Menindee, Mungo and the tri-state area!

The drive from Broken Hill to Menindee was a little over 100km. Not very long, but it seemed to us somehow that we were entering the real start of our trip. The road narrower, the traffic sparse, the landscape more barren, and if BH was a bit of an unknown quantity, then Menindee Lake was off the chart. The first thing we noticed were these patches of mini watermelons along the edge of the road as we drove along. Curiosity got the better of us, so we found a safe place to pull over and investigate. Maria and Caitlin dodged oncoming cars and a road train, raced across the road and took a few photos. None the wiser they souvenired a medium sized melon to ask what they were further down the track. As it turned out they were Camel melons brought out with the Afghan Cameliers. Very tart and not real good for you but the birds love them.

We soon arrived at our destination, the Menindee Lakes Caravan Park. A few km's down a dirt road and we were there. What a delight and a bit of a contradiction in the middle of semi-arid desert. On the shores of Lake Menindee, a natural basin which collects rain water from the surrounding area as well as feeding the Darling River. It is much larger than than Sydney harbour and it filled to the brim after the 2010 Qld floods and is now about 30% full but is still a formidable and expansive water supply.

Chilling on the lake shore.

The park Manager Tim was extremely welcoming. He took over the place in 2009 and since then has been cultivating a half a dozen grass sites on an otherwise red dirt/sandy area. These areas are a real oasis in the dessert. We chose the corner penthouse over-looking the Lake. We had unobstructed views of the entire area which was absolutely devine. In the first 5 minutes we saw pelicans, emus, galahs and any number of other birdlife.

Tim came down later after we'd setup and pointed to a tricky 4wd track leading out of the property which he indicated we could drive down onto the lake bed, let the kids have a swim and we could have a drink or two and watch the sunset which faced directly west.

Menindee Sunset

Hmmm, sounds like we had a plan for the afternoon. 4 o'clock was the agreed time with sunset about 6pm and we headed off. Pictures paint a thousand words but can I just say sitting on an ancient lake bed like it was North Point at Moreton, sipping Pra Suave, (that's Italian!)  nibbling cheese and bikkies and watching the kiddies have a paddle in the lake, I really felt, well, serene. Lines from the Castle followed. "How's the serenity?" - "So much serenity".  Menindee is simply beautiful. We stayed 2 nights here and could easily have stayed more. The afternoon, drive, swim, nibble, sip (okay slurp/gulp) ritual was truly seductive. You can also imagine our dismay and outrage when Tim informed us that as a part of the Murray-Darling solution between irrigators/pastoralists and environmentalists that the entire Menindee Lake system is to be drained to feed the Darling in the hope that one day floods from Qld (!!!) will once again fill the system. Oh dear, we are slowly learning more about this issue as we travel along and it is hard to understand how draining his beautiful lake could aid the system in the long term.


We also visited Kinchega National Park which is right on the Darling river. It was previously 1800's  pastoral land processing (shearing) 6 million sheep in it's heyday. We enjoyed walking through the woolshed and imagining how hard it would have been to live and work here. We followed the Darling River through the park about 20km's upstream. There were about 30 camp sites right on the river under the giant river red gums. All were really peaceful and spacious. We stopped at one for lunch and then had an explore along the banks. We found a little creek with hundreds of carp in it just on the surface of the river. We found out later from Tim it was spawning time.

Darling River Camp

After 2 nights we hit the road for Mungo National Park - the home of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady. It's was about a 250 km trip along all dirt road. The road wasn't in bad condition however the 110km speed limit was never seriously challenged - more like suicide. I did mention to Maria that I thought the camper "may be a bit loose, i.e. not air tight" and "I think I remember there being a little hatch which you can open to create a pressurised seal to ensure no dust gets in".  "Nevermind we'll fix it when we get there....On the way we saw huge wedge tailed eagles close up and I remember feeling excited driving along. There was very little traffic coming the other way or behind us so I could pick the best line to take. What struck me was the change in colours of the road and the surrounding land. Red to brown to white to orange - all I can say is - it was very peaceful. We had a few really bad corrugated sections but overall it was just fun...

