From Mildura we drove through Wentworth and began the second part of our trip, the Darling River Run! which starts at the confluence of the two rivers in Wentworth.
Thankfully the first section is sealed so we weren’t impacted by the recent rain and road closures. The first town on the run was Pooncarie. On the way we saw more grapes, there were also a lot of Goats, an occasional Emu, and an ever changing landscape.
We arrived in Pooncarie and checked out town, it didn’t take long because it was very small. A pub, Post Office and a cafe.
We went for a walk down to the Old wharf.
Pooncarie, like all towns along the Darling, was an important port for the town transporting wool on paddle steamers or barges along the river.
The Darling River was quite low and there wasn’t much going on in Pooncarie so we decided to head onto Menindee. But first we had a very nice lunch at the pub.
The Menindee Lakes are a group of 9 lakes connected to the Darling River. They are an important water storage system to supply water for the farms for irrigation and towns, especially Broken Hill. They help control the flow of the Darling River—storing water in wet times and releasing it in dry periods.
We were really looking forward to staying on the lakes because from research they looked so big.
We were hoping to stay at a free camp which was right on Lake Pamamaroo but unfortunately the road was closed due to the recent rain.
So we ended up at caravan park and we managed to get a lovely site right on Lake Copi Hollow.
The flies thought it was lovely too. So many flies again due to the rain.
As expected the lake was so beautiful we had to take the kayak out. It was so smooth and the kayak moved along beautifully.
It was a great spot to have a fire again so Steve got the fire going and cooked some steaks on it for dinner.
I also made our first damper and cooked it in the camp oven. It was pretty good for my first attempt. Especially nice with butter and golden syrup.
Unfortunately it was to be our last fire at Copi Hollow. We were told the next morning there was still a fire ban. Oops.
Next morning the flies were so bad we went into town for breakfast.
On the way back we went to the lookout and it was a wow moment! It was beautiful to look at and had hundreds of pelicans. What sight! We’d been seeing lots of pelicans flying over the lake and found out that the Menindee Lakes were a major breeding ground for pelicans like Lake Eyre.
The weather was amazing and hot so we went back to camp and went out for another paddle and this time with the motor. The motor was great! Anyone watching might have thought we were Olympian kayak champions. We were flying along. We paddled down the far end of the lake to get a closer look at some pelicans. After the paddle we had a swim. Lovely fresh water. And I could see the nice sandy bottom.
The beach area is really good for launching the kayak. We were definitely improving getting in and out, and paddling more smoothly.
The next day we went into Maidens Hotel the local pub in Menindee for lunch. There were lots of locals there too, so we knew it would be good.
On the way back we went for a drive through Kinchega National Park.
Kinchega National Park covers a large area incorporating many of the Menindee Lakes. It was formerly part of a pastoral lease running sheep. The shearing shed and homestead are still part of the park and apparently in very good condition. We didn’t do the full drive through so we didn’t see them. In 1967 the last sheep was shorn and it was handed over to NSW National Parks. We could have camped here, but we wanted to camp by the lakes.
On the way back, the road to the free camp ground was open again so we went to check it out as well as the main weir.
The campsite looked great with beautiful views across Lake Pamamaroo.
We then reached the weir. The Darling on one side, lakes on the other.
Back at camp we settled in for a night of footy. The Tahs and Souths were playing.
We had amazing picturesque sunsets each night across the lake.
While we were watching some bugs hatched and we were completely inundated with them.
The TV was outside so the bugs were attracted to the light of the TV or any light!
Once the big park light came on it was a sight!
We fumigated inside the van but unfortunately my screen was slightly open so they kept coming in. But coming out in the morning!! Everything was covered in dead little black bugs!
The flies were back so we packed up and continued on our adventure along the Darling.