Oh My Darling
Sun Herald
Sunday March 12, 2000
The Darling River Road epitomises the wonder and beauty of the harsh NSW outback. Michael Gebicki reports.
CUTTING a slash across western NSW, the Darling River Road follows the course of the Darling from Bourke to Wentworth a journey still rich with memories of the time when the paddle steamers opened up the heart of the State.
Although the intervening years have cushioned some of the hardships, the countryside is still rugged and challenging, and the journey along the Darling is still potent with a sense of adventure.
The total length of the trip is approximately 750km, most of it along unsealed roads.
While a four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended for the full journey, the southern half from Wilcannia to Wentworth can be tackled in a conventional vehicle, except after heavy rainfall.
Three days is the minimum recommended time for the journey. Although you'll be camping on private land, property owners have a relaxed and tolerant attitude toward responsible campers.
The journey begins at Bourke. Almost 800km north-west of Sydney, on the banks of the Darling River, Bourke is a handsome, hard-working town scattered with reminders of its colourful past.
More than a century ago, Bourke was a thriving river port, the highest town on the Darling from which cargoes of wool could be loaded onto barges and shipped downstream.
A short stroll along Mitchell Street will take you past The Carriers Arms, once a Cobb&Co inn and temporary home to Henry Lawson, the doctor's residence, the old wharf, Manston Lodge and St Ignatius's Church, which survive as notable examples of late 19th century architecture. Call in to one of the local shops and pick up a copy of Mud Maps, a themed walking tour that will guide you through Bourke's history.
From Bourke, the River Road parallels the Darling along its eastern bank. First stop is Louth, 100km away, where the local pub, Shindy's Inn, has a collection of historic photographs. About the same distance further downstream, Tilpa consists of little more than a riverside pub, the Tilpa Hotel, made entirely from corrugated iron and covered with graffiti and autographs that encapsulate the dry wit of the bush.
Next stop along the river is Wilcannia, which has several magnificent stone buildings from the time when this was a flourishing part of the Darling River trading system.
The town of Menindee is the gateway to Kinchega National Park, where the Darling forms a chain of natural lakes.
Irrigation dams have broadened these lakes and the dead river gums give the landscape a stark, surreal drama seen at its best when the setting sun turns the trees into silhouettes. The bird life of the area is sensational.
The final stretch of unsealed road along the Darling is the 130km section between Menindee and Pooncarie, a village of green parks and willow trees, and a stark contrast to the semi-desert that surrounds it.
From Pooncarie, the detour to Mungo National Park is highly recommended. Deep in the south-west corner of NSW, this is a wild, lonely moonscape of saltbush and sand dunes. Before the last ice age much of this area was covered by the Willandra Lakes, which provided habitat and rich feeding grounds for fish, shellfish and wallabies.
Drawn by this natural abundance, Aboriginal people lived here in great numbers. Forty thousand years ago they evolved elaborate burial rituals that indicate a rich culture.
Later, when the lakes began to dry up, the area became a grassland and the Aborigines discovered how to make flour one of the earliest uses of the grindstone in human history.
Today there can be few more evocative experiences than to walk out into this desiccated landscape which has been scalped by the wind and seared by the sun a reminder of the powerful magic of outback NSW.
Michael Gebicki travelled courtesy of Tourism New South Wales.
For your holiday
FOR details on travel, accommodation or car hire for Explorer Country or Living Outback, contact:
* EXPLORER COUNTRYBathurst Visitors Centre. Phone: 1800 681 000, fax 02 6332 2333, e-mail: visitors@bathurst.nsw.gov.au.
* LIVING OUTBACKBroken Hill Regional Tourist Association. Phone: 08 8087 6077, e-mail: tourist@pcpro.net.au.
© 2000 Sun Herald