...Until we arrived at Mungo NP main campground and opened the camper. Lets just say at this point I could hear the National Lampoons 'Holiday Road' theme song in my head. The Griswalds had arrived and red dust was everywhere. From a thick coating all over the floor to a relatively thin layer on the beds and benches, it was everywhere inside. Lesson learned. Michael philosophical - Maria...not so much.

 We arrived at the Mungo tourist information centre which is quite impressive, but there was no-one there. No staff, nothing. There was a really interesting interpretive display about the area but little direction on how we should go about getting sorted for camp fees etc as we'd heard the tours were exceptional. Eventually we found the honesty box, popped the fees into an envelope and were off to find the campground. Enter dust...In the end with all hands on deck we cleaned up and were settled in a hour or so.

The campground was very spacious but basic. No power or water, just a drop toilet and some rainwater out of a tank. Plenty of local kangaroos and emus were wandering around to welcome us however which the kids were excited about. They were not excited about the flies. There were lots. Thank god for head nets. We took a drive back to the tourist centre which is only a kilometre down the road and it was a hive of activity. Rangers were there. Cars everywhere, it was a different place and we quickly sourced all of the information we needed. Tomorrow would start with a 70km drive around the lake bed and surrounding sand dunes in the shape of a crescent moon, called a lunette. We would meet back at the centre for a guided tour of 'the Walls of China' with the local aboriginal rangers.

Mungo is an ancient lake bed that has been dry for 20,000 years. Scientists have discovered artefacts dating back over 50,000 years across the expanses of the last ice age. This makes Mungo one of the oldest places outside of Africa to have been occupied by modern humans since ancient times. They have discovered 42,000 year old remains of a man and a woman separately. The woman was about 18 and was cremated whilst the man was about 55 and seemed to die of old age. The man was probably over 6ft 8in!! There are also fossilised footprints of men women and children and they are truly huge. The food must have been very good in the area 40,000 years ago. The land around the area is over 100,000 years old and there are currently testing fire places found in this layer of rock which would be quite a find indeed. More on that later. The area was also a pastoral station for many years which of course decimated the area which still hasn't recovered.

Erosion

We drove the 70km loop track around the lake and old station in the morning which took us about 3 hours. We toured the old homestead and and woolshed. The station was massive.  The highlight of the trip was the massive sand dunes near Vigar's Well. It could have been on Fraser or Moreton. The kids had a great time climbing and falling back down again and exploring around the dunes. We arrived back at camp for lunch and were back at the tourist centre for our 2pm tour. Unfortunately so were the 5 other carloads including one full of Korean men (more on that later). Ernie and Tanya were our tour guides. Tanya started off the tour a bit angry about the treatment of Mungo Man and Lady but mellowed as her enthusiasm and passion for the area, the fossils and the ancient history overcame her anger and she was a wealth of information. 

Massive sand dunes

Ernie was so laid back I thought he was asleep. He was very cool as he walked around talking about the history of the area with a beautifully painted guitar on his shoulder. You can only tour the Walls of China area now with a tour and with a guide. It was apparent why within 1 minute of the group setting foot in the sand with Ernie and Tanya pointing down as we walked. See that, it's a seashell from 40,000 years ago, that's an ancient spearhead, that's a piece of bone from a fossilised wombat. What?? we all felt like tip toeing around...except for the Koreans...One of them just took off whilst the others were kicking the bones with their shoes and stamping on the shells to see if they would break. Even Ernie got flustered trying to get the wandering Korean back.

Working out where to tread!

We saw old camp fires, fossilised remains of wombats, kangaroos and a snake. It was a magical place. So much history and so much more to tell as the rains come and reveal more treasures. You could tell Tanya was torn from the fact that what is in the ground should stay in the ground, but her fascination with what these secrets might reveal was irresistable. After the tour we all had a shower at the visitor centre which was very welcome.

