From Bourke we headed to the Paroo-Darling National Park after stopping at the Tilpa pub for a quick fix of hot chips and a beer on the way. The kids got to write on the walls of the pub which they loved. Not long after leaving the pub, we had our own Wizard of Oz moment as we drove straight through the middle of a willy willy. For a moment all we could see was dust and leaves as the whole car was engulfed by this swirling mass of debris. Fortunately we didn’t end up in some magical land but just continued on our way.
As we had been on the move every couple of days up until now (with the associated packing and unpacking getting a bit tedious) we decided to just stay one night in the national park so we could have more time at the next stop.
After a quick pack up we hit the dirt again. Stu looked at the map before we left and realised we were about to cross a fruit fly exclusion border – we didn’t really know what that meant but a quick bit of googling seemed to suggest that we may need to ditch all our fresh fruit and vegetables which is never a good thing when you never know when you will next be able to buy some, combined with prices which are a far cry from the “down down, prices are down” claims of the big supermarkets. Never one to waste good food, we packed it all into the car to have as snacks on the road, and made a quick stop in Wilcannia for an impromptu fruit and veg picnic while the kids entertained themselves in the playground. Needless to say, the border came and went without so much as a sign suggesting we might need to get rid of anything. Well at least we all ate healthily that day!
We pushed on to Menindee and stopped for petrol. James got directions to Bindara from the guy at the servo, but as we set off we seemed to be heading north instead of south which we figured wasn’t a good sign. Stu got on the radio suggesting that things didn’t look right, but that he was confident that he knew where we needed to go based on his Hema maps iPhone app so he took the lead and followed the map down the eastern side of the Darling (there was a road on each side of the river – can you see where this is going?). About 30 minutes passed before James came over the radio checking if we realised that the station we were heading for was on the western side of the river and that the Darling was surprisingly lacking in bridges down this whole section south of Menindee. Although Stu did know that Bindara was on the western side, what he failed to do was zoom in far enough on the map to realise that the roads that appeared to join and allow us to go from east to west were in fact on separate sides of the river with no way to cross – whoops! A quick u-turn and a return trip to Menindee and we were happily on our way to Bindara. After one more slight detour onto an airstrip (it looked just like the dirt road we had been following, just a little straighter, wider, and shorter!), we made it to Bindara station.
We had a gorgeous campsite amongst the river gums on the banks of the Darling river, and with no-one else staying it was truly peaceful. We stayed for 4 nights as we all loved the place and needed a bit of time in one spot. During the day we had fun playing in the river on lilo’s, kayaks and a paddle board (freezing but great in the heat of the day), getting filthy in the mud on the banks of the river, and visiting a bunch of puppies at the homestead down the road that the kids fell in love with, and at night we sat around the campfire toasting marshmallows and talking over a few drinks. It also had really cool bathrooms with cylindrical walls made of corrugated iron and no roof, so you could enjoy your shower surrounded by nature.
Being here for Easter, we set up an easter egg hunt for the kids, which involved writing a clue for each child (we had 8 on the trip). Each clue led to the next, with the final one promising to deliver them to the bounty of chocolate eggs. The adults enjoyed watching as the kids ran from one end of camp to the other, up to the homestead and back tracking down the clues (we figured if we exhausted them first, the sugar high wouldn’t be so intense once they devoured their winnings). After a successful hunt, we headed back up to Menindee for a picnic lunch and a swim at a place called Copi Hollow. We happened to be there at the same time as the Broken Hill speedboat club which use the lake as their base. It was a surreal scene given we were driving through outback NSW, with dusty roads, few travellers and silent landscapes. To arrive at the lake and see countless big, noisy powerboats and hoards of cars and people made us feel more like we were on the shore of Lake Macquarie. Either way it was great fun. On the way back to camp we stopped at Lake Cawndilla and enjoyed stunning scenery as the late afternoon sun’s rays painted the landscape in a beautiful light.
Wide open spaces 