Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
The Darling River Run
Thought I'd put up a short trip we just did, following the Darling River from Dubbo to Wentworth, this is a popular Iconic outback trip, that follows the Darling River in Outback NSW near Walgett, all the way to Wentworth in Sth East NSW and Victoria at the junction of the Murray River, we started our version of the trip on the Macquarrie River just out of Dubbo.
Well another great trip, we covered around 2,500ks and followed 4 rivers in 8 days, had a look at some of the history along the way, weather was pretty good, temps ranged from 9c to 40c, we were nearly blown away by strong winds and nearly fried by very hot days at Menindee, was almost bogged twice on the trip and the car was covered in Locusts, was it fun, bloody oath it was:thumbsup:
So Friday morning up bright and early, finished packing the cars, and we were away at 8.45am, with morning tea at Clarence near the Zig Zag Railway in the Blue Mountains, then on to Orange for lunch, we had 4 camps to choose from that night, 2 just before Dubbo and 2 after, we couldn't find 1 before and 1 after, the other one wasn't all that good, so we ended up at Minore Falls on the Macquarie River, not a bad spot, the river was pretty good and flowing quite well, actuall we quite liked it here, we picked a spot away from the crowds(all 4 of them;)) on the other side of the river and setup for the night, a basic setup as it was only an overnighter, waited for it to cool down before lighting the fire for dinner, around 33c when we got to camp, dropped into the low 20s around 7.00pm and was around 12 overnight.
Next morning up early for our drive to Tilpa Weir, we planned on 2 nights here, first stop Cobar, Cobar is not a very big town, but it is a very large mining comunnity and one of the largest mines in the world, we decided to have a look at the Heritage centre, very interesting place if your into the history of places like Cobar.
Louth is the next stop, lunch at the pub before heading for our next camp for the night and our first camp on the Darling River, while having lunch I found some money on the ground at the picnic table, rolled up in a red rubber band, looked like quite a bit of money, I must admit I did think about keeping it, but my conscience got the better of me, so into the pub to hand it in, as it turned out, friends of the person that lost it where talking to the owner of the pub, so I walked up to them and asked them to describe how it was wraped and when they described it, I handed it to them, to say they were happy was an understatement, they offered me some of the money, but I refused and said it's reward enough that they got their friends money back, as it was a donation for a kids charity, after lunch it was off to camp.
Louth Pub
The River, it's green because of all the chemical run off from the all the farms, sheep and cattle stations up river all the way into Queensland 1000s of Kilometers aways.
We decided that we would only spend the night here, it was hot, the river didn't look all that inviting and the campsites weren't all that good, so in the morning we packed up and sussed out some old dead trees and replenished our firewood and headed off for Menindee Lakes.
First stop, Tilpa, a pic in front of the pub, then headed for moring tea on the Paroo River, pretty dry down this far, even with all the rain they have been getting.
After setting up we went into town for some ice and fill the jerries with water to replenish the camper, and to look around, not the biggest town in the world, but the locals are friendly and fresh water is clean and drinkable, it was hot, 38c today, so icecream on the way back to camp, a dip in the river and a beer or two, wow that water was cold, but boy oh boy did it cool you down:thumbsup:2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
Last edited by Redback on 10th Nov 2014 4:28 am. Edited 2 times in total
9th Nov 2014 10:47 pm
Redback
Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
While at Menindee we went for a drive too Silverton, the long way out through the NP, first stop, the Kinchega woolshed, this was a working station and shearing shed and bailer right up till the 70s before being taken over by NSW National Parks
Some info on the Woolshed and station
[URL="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Kinchega-National-Park/Kinchega-Woolshed/historic-site"]http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/Kinchega-National-Park/Kinchega-Woolshed/historic-site[/URL]
From here it was out just past the NP on the shoreline of Lake Tandou, this a big Lake, one of two we passed, Lake Cawndilla was the first, there's camping almost all the way around the Lake all year round.
