Day 4 – September 4 2012

An early start as the birds were rising & singing out their various tunes, we were away by 8.30am on the road to Pooncarie, 58km of fairly recently graded dirt road, so recent we stopped & had a chat to the grading team as they were having a cuppa at around 10am.  They told us about finding a grave nearby of a lonely traveller that died of thirst on the road in 1914, whilst walking between stations.  A poignant reminder of how harsh the country can be.  Again a lot of saltbush country before turning onto the bitumen of the Mildura-Pooncarie Road for the next 28km.  We saw a bit of flood water on both sides of the road as the Darling River is close to the road in places.

We stopped briefly in Pooncarie to look at the site of the old wool wharf, no wharf to see but a few notes & photos put up by the Pooncarie Historical Society.  A lot of fellow travellers decided to do the same thing, there must have been 8-10 campers there at the one time.  Another business opportunity – if there was a coffee shop there it would have done a roaring trade.  Goodbye bitumen, another 123km of dirt road to Menindee, again in reasonable condition courtesy of the same grader team.  A stop at the Menindee Information Centre for some local knowledge, then into Kinchega National Park.

We called in to the place we planned to camp, Emu Lake, but Tereza was very unimpressed – there were a few emus there though.  We went on the next 500 metres to Kinchega Woolshed & the National Park Visitor Centre.  The Kinchega woolshed is very large, again made from local cypress pine, but only half the size now of what it was in its heyday.  A very interesting walk through as it was left largely as it was when finally abandoned as a working concern in 1967 when the ceremonious 6 millionth sheep was shorn in it to mark the handing over of the property to the National Parks.  While sitting on a bench in the shade of the old shearer’s quarters, we looked up & saw Helen & John Miller, our friends from Canberra arrive, whom we were going to camp a couple of nights with at Emu Lake.  As Emu Lake (dry saltbush only, no water) did not look particularly attractive (not one person was camped there, for obvious reasons), we decided to head off to try & find a camp where the helpful bloke at the Menindee Information Centre suggested was a good free camp, along the edge of Lake Pamamaroo.

A short Drive out of Menindee, a right turn & after a short drive we found a campsite right on the edge of the lake – perfect, all was forgiven.  We set up camp with Helen & John on a nice spot about ten feet from the water’s edge & joined them for some cheese & bikkies with a glass of wine watching the large numbers of water birds & the sun setting through the semi-submerged trees in the lake.  This is such a delightful place we sat & chatted after dinner enjoying a beautiful starlit sky the waves & shadows of the trees & shrubs.  I am so glad that Ron & John decided on a plan “B” after the terribly disappointing camp site at Emu Lake.  Now to bed with the gentle noise of the waves lapping onto the sand next to us, after 265km of driving today with a pleasant 27C temperature.