RV TRAVEL
“THIS MOB OF BEINGS
WILL STAY IN YOUR
MEMORY FOREVER.”
BRILLIANT LAKE BALLARD
So, with a packed lunch, plenty of water, sun
protection and suitable footwear, it is on to Lake
Ballard. The wide, unsealed road from Menzies has
some corrugations, dust, floodways, cattlegrids
and numerous bends that should be taken at an
easy speed. There are plenty of signs to indicate
the way.
After a short walk, you’ll be carefully making
your way along the shimmering surface of a salt
lake, breaking through the thin, white crust to
the slippery mud underneath. The footprints of
previous visitors add to the impression that aliens
have landed.
Spread out over seven square kilometres and at
about 750m apart, the statues stand on a dead-
flat landscape. Don’t make the mistake of thinking
that you can spend half an hour here and be
satisfied. There is something about each statue
that, having met the one, you feel you must go
and say hello to the other.
BIRTH OF THE ‘BEINGS’
What are these, really? According to the artist
who conceived and rendered them, they are “cast
alloy of iron, molybdenum, iridium, vanadium and
titanium; 51 elements based on 51 inhabitants of
Menzies”. Apparently, many of the citizens were
a bit suspicious when Antony Gormley turned
up with his full-body scanning machine, asking
people to strip naked for him and his machine (an
original line, don’t you think?).
It’s strange, but you’ll find that that mob
of beings poised in the white terrain will stay
in your memory forever and, over a glass of
wine and some nibbles, you’ll be sharing your
Lake Ballard adventure with fellow RVers for
years to come.
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