So onward to Silverton, not what I remembered unfortunately, a tourist bus arrived as we got there and they all piled into the Pub blocking any attempt at entry:cussing:
Tourism has hit the place, and every man and his dog goes there now, guess it's just what happens when a place gets popular, it's really good for the town though, keeps the locals employed and the town can only benifit from it.
We decided to head up to the Cafe where the Mad Max2 Museum is, it was less crowded than the rest of the town, food here is really good and well worth the price, it's all homemade by the local ladies that run the place.
Next door to the cafe is some of the relics from the Movie MAD MAX
So after this it was off to the mine and just in time for the last tour of the day, it was blowing a bloody gail today and to help, it was 38 degrees too, so being underground was a bonus, it managed to reach 40c by the end of the day and the wind just got stronger as the day went on, according the the news, gusts of up to 140ks were recorded.
I stayed with the dogs because of the heat, leaving them in the car was not a good idea, even with the windows down, so the girls went on the underground tour.
Some info on the website
[URL="http://www.daydreammine.com.au/"]http://www.daydreammine.com.au/[/URL]
So from the Mine it was back to camp, filling up in Broken Hill on the way, we didn't look around Broken Hill, we were running a bit late and the wind was getting stronger by the minute, we were wondering whether our camp would be still there, thankfully it was, the next hour or so was spent securing everything down, I lit the fire to cook tea, only to put it out as it was too dangerous with the ferosity of the wind.
Tomorrow we would be off to our next camp at Wentworth, so here's a few more pics of Menindee and bit of history of the area, Burke &Wills camped here on the ill fated trip North, there are still remnents of the past, when paddle boats cruised up and down the River and Lake Pamamaroo.
A casual pack up the night before and a sleep in, the sleep in was because the wind kept us up most of the night, especially when the internal poles fell on Nessies head a few times:raining:, the difference in the weather was amazing, cool with vertially no wind, Kerry lit the fire for bacon and eggs for breakie, this would be just a short trip down to Wentworth and the jusction of the Darling and the Murray, going via Pooncarrie.2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
Last edited by Redback on 9th Nov 2014 11:38 pm. Edited 1 time in total
9th Nov 2014 10:47 pm
Redback
Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
Off again, this time to the end of the Darling where it meets the Murray River, lovely spot too, right on the bank about 500mts to a K from the the lock and the town, first stop for morning tea, right on the banks of the Darling, at a place called Karoola Reach, this spot is just outside of the private Property boundry, lovely spot too.
it was about 40ks from here that we pulled over to replenish our firewood, but decided we had enough, it wasn't until we stopped for lunch at Pooncarrie that I noticed Ness hadn't closed her tailgate, a quick frantic look and it was only her long handle shovel and short shovel that were missing, we backtracked to find them, but no luck, so back to Pooncarrie for lunch at the General Store, highly recommend the steak sandwiches and coffee here, friendly staff too.
On the road again with full tummies, arriving around 3.00pm, set up, take a drive into town to buy a long handle shovel and small shovel:roll eyes: then back to camp to relax.
Tomorrow it's Gunbower State Forest on Gunbower Island for 2 nights and Echuca for the day trip, before heading home.2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
9th Nov 2014 10:48 pm
Redback
Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
Another slow start this morning, we would be on the tar to Gunbower Is and the small town of Koondrook, crossed the bridge and found a camp on the river, not a bad spot and a good base camp for two nights, after setting up we go into town to fill the gas bottle for the shower, we had forgot to fill one of the bottles before leaving how good is a shower after a few days without one.
Up in the morning and a trip into Echuca, straight to the info centre, then off to a park for lunch, coming back from the park we stopped in town to have a look at the Lolly shop, cheese shop, chocolate shop and camping store., not a bad day really, now for the trip back to camp, a visit to Tucumbarry Weir.
From here we took the River Tr which is the Gunbower Island Drive, back to camp, with the occasional detour to avoid the internal swamp from flooding the Island, very interesting drive.
