What a lovely relaxing day at our fabulous camp spot lakeside at Lake Pamamaroo, Menindee NSW. We have a fabulous spot with shady trees with still enough sun for our three RV’s solar panels. We are camped right alongside the sandy waters edge. Our own secluded little beach.

Everyone had a slow start and enjoyed a sleep in. I love looking out at the expanse of water and watching the changing light on the water throughout the day. There’s something special about a water view, especially a water view as large as this one. Because the lake is very full it is a very large expanse of water we can see from the shore. The far shore is hazy in the distance. The old River Red Gums on the lake bed died many years ago and their twisting trunks and branches are quite beautiful.

After a leisurely group morning tea Catie and I got our kayaks ready and left for a paddle. We headed directly out across the lake and went as far as where the trees stop. All we could see ahead was water with the far shore way in the distance. It does make you feel a little insignificant out there surrounded by this huge expanse of water. The water is a milky brown probably due to all the sediment from the flood waters as they make their way down the river system from Queensland.

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The mornings excitement was a native visitor to our camp, a beautiful huge goanna. It wandered into camp, sniffed around our campfire before slowly climbing a tree. What a magnificent creature.

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Late in the afternoon we piled into the two 4WD’s and headed off to visit the Lake Pamamaroo/Lake Wetherall Regulator. This is the barrier between the two lakes and enables NSW Water to keep Lake Pamamaroo full of water. We were staggered by the amount of water on the Lake Wetherall side. When we were here last year that side was just a channel that followed the Darling River. Now the water has spread out over the banks, a huge expanse.

We continued on to the Main Weir and again we were staggered by the amount of water flowing over the weir and into the river. Last year this was just a trickle of water. It’s good to see the Darling River with so much water in it.

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From the Main Weir we drove into town to visit the little supermarket to pick up some supplies and then we all drove out to the Caravan Park on Lake Menindee. Wow. As you drive out on the very dry gravel road you drive up and over a large sand hill and the vista of a full Lake Menindee appears. It is stunning. This time last year the lake was bone dry and full of scrub and now it is water as far as the eye can see.

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Sadly the Caravan Park has seen better days and is very run down and in need of a good clean up. It has prime views from its position atop the sand dune. I guess no money has been spent there as drought has been the norm here for so long.

Back at camp and we had an early dinner so we could drive over to Copi Hollow Caravan Park where a group of Dragon Boaters from Dubbo were camped. Our cousin Catie is a Dragon Boater and she knew all of these people. They’d invited us over to watch the sunset.

Copi Hollow Caravan Park is home to the Broken Hill Water Ski Club and has a lot of permanent sites that belong to the club members but they also have a few powered and unpowered sites down one end for the traveling public. It is a lovely park with lots of green grass that a mob of local kangaroos obviously find appealing. They were everywhere and so was their droppings. Kangaroo poo was everywhere.

The water looked very inviting and perfect for water skiing. I was thinking all our families would love it here but it’s such a long way to travel.

We enjoyed a lovely social visit with the Dubbo contingent and watched the sun set across the water. We arrived back at our camp and sat around our little fire for a couple of hours before heading off for a well earned rest. It can be tiring being retired!!

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