Down the Muddy Gutter - Menindee to Pooncarie

 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 so I booked into a motel. 

25/6/2023 Menindee to Weir 32

Drove to Menindee via Broken Hill. All the dirt roads in the area adjacent to the river are closed hence the only option was to travel via Broken Hill

Arrived in Menindee at noon. Unloaded the kayak at the boat ramp behind Maidens Hotel. I was able to leave my car at the Burke & Wills Motel opposite. The motel operator is Darryl who I met last year in the pub. Nice guy, I offered to pay parking but he refused.

Selfie with boat ramp in background

Lovely sunny day although there was a cool breeze that didn't get down to river level. The banks are very high here. 

Paddled until 4:00 pm when I arrived at Weir 32. I had thought that there was no current so I wasn't surprised to come across the weir even though I hadn't sighted it on the map. I had to land the kayak on the rocky wall adjacent and then drag over the rocks to the downstream side. I had to unload all the gear and move it before I moved the kayak.

Weir 32 - 15 km from Menindee

As it was getting around to 5:00 pm I decided to set up camp on the bank above. There was a proper camping area above the weir.  I set up camp and got a fire going. Was in bed by 7:30 pm

Weir 32 campsite

26/6/2023 Weir 32 to 60.5 km downstream of Menindee

Finally on the water at 8:00 am after slow pack up. Having to carry everything up and down the steep bank to kayak slowed me down considerably. A visit to the long drop dunny came with a surprise as there was a resident bat that flew at me when I opened the door.

Sunrise at Weir 32

I paddled until 5:00 pm with only 20 minutes for lunch. Even so I only covered 45 km for the day. 

Birdlife was stunning and I was excited to find "hoodies" (Hooded Plovers) on many of the banks. Amy Outdoors later pointed out to me that what I was seeing was actually either Black Fronted Dotterels or Red Knee Dotterels that are very similar to hoodies.

Hoddies v Dotterels

Other birds I saw were pelicans, cormorants, ibis, spoonbills, darters, Nankeen Herons and Egrets (both white and black shouldered). I didn't see any humans all day however there were feral pigs and goats as well as some emus.

Looking down at kayak from top of the bank

The river is a long way below the top of the banks in this area. My campsite this night was 30 meters above the river level. I sank in mud to my knees getting out of the kayak at this site.

Dinner was chorizo pasta followed by hot chocolate with marshmellows.

45 km in 8 hours was too slow. I had banked on 50 km per day but the river flow is too slow. 

27/6/2023 60.5 km to 105 km downstream of Menindee

I tried hard to start early but only managed to be on the water by 7:50 am. Again having to carry gear up and down the banks slowed me up.

It was overcast and still all day. Lots of birds particularly the Nankeen Herons. During the whole of this trip there was a huge number of juvenile Nankeen Herons all along the river. (Juvenile Nankeen Herons have speckled feathers compared with "Nankeen" colour of the adult birds).

8 hours to cover 45 km again! Had to reconsider my plan to paddle onto Wentworth.

Rainy day campsite

It started raining in the evening. I had set up the lightweight tarpaulin using my paddles as support but it collapsed in the wind. The ground was too damp and soft too hold the pegs. Regretted not having my polytarp as it would have been useful in the muddy conditions.

28/6/2023 Rest Day

Rained all night and then some more. Finally stopped raining around 10:00 pm. Still some showers coming through. Overcast all day - grey as my mood

Decided to make it a rest day - bailed water out of the kayak, at least 15 mms of rain. Has coffee and a muesli bar for breakfast but skipped lunch.

Lit a fire using the Trangia burner - worked well getting the wet wood burning. Such a good tip from Jake on the snow trip with St Leonards. Also glad I bought and brought the 2 man One Planet Wurley tent - it would have been totally miserable in the hiking tent. Bonus is that I can pee out the side door so no need to put on muddy boots to go outside.

Looking forward to sunshine tomorrow.

29/6/2023 105 km to 147 km downstream of Menindee

Much better day although overcast almost all day. 7:50 am on the water. With high muddy banks it is so hard to get an early start.

Paddled until 11:40 when I came upon a sandy beach and stopped for cheese and crackers.