This was a highlight, this would be a great place to have a forum interstate camp gathering.
So that was our darling river run, tomorrow it was home via Corowa, with lunch at the Whiskey & Chocolate Factory, to be honest I did not enjoy it, they weren't distilling Whiskey, which was the reason we went there in the first place and they did have all the chocolate products that the girls were looking forward too, so off to the Junee Chocolate to stock up, then to our last camp for the trip, at Oura Beach in Oura, just out of Wagga Wagga, this is a great spot, right on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, it is still flowing really well and is still in partial flood.
On the way we passed a few points of interest
The Veranda Town, Google it:interesting:
So that was our trip, all up, bloody brilliant and well worth it, we saw so many great things, the wildlife, wildflowers, history, I would highly recommend this to anyone, whether in a 4WD or car and we only touched on a fraction of what was out there, save up and go, this really doesn't need a 4WD to do this trip, it's a great family adventure.
Thank you for watching:thumbsup:
Baz.2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
9th Nov 2014 10:51 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
How good is that 8) Very envious.
10th Nov 2014 12:08 am
galwaygreen
Member Since: 30 Oct 2011
Location: plymouth
Posts: 6525
now THATS the way to do offroadin...THANK YOU for sharing it with us...could you get disco 3 website up on your journey ???? amazing...makes our sunday afternoon trip look pretty sad
10th Nov 2014 1:22 am
Redback
Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
Thanks fellas, I don't normally go onto the internet when travelling, mostly because of the lack of service in the bush, the mobile phone network in Australia is confined to the coast and major towns, we don't have a National broadband network here as yet and by the looks of it, not anytime soon if this Govt has their way
Usually turn my phone off anyway because service is only ocassional and only if your in or near a town and even then mobile service is not garranteed and we do mostly bush camping(ie) no power only 12v and gas and a campfire, most of our cooking is on the fire
Nothing like getting away and not having to answer the phone
Baz.2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
10th Nov 2014 4:40 am
Sloss
Member Since: 18 Aug 2013
Location: Aberdeenish
Posts: 1691
Thanks for sharing that with us - excellent stuff, you can't just go drive about in Scotland now Stew,
2010 D4 gone but I really loved it
Went back to Merc - C350 AMG
10th Nov 2014 7:21 am
Hairy Dan
Member Since: 19 Jan 2011
Location: Co. Durham
Posts: 12319
Sounds like a great trip and some great photos Cheers Ian
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10th Nov 2014 2:46 pm
LT
Member Since: 31 Dec 2005
Location: South West
Posts: 23866
Just read this whilst eating my lunch. Really interesting, thanks for posting 2006 D3 HSE (Original & still the best)-GONE
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10th Nov 2014 2:57 pm
Redback
Member Since: 19 Jun 2011
Location: Helensburgh NSW
Posts: 40
Thanks for the kind words, we are starting to get back into touring again, after a short(11mths) medical set back, this is one of 2 trips of a similar time we have done this year.
I'll put the other one as well, it's more Land Rover based.
Baz.2011 Discovery 4 TDV6 2.7l
Redback Country Camper Trailer
1973 Kawasaki H2 750 Triple
2002 TTR250 Yamaha
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Peter Lalor
10th Nov 2014 8:13 pm
GLYNNE
Member Since: 06 Oct 2006
Location: KENT
Posts: 4696
Enjoyed reading that thanks for taking the effort to share it
10th Nov 2014 8:35 pm
Bradders
Member Since: 21 Oct 2014
Location: Ashford, Kent
Posts: 126
Loved reading this. One day I'd like to do a trip like this it's given me a few ideas 8)
10th Nov 2014 10:28 pm
caverD3
Member Since: 02 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
Great report Redback.
Thanks for taking the time to post it all. “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
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11th Nov 2014 4:08 am
jimbojay
Member Since: 01 Dec 2008
Location: Wet & Windy West Coast (Ayrshire)
Posts: 157
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how good is a shower after a few days without one.
