Oh Darling

  24/6/2023 Set out early from Melbourne to drive back to Menindee to resume my journey down the Darling River. It is 8 months since I last visited the Darling. During that time the river rose further and flooded even more than it had earlier. It has since fallen back within its banks. I have approx 550 km to paddle from Menindee to the confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth.  For me the timing of this trip is challenging, it is mid winter so long cold nights. Last time I was able to have campfires each night and I was lucky with the weather. Hopefully it will be similar this time. Just before Wentworth I crossed the Murray River at Curlwaa. Simon and I camped on the Victorian side 7 weeks ago when we paddled down the Murray from Mildura to Renmark. The water level seems higher now.  I arrived at Wentworth around 3:30 pm. With 270 km still to go I decided to stop for the night as I probably wouldn't reach Menindee in daylight. The caravan park is still closed here ...

 From the junction of the Culgoa and the Barwon to North Bourke There is 85 km of the Darling River above Bourke. Officially the Darling starts at the confluence of the Barwon and the Culgoa. This seems arbitrary to me as the Barwon appears to contribute most of river flow although it may be different at other times.  In my earlier forays to the Darling I ignored this section as the logistics were too difficult by myself. Lisa and I were travelling to visit relatives near Parkes and we had a few days to spare. Lisa was insistent that I take the opportunity to tick off this section. She dropped me off on the Kamilaroi Highway where it crosses the Bogan River at Beeremy.  Access to the river was a bit sketchy. I had to drag the kayak through some muddy pools to the waters edge and then paddle past some fencing in the water. Once launched it was all about navigation as the course of the river was not obvious. Stopping every 200 metres to check the GPS I eventually found my w...

  Ever since Simon and I finished paddling the Murray River in 2019 I have wanted to paddle the Darling River. The Darling has had a tough decade – extreme drought and more recently flood. The logistics of paddling the Darling are more difficult than the Murray. It is further away from home and more remote from transport and supplies. The river was renamed to honour Sir Ralph Darling the 7 th Governor of the New South Wales colony. I hope at some point we can adopt joint naming and acknowledge that the river was known as the Baaka for millennia before Europeans arrived. The other aspect of “Darling” to be mentioned is my darling wife Lisa who encourages me with my adventures. While I was out on the river Lisa was continuing to work and volunteer as well as managing the family, home, pets and everything else. To Lisa I owe everything. Officially the Darling commences at the confluence of the Culgoa and the Barwon between Brewarrina and Bourke in NSW and finishes where joins the Mur...

  Arriving in Bourke I needed to find a location to leave my car securely for 3 weeks while I paddled downstream. The Back of Bourke Information Centre suggested I ask Tracy at Kidmans Camp Caravan Park in North Bourke. Fortunately Tracy was happy to assist and I was able leave the car there and camp the night before launching next morning (July 11 th ). Day 1 (11/7/2022) Kidmans Camp to Myandetta Station Campsite 43 km past Bourke With the river in flood the billabong next to Kidmans Camp was full so I was able launch and paddle into the river from there. Kidmans Camp is 10 km by river north of Bourke. The river was flowing fast and finding the main channel was a little tricky but a quick look at my GPS app confirmed I was on the river.  From there I was very soon paddling under the Gateway Bridge and not long after I was passing the Port of Bourke. Gateway Bridge, Bourke Port of Bourke I was aware from the map there was a weir downstream of Bourke and from prior research tho...