achieved so much in his 77 years. Sad that after all that
delicate work he would die of motor neuron disease.
It was then into town to see
the lovely old buildings and memorials that only a rich mining town could
afford to build. The Miners Memorial, perched on top of the mine tailings and
overlooking the town centre was impressive, and really got the blood pumping as
it was quite a steep climb (we managed 60 km/h on the way down!). We got the
impression that BH is currently not the place it used to be in the mining-boom
years. However it's still doing okay.
We'd both had enough
excitement for one day so it was back to the van for a cuppa, with 47km under
the belt for the day.
A bit of admin, a chat with the neighbours and a
nice lamb chop/steak with veggies capped off a great day in BH.