Mungo is a fascinating place. It shows the wonder of nature and history, balanced with the blight of late 19th century pastoralism where they had absolutely no idea and didn't really care. What we've done in 150 years is truly atrocious. (I'll get off the soap box now). We were now making our way to South Australia through Mildura in Victoria. We made good time and had our eye on a rest stop 40km south of Pinaroo. As we passed through town and stopped for everyone to wee we basically had a family meeting. Drive for 30mins out of town and camp (it was 2.30pm) or stay in the car for another couple of hours and go straight to Naracoorte. The hands went up and it was agreed we'd head straight to Naracoorte. Three states in one day as we travelled from NSW, into VIC through Mildura and then finally into SA.

Broken Hill

Broken Hill has been somewhat of a conundrum to me. Albeit an extremely surprising and pleasant one. I knew it was a mining town for Silver and Zinc and was in Western NSW but little else. It is closer to Adelaide than Sydney. It is on Central time (SA) rather than NSW time and most of the town supports AFL, yet all the number plates are yellow. It is literally the middle of nowhere yet it is central to any traveller heading from SA into NSW or QLD or someone from QLD or NT heading on south or west.

Syndicate of 7

The history is fascinating and at times tragic and confronting. Mining is on the decline in the area. Prices are lower and the cost of extracting the minerals from the earth more expensive. Tourism is healthy as I mentioned and it seems one of the ways forward if it could be developed more. As I type the Top Tourist Park we've been staying at for the past 3 nights is nearly full. Most people we talk to are interested to learn more about the area and spend at least a day or two investigating. The park is really well maintained, shady and the facilities are good with a pool and playground for the kids. Not that we've had much time for using those.

To get a sense of the town and its history we went on the Larrikins, Heroes and Heroines walking tour of the town from the fantastic visitors centre. The people here are really proud of the town and couldn't be more helpful. Daphne Coffey was our guide. She was 70 plus and it was genuinely an effort to keep up with her. She set quite a pace. (Not sure if she was any relation Paul? - she said she did have a grand-daughter in Brisbane). It must have taken quite some vision for the syndicate of seven that founded BH. I wonder if they envisioned what it would become. We toured too many sites to mention but highlights for me were the Mining Union offices (a very grand building), Police station and courthouse and basically lots of insights from Daphne into the sacrifices, sadness, determination and greed, is a strong word, but it's the only one that comes to mind, of the early mine owners and their approach to wealth creation.

The Headframe - miners elevator

Union headquarters

Life in the mines was tough. Most started when they were 8 years old and didn't make it to 40. Daphne lost her father to lead poisoning but rather than be bitter she said that she could "see both sides" of what it took to build the industry here.

Our first afternoon was spent a few km's out of town at the Living Dessert Art Museum. In 1993 sculptors from around the world congregated on a hill top and over a couple of months, carved some really interesting works which are now on display. The best time to view them is at sunset when the sun really brings them to life.

A living desert sunset 

We visited the Old Daydream mine which is about half way between BH and Silverton down a windy, dusty track. We took an underground and above ground tour of the mine complete with hard hats, battery packs and headlamps. It wasn't too physically demanding but you certainly had to crouch a few times to get through. We had quite a large group and the Kearneys were bringing up the rear after coming in a little hot in a cloud of dust (read: the tour had to wait for us). Dad was "Tail end Charlie". The kids quite enjoy calling me that now. Basically Charlie is last in the group that makes sure all people have come through and lets the guide know when all have arrived. A very important and esteemed position indeed! The tour took about an hour and really did provide an insight into the incredibly tough conditions miners in the late 1800's and early 1900's had to endure. Most miners started when they were between 8 and 12 and died before their 40's. It was quite an eye opener for Lachlan.

Tail end Charlie and assistant!

