What a gorgeous spot we found to camp at Lake Pamamaroo. This camp site ticks all the boxes for me. Shady trees but still enough sun on our solar panels to charge our batteries. There is a rubbish bin that is emptied regularly. We have our own little sandy beach. Perfect for launching our kayaks. There seems to be not as many campers along the lakeside this visit. We have a spectacular view across the lake, I’m a happy camper with a water view.

Before we left home I took some scones out of my freezer and put them in the motorhome freezer. In the morning I took them out to thaw. I put them in our oven wrapped in foil to heat through and we had them for morning tea. Catie provided strawberry jam, lemon butter and whipped cream.

Andy decided to have a cleaning and washing morning so the rest of us piled into Robert’s car and went for a drive to check out the Menindee Regulator. This is where water from Lake Pamamaroo enters Lake Menindee. When we were here last year the channel that connects the two lakes was dry. Not a drop of water. This day it was full and water was still flowing into Lake Menindee.

To get to the regulator you turn off the main Broken Hill/Menindee Road and go up and over a large sand dune. All of a sudden there is Menindee Lake stretched out before you. What an amazing sight it is to see. Water stretching away to the horizon.

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Menindee Caravan Park sits on top of the sand dune with views out across the lake. Sadly it is very run down and in need of a good clean up. I’m guessing they haven’t had many guests during the drought.

Our next stop was into Kinchega National Park so we could stop by the Lake Menindee Outlet. This is where water from Lake Menindee is allowed into the Darling River. We were so pleased to see water pouring through into the river. Well actually you can’t really see it pouring in but you can stand on the grate over the outlet and you can hear the sound of the water rushing by under you. The water is piped under the main park road and into a side channel that leads to the river proper. This side channel was full of water and a huge Pelican was serenely gliding about occasionally sticking his beak into the water to catch fish.

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We drove along The River Road which is where all the main camping sites are. There are 34 designated camp sites along this very winding dirt road. The River Road winds its way through Red Gum forest. Some of the old Red Gums are huge with many twisting branches. These often fall off and make for animal habitat on the ground below the shady branches above.

Some of the camp sites have pit toilets and most of them have fire pits. All of them are right on the river bank. We stopped at Weir 32 and it was amazing to see how much water was pouring over the weir. Last year there was only a trickle of water going across and all the rocks were exposed. We stood for quite a while watching fish jumping up the rocks against the flow of the water. They leap out of the water and swish their tails to try to get to the next level above. It’s a little mesmerising to watch and you want to cheer them on. It seems such a gutsy thing to achieve.

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We continued on past the tree with flood markers, past the remains of the boiler from PS Providence, a paddle steamer that blew up, and on to the last site, no 34. This is where we all camped when there last year. Of course the water level is so much higher now but the banks are still quite high so the river could hold even more water. It really was a good camp site.

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Back at camp a joint effort was made to prepare a camp oven roast for our dinner. Robert was in charge of the fire and the camp ovens.

One of Catie’s Dragon Boat friends came over from their camp at Copi Hollow to check out my inflatable Kayak. She is looking for a new kayak that is light enough for her to carry and I’d told her about my inflatable one the other night. She had a good look at mine and I think she will get one for herself. Amazon will have to pay me commission!

While the camp ovens were cooking our roast Catie and I set off for an evening paddle. This time we followed along the shore towards the north. We didn’t see any other campers at all although we could hear music playing somewhere ahead of us so there are campers much further along. We did see Pelicans, Cormorants, a few fish jumping and Catie even spied a tortoise. We also spotted a group of very bright green parrots. They were quite beautiful.

We came across a large tree that had fallen with most of its roost system exposed. However enough of the roots must still be in the ground because the tree has sprouted new branches all along its length and they are growing upwards like new trunks.

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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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After a great nights sleep at MacCullochs Rest Area we set off in convoy towards Wilcannia. I’ve never been to Wilcannia before but what a lovely little town. It had been on the news a lot lately due to a COVID outbreak but the town seemed very quiet as we drove in across the Darling River.