Not so much birdlife today although lots of juvenile Nankeen Herons. Some pelicans (I had seen 4 dead pelicans up to then and there were 2 more later on). Every beach has a pair or more of Dotterels - just wish I could get a picture.

After lunch I paddled until 4:00 pm - I found a sandy beach to camp on - joy of joys no mud!

Spent time drying out the tent and getting a fire going

3 Course Dinner:

1/. Dutch Curry and Rice Cup-a-Soup

2/. Pasta with tomato sauce and parmesan

3/. Chocolate Custard.

Have decided to finish at Pooncarie. Just need to work out how to get back to my car. Have suggested to Lisa she might enjoy some days touring the countryside. She could fly into Broken Hill and bus to Menindee to collect my car - otherwise I'll have to figure something else out.

30/6/2023

Happy EOFY - 147 km to 195 km downstream of Menindee

Much better start with easy access to the kayak my packing up up was more leisurely. On the water before 8:00. Sunny to begin with then grey all day. Quieter days for birds, some goats on the banks, a few station outbuildings. Still haven't seen anyone since Sunday. 

Lisa not inclined to cooperate with my plan so I will have to figure out another way to get to my car. Feeling a bit down.

1/7/2023 195 km  to 224 km downstream of Menindee - 69 km upstream of Pooncarie

Brief period of sunshine then grey all day. Scenery much the same all day - steep banks, lots of fallen trees, less birds today. Great Egrets strongly represented although the Black Backed Egrets did not appear until later in the day. Still plenty of Dotterels on the beaches.

Strange happening after lunch - Don't know how it happened but I found myself paddling upstream. I was day dreaming as I paddled when I noticed the current going the wrong way. At first I thought it was an anomaly but when I checked I was actually paddling upstream.

My best guess is that I was paddling in the wrong direction for 5-10 minutes but it is hard to know as I have no clue how it happened.

The Spot X won't power down - this had happened before but I can't remember the solution. I don't want to let the battery go flat as I haven't had enough sunshine to charge my spare batteries via the solar panel. ( I later remembered if I hold down the power button and the Enter butter for 30 seconds it will shut down).

2/7/2023 225 km to 265 km downstream of Menindee - 29 km from Pooncarie

Interesting day - didn't get on the water until 8:30 pm. Beautiful sunny morning.

Delayed start while I searched for my 2nd packet of meds - looked through all my gear and couldn't find them. Gave up but found them later in the day in the day hatch of the kayak.

Lovely paddling all day until I came across 2 sheep stuck in mud. I tried to get to them but the whole bank was waterlogged. When I tried to exit the kayak I sank to my waist. Eventually I rammed my kayak up the bank and then crawled over the bow but still sank to my knees when I tried to stand up.

Even when I walked 30 metres above the bank the ground was subsiding. I grabbed some branches to lay down to spread my weight on the mud but I just kept sinking. I had to give up as it was too risky. The sheep probably weighed as much as me and there was risk I would get just as stuck as them.

I used the Spot X to message Lisa and asked her to contact local police. The GPS coordinates allowed them to identify the local landholder and contact them to perform a rescue.

Ended up approx. 30 km from Pooncarie, a little unsure as the map got wet and the ink ran. Couldn 't have been far off in any case. Looking forward to shower and clean clothes.

3/7/2023 Pooncarie

Arrived at 2:30 pm - As always the last day dragged. Spoke to the 1st humans I have seen in 8 days. A family fishing on a bend of the river. Dad was gathering firewood. He came over to speak with me later in the pub.

Only interesting bit of the paddle was running aground in the middle of the river. A number of bends in this area were silted up. Had to get out and push, not ideal in the middle of winter..

Access to Pooncarie from the river is limited by the high banks. There is a boat ramp about 4 km upstream amidst a large camping area (this is only a kilometre from town by road. Once I got down the river I wasn't going to go back upstream. I managed to get out just below the Old Wharf Cafe and drag my kayak up the bank.

Interps Board at Pooncarie - slightly ambiguous wording regarding location of the Rodney

Turned out the pub was a good option so I booked in there for 2 nights. Lisa is on her way to Broken Hill so with luck she will appear with the car in a couple of days.