Next on the trip was Silverton, which is an old mining town about 20km's out of BH. We visited the old school house, Gaol, Mad Max museum and the Silverton Hotel. The school house was really unique in that it was tiny (no bigger than a current 25 head classroom, but it sat over 100 kids at it's peak. They used grand stand type desks which was quite clever. The kids had fun doing 'homework' on the chalk slates. The Hotel has been the scene of many cinematic masterpieces including Mad Max II and Razorback, not to mention several tv commercials. XXXX Gold is the preferred beer on tap:-)

Old school house

Mad Max's Mad Beetle - he used this while the Interceptor was in the shop!

We also visited the Pro Hart Gallery. Pro was a miner, artist (arguably one of Australia's most famous) and a collector of Roll Royces. He was truly prolific in his work from classic landscapes around Broken Hill to his 'masked' portaits of mining owners and managers to his love of Banjo Patterson. We saw a wonderful example of the 'Colt from Old Regret' as well as picking up some original etchings of the Waltzing Matilda story - very special. The visit was even more special as it was the day of a dear friends mum's funeral who passed from motor neurone disease, which coincidentally, was the same disease which Pro passed from. The gallery manager even stopped a documentary which was playing to play the kids the old DuPont carpet ads. "Oh Mr Hart, What a Mess!!" We all got a giggle from that. Caitlin was so impressed she asked if she could 'borrow' the spare piece of marine carpet I had in the garage at home and did eBay sell 'Paint Cannons'!!! Oh dear...



The Dragonfly!

I should mention our visit to Bells Cafe, a genuine 50's milk bar. We had hotdogs and soda. Spiders, fizz's it was very yummy. Dad had the double Sars - took me back to days at the 'pub' with dad and grandad. They'd have a pot of XXXX and I'd have a double sars.

Bells Cafe'

Last but not least we visited the top of the slag heap or original silver mine. This holds a function centre, restaurant and memorial for lost miners. The view over the city was great. We all took a photo of the oversize park bench which was fun.

Songs from the Big chair

Miners Memorial - for over 800 have lost their lives in the area

Our time at Broken Hill was at an end. Menindee Lake was calling. What a terrific town BH was. We weren't expecting much but it certainly delivered and we'd highly recommend it to anyone.

Take Care and Love to all

Brisbane to Broken Hill

The old saying "Every great journey starts with a single step", kept going through my mind as I awoke on Tuesday April 2. After many months of planning and a fairly restless nights sleep, THE day had finally arrived. We awoke planning to leave by 9am and finally were ready to go around 10am. Not too bad. As I hitched up the camper, and just as a bit of an afterthought I said to Maria we should check that all the camper lights were working. Night driving lights? - Check, brakes? - Check, left indicator? - Check, Right indicator? ... right indicator?...RIGHT INDICATOR??? Oh dear, Houston, we have a problem.

We're off!

Despite my best technical efforts, (staring intently at said light and slowly cursing under my breath) no luck. I know, I'll call the manufacturer! So a quick call to Goldstream proved the decisive move. "Have you given the plug a jiggle mate?" said a Victorian voice dripping with sarcasm. Jiggle? right, jiggling, jiggling, of course. Immediately questions ran through my head after I hung up the phone however. So what is the correct jiggling technique? Does one jiggle left to right or up and down. Visions of Mr Miagi danced through my head. Wax on...Right indicator, (post jiggle) - Check!!! We were off!

A very teary goodbye to Kaspa followed a last check of the house. It's a pretty surreal feeling driving off down your street knowing you won't be back for nearly six months, wondering what cards were going to be dealt while on the road. Soon however, trepidation was followed by excitement and animated discussions over how far we'd get on the first day, what our trip would be like and why all the cars seemed to be going the other way??? The plan was to try and make it to Tamworth. We fell a little short and ended up stopping at a quiet little free rest area in Guyra. Guyra is one of the highest towns in NSW and with the temperatures plummeting as we setup the camper, out came the winter PJ's and jumpers for a meal of Bolognaise and a game of Yahtzee before bed. (game 1 of 7,359 we expect:-) Grace had us in stitches in the morning with a re-enactment of her getting stuck in the middle of the night between the canvas and the mattress. Her efforts to get out were hysterical.