Wilcannia was once the third largest port in NSW after Sydney and Morpeth near Newcastle. In 1887 218 vessels arrived in Wilcannia carrying 36,170 tons of goods and 222 vessels left Wilcannia carrying 26,552 tons. Isn’t that incredible? Fancy being the third largest port and it is so far inland in the middle of the desert!

Because it was such a centre for trade the town has many beautiful historic buildings and I just had to go for a walk around the town to capture these gorgeous buildings with my camera.

Richard and Robert went to the self-service fuel station to fill up while Catie and I went for a wander with cameras at the ready. Robert tried the Police Station to see if he could find out which road would be the best to take. There was nobody there. He did find a number to call to find out about road conditions but when Robert called the lady who answered was really no help at all.

There was a group of people gathering in the park so I wandered down to see if they were locals. They were and when asked about the roads a lady told me that they were much the same, rough gravel roads. I explained that we’d driven from Ivanhoe to Mendindee and she quickly exclaimed that was a worse road than these two. So we decided to take the Western Road and see how it went. This road follows the Darling River and is part of the series of roads known as The Darling River Run.

I have to say I am so please with the build quality of our Avida Esperance. Another 160km of rough gravel road and not a thing fell off, nothing broke and we arrived safely at Menindee 3 1/2 hours later. At times we were down to 30km/h but at others the road was good enough for us to get up to 70km/h. It was an interesting trip too. We saw lots of emus. A few property entrances and a Woolshed. About half way along we passed a Farm Stay at Nelia Gaari Station and we thought that looked like a great spot to try one day.

Richard drove half the way and then we swapped drivers and I drove the rest of the way into Menindee. I find the Iveco very easy to drive although, because I am so short and have to move the drivers seat forward so I can reach the pedals, the seatbelt cuts into my neck. I bought myself a sheepskin seatbelt cover and that has made a huge difference. I can drive for hours now.

We meet so many people on our travels that say to us they’d never take their motorhome off the tar. I think they are really missing out on some fantastic travel experiences by not venturing off the black top. These motorhomes are built on a truck chassis and our thoughts are that if an Iveco truck can go there then we can probably go there. So far our trusty Avida has taken us on many gravel roads and it has never let us down. We are impressed with it. It is a 2013 model so getting on for 8 years old and we are up to 89,000km traveled.

We arrived in Menindee and went directly to the Showgrounds to fill up with water, get a load of washing done and use the Dump Point. We managed to call up Robert on the UHF and he directed us to where they and Andy and Jenny had set up camp lakeside at Lake Pamamaroo.

We had no trouble finding them and quickly got our camp set up. What a gorgeous spot. A lovely sandy beach, shady trees but still enough sun for our solar panels.

I love spur of the moment travels. I was having a conversation with Richard’s cousin Catie recently and we talked about how good it would be to see Menindee Lake now that it is full of water. We were at Menindee last in July 2020 and only two of the lakes had any water in them. Menindee Lake, the largest of the system, was bone dry and had been that way for 7 years. Since last year lots of rain has fallen in the catchment and Menindee Lake is full once more. What a sight that must be!

So that short conversation became a plan and here I sit in the Motorhome at MacCullochs Rest Area on the Barrier Highway about 45km from Wilcannia. It is still early morning but the Apostle Birds are up and about tapping on our shiny hub caps (I think they see their reflection) and the big rigs have started going past. Catie & Robert are parked up next to us in their new van probably still asleep. There was a little herd of wild goats grazing only 10 metres from our camp.

This journey began on Friday afternoon when we left home in Griffith NSW and headed west towards Hillston on the Lachlan River. We found a great little camp spot just 36km north of Hillston at Willanthry. Here the Highway crosses a concrete bridge over the Lachlan River. The river was very full and running very fast. All that water will eventually end up at the Mouth of the Murray in South Australia. The Lachlan River runs into the Murrumbidgee River between Maude and Balranald and the Murrumbidgee runs into the Murray near Boundary Bend in Victoria.

