Broken hill is a long way from anywhere so we joined a group for this trip.
We were picked up at 8.00am by our ‘overland’ vehicle and we were lucky it was not full. Actually it was only us three, the driver/guide and a trainee guide. We drove about 115km, first dropping off the Barrier Ranges where Broken Hill is situated, then crossing the flat plain to the lakes.
We stopped for morning tea adjacent to a weir over the river an enjoyed a coffee and biscuit while we waited for our cruise to be ready.
“The Menindee Lakes is a system of 9 large, but relatively shallow lakes, located in south-west New South Wales on the Darling (Barka) River, about 200 km upstream of the Darling River’s junction with the River Murray. The Darling River is fed by nine major tributary river systems flowing from south-east Queensland and north and central NSW. The town of Menindee is close to the lakes and the nearest city is Broken Hill” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menindee_Lakes
We joined a small group on a flat bottomed boat for our trip on the Menindee Lakes. Good commentary which told us about the history, geography and the bird like in the area.
We saw pelicans
We Leant about Aboriginal history and saw a tree with a canoe cut out, and learnt how they were made.
It was a peaceful, enjoyable and education trip
We also admired the massive Red River Gums and the marks on their trunks of the different water levels.
The trip took us around a small island with 4 cows on. We were told that when the water was very low the 2 cows crossed over, now that they have had calves there are 4.
We made one stop where we could climb out and look at the remains of an old Cobb and Co bridge, long disused.
Pro
- Interesting
- Peaceful
- Good birds
Cons
- Horrid plastic chairs
- An hour was long enough
After the cruise we drove around the area looking at the camp sites, weirs and river. Also a short stop to look at and taste some bush tucker.
Next stop the pub at Menindee for lunch. A nice choice of pubfood with a drink, good portion size.
From Menindee we drove to ‘Warrawong on the Darling’ just south of Wilcania, our stop for the night.