Guyra Sunset - a little chilly!

A good nights sleep and we were off on another long drive to a farm about 20kms outside of Narromine (50km west of Dubbo), birthplace of the great fast bowler Glen McGrath. We were going to stay with friends of the Carius', Keryn and Michael Finlayson on their farm, Oaklands. What a great way to kick start the trip. Red and white wine, cheese, bikkies and quince paste awaited us on the kitchen table, lots of affection from Jess the dog (which was brilliant as Kaspa was still being missed terribly), in a delightful homestead. No-one was home, and as we sat down on the verandah to tuck into our wine and cheese, I said to Maria, " I hope this is the right place!" Michael arrived soon after, confirming we were, we introduced ourselves and instantly felt at home. The girls had collected their first farm eggs within about 10 minutes, unreal. Keryn arrived later on after seeing their son Sam off to camp. We all sat down to Lasagne and a glass of red to get to know each other.

Stop the trip - can it get any better?

 

Welcome to Oaklands Resort!

The next day we were off to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which is about 5mins outside of Dubbo. We decided to hire bikes and ride around the zoo rather than drive around, which was great. The bikes were a little tired but worked fine. Maria went for a lower profile dragster with seat down and looked very cool, however a few of the hills got the heart pumping and seeing her with knees up around her ears had us chuckling. (but not too much darling:-) The visitor centre and entrance is very impressive but the rest of the zoo looked a little tired we felt. All of the animals were there, Giraffe, elephant, tiger and wild dogs. Everyones favourite was the otters, followed closely by the Siamang Monkeys and one very cute baby learning to climb. The meerkats were as busy as ever. Alexander was also there, "I cannot find you cheap insurance!" The day concluded with an ice-cream and a great talk on the ring-tailed Lemurs. We headed back to the farm satisfied. It is an expensive day however. $75 for the bikes and $136 to get in, I'm glad we brought our own food! It was our turn for dinner with Thermomix butter chicken and lots of Nandos chicken pieces courtesy of Jaya and Williams' (our neighbours) St Lucia store, thanks guys it was delicious!

   

 

Rest day on the farm.

What a day and big thanks to Sam for showing us around! First we set yabbie pots in various dams around the property using the Go-cart and Quad bike. Next we spent hours around the main dam trying to catch some yabbies the 'old-fashioned way' consisting of a stick, some string and a piece of meat tied to the end. You throw out the string, waited for it to get tight then slowly draw it back in slowly so the yabbie stays attached. Then you quickly scoop it up from behind - simple - NOT. We collected nearly 30 at the end of the day which was not too bad and with some honey soy marinade, were a delicious entrée. Michael knocked off from work early, we loaded up the ute, and took a tour around the 2000 acre property, picked up the pots and chased some roos (the video is amazing). A lot of fun was had by all. Keryn and Michael work hundreds of sheep and share their fields with a guy who grows wheat. The Broncos even won so the day was perfect!

 Shearing shedChecking out the farm - the farmer is the guy in yellow on the right not the guy in board shorts on left. Simple mistake.

Checking the pots for yabbies

Grace and Caitlin go carting!

Sunset over the dam

 

Dinner!

All good things must come to an end and it was time to continue on our journey. We still had 700km to get to Broken Hill. We set off having made steadfast new friends and with promises of visits. The Finlaysons were truly wonderful hosts and for basically complete strangers opened up their home to us and we will be forever grateful. I highly recommend the Oaklands Resort to anyone out this way!!!

We left in the early afternoon but made good time and stopped at a well laid out rest stop called Meadow Glen about 60km west of Cobar and within  400km of BH. Well rested we arrived in Broken Hill having saved an hour with the conclusion of daylight saving and another 30 mins with Broken Hill being on Central time. So according to the clock at the Tourist information centre it was about 12.30pm! 

A fantastic start to the trip with so many new experiences in our first week.