The Rest Area at Willanthry is a lovely spot right next to the river. There is a large paved flat area with picnic tables and rubbish bins. We were able to park right next to the river. We were the only campers on our side of the river however there were two others on the opposite bank. Although the Rest Area is right beside the road there was little road noise during the night and we had a peaceful sleep.

There has been a bridge across the Lachlan at Willanthry since the late 1800’s. The first was a timber beam toll bridge that stood where the current concrete bridge now stands. The second bridge was a timber truss bridge built in 1885 and became known as Coopers Bridge. There was a toll of threepence a wheel and threepence a horse to cross Coopers Bridge. A second Coopers Bridge was built in 1921 and it was again a timber truss bridge. The new concrete bridge was built in 1998. You can see the ramparts of the last of the timber bridges just near the Rest Area however all the timber was dismantled. A DVD recording of the demolition of this historically significant bridge is kept at the Library in Hillston.

Willanthry was once a thriving little town first settled in 1854. There was a hotel, a store, post office and a few private dwellings. A school first opened in 1933 and finally closed in 1972. The hotel burnt down before 1900 but the old store stood until it was relocated to the coast in the 1990’s. There might not be any buildings left but it is a lovely spot for a camp beside the river.

We met up with Catie and Robert at Newey Reserve in Cobar. We’d been there before and it is a lovely spot for a lunch break with flat spots to park so you can see the water in the reservoir. Newey Reserve is full of huge old pepper trees that make for inviting shady spots to pull up. We’d just finished our lunch and a chat with some fellow motorhomers when Catie and Robert arrived. They brought their lunch over and we all sat in our RV to discuss our plan for the afternoon. We decided to continue on towards Wilcannia. Our friends Andy and Jenny are already in Broken Hill and plan to head out to Menindee and find a good spot for our three RV’s alongside Lake Pamamaroo.

Once we left Cobar I was on a road I’ve never been on before. I’ve been to Cobar many times and also to Broken Hill however I’ve never been on the Barrier Highway from Cobar via Wilcannia to Broken Hill. Our plan was to get to Wilcannia, fill up with fuel and check on the state of the two gravel roads that travel on either side of the Darling River to Menindee to determine which one we will take. I’m expecting that to be a slow trip for us in the motorhome.

We pulled up for the night at MacCullochs Rest Area near Wilcannia. This is a large rest stop popular with big rigs and there is even Telstra Service. The rest area has a children’s playground, pit toilets and even a book exchange in an old red refrigerator.

We had not long set up camp when a couple of escort vehicles and a police car with their lights all flashing arrived followed by a huge truck towing a long low loader. Robert and Richard went off to chat to the driver to learn more about the amazing rig. They found out lots of information from the driver. The low loader alone was worth $1.4million. It had 8 rows of wheels with 8 tyres in each row. The first set of 4 wheels and the last two rows of wheels steered. The low loader could carry 240 tonne. The load on top was a giant mining truck minus its wheels and its tray. Just that part of the truck weighed 60 Tonnes.

There were two of these massive rigs travelling in convoy. They were taking the trucks from Adani Mine in Queensland all the way to Adelaide where the massive vehicles will be refurbished. The loads were so wide they took up the entire width of the road. Of course there were many escort vehicles that travel in front and behind with flashing lights. I wonder how they get though towns? They had been travelling for 10 hours and had come 600kms from Cunnamulla in Queensland that day. The logistics were staggering.

The driver of the first one to pull up at the Rest Area was quickly out of his truck and checking the tyres and the load. He climbed up onto the low loader and then up onto the truck to remove some branches they’d collected from trees along the side of the road. The load was so tall it had knocked off quite a few large branches and he tossed over the side.

Once the entire convoy had assembled they set up a camp and cooked their dinner. We assume they all slept in their vehicles. It really was quite a sight to see.

It was really windy when we pulled in and set up camp at MacCullochs Rest Area however the wind died down enough so we could enjoy a small campfire and a good chat before retiring for the night.