Red Dust, Sacred Sky: Timeout in Western NSW
Childhood memories and tracing the land from coast to Broken Hill and beyond. Join me in a pictorial post as I take time to breathe. Blessed be x
This. Year. Has. Been. A. Lot.
I spent a good part of my childhood in the bush. As an adult I’ve finally come to appreciate the peace it offered.
So when my husband suggested we take a road trip I didn’t hesitate. Isn’t it ironic to have grown up within 5 hours of Broken Hill, in Western NSW, to now, living on the coast, finally make the time to travel there and beyond?!
From (Reluctant) Bush Girl to Traveller: A Circle Completed
Meandering through Denman, Dubbo, Nyngan, Cobar and Wilcannia we marvelled at the landscape, the changes since we were in some of these towns, noticing which had grown smaller and which were rapidly expanding. Most of all, we noticed how easily locals stopped to exchange a few words, meeting many who had come from far and wide to make rural NSW their home.
As an early teen, I was thrilled to have the rare treat of driving to town. I also dreaded arriving in town having driven up to 2 hours to get from our land-locked farm, 30 minutes off the main dirt road. Dirt road. Red dust or if lucky, red mud. It seeped into our car, our clothes, our hair and deeply engrained in our skin. With rain water sacrosanct, it was reserved for drinking and cooking only. Pink dam water for everything else meant anything white turned pink after the first wash - first world problems! The reality of 12 inches annual rainfall made water a luxury year round.
Dirt Roads and Red Dust: Beauty in the Barrenness
This time, however, I was struck by the beauty of the vivid reds, the almost white clay and the deep blue sky - and due to a cold snap, some of the most bracing fresh air I can remember experiencing.
The Wild Within: Eagles, Emus … Nature Calls
Late autumn was teaming with wildlife - a flock of 7 eagles near Wilcannia soared above us, kangaroos and emus appeared roadside, the odd pig, a tiger snake, and more goats and galahs than there were people. We saw several other magnificent eagles across the vast west of the state; a nest high above a waterway and one stood roadside, regarding us as we drove by no more than 2 metres away.
Emu’s can run up to 50 km per hour and have a massive stride - I tried to follow in their footsteps along a dry river bed and came up at least half a metre (2 feet) short!
Coastal birds filled the sky and water at Menindee Lakes which was gushing thanks to the rainfall in Queensland. It was such a spectacular sight after driving through miles of saltbush and red dirt. And the feeling of energy surging from the tributaries into the lake - power-full!
The older buildings and history of Broken Hill were fascinating, as was the barren landscape in Silverton (home of the Mad Max movies if you are an Aussie film buff). I remarked to my partner that it was absolutely obvious why film-makers chose this landscape for the ‘Waste lands’.
Yet there is always humor to be found in the Outback - one of the prettiest outdoor dunnies (toilets) I’ve seen graces the entry to the Silverton Information centre and gallery. See below, right.
As kids ours was a similar but plain wooden structure that was found early one morning, subsided on a crazy tilt into the pit below after a rain. It was also another, more steady source of entertainment. The two youngest in our family were fascinated by shining a torch into the pit in search of frogs, the odd snake and spiders.
It’s Not all Fun and Games!
The roadside sign about Google maps being wrong proved not to be humor but foreshadowed what was to come. The relatively short trip from Menindee to Griffith (about 5 hours) turned into a full day’s drive over the shortest route which included 300+ kilometres of mostly corrugated dirt road.
Holding Space on Sacred Land: Listening to What Still Hurts
While the harsh environments hold a beauty and tranquility of their own, they have been exposed to so much trauma. As a healer it is almost impossible to ignore this - if indeed I wanted to.
The land holds residue of past energetic imprints - can you imagine how difficult it must have been to have a homeland invaded, to forcibly lose home and country, and to try to build a life in an unfamiliar land?
Rest and Return: When the Wind Carries the Pain Home
Anchored, I called lost energies to remember the Divine energy they were and guided them home. The wind rose, gently at first, then several gusts moved through the courtyard stirring the fallen leaves and the sparse foliage on the trees.
Rest.
Video: 22 seconds of small town life. A snippet taken in Menindee.
The second invitation occurred later.
Standing on a peak, again a sense of heavy-ness, a heaving-ness occurred. This time, however, there was also a possessive feeling underlying energetic residue of trauma. It was bitterly cold as I opened my hands and heart to anchor a bridge to the Highest of High.
Oh, we each so deserve to rest.
Feeling energies leave, I gained clarity of the downward pull that was anchoring suffering to Earth and dissolved what presented. Deeply, I knew that there was more to be resolved. But not by me and not on that day. Cold and with mixed feelings, we made our way back to our vehicle.
The Magic of Human Connection: Stories by the Roadside
Next to us was a massive off-road 4 wheel drive camper with many stickers of familiar places from coast to country on the side visible to us. After talking with the owner for a short while, we discovered that not only had we spent time in many of the same communities, my husband had taught the driver’s brother!
The connections and snippets of conversations and shared experiences were some of the most magical moments on our trip.
The Stars Always Return: A Final Blessing
Early the next morning, a clear sky at last! The stars appeared and the sun rose with a blue, blue sky.
The Australian Outback is wonderous, harsh, and often unforgiving. Yet it is also so very, very beautiful.
We were gifted with Divine timing - an opportunity to watch the primary school children of Broken Hill marching to celebrate Reconciliation day. The energy was so light and the conversations joyous!
The respect shown to the first people is long overdue - Menindee’s public acknowledgement of past injustices is a living testament. More of this in another article. But for now, I return to the coast, heart full, holding greater appreciation for earlier times, and gratitude that it is there anytime we care to visit.
Blessed be
Michelle Cowles
Spiritual Healer, Energy Therapist
Copyright © Michelle Cowles 2025
You can also find me at www.michellecowles.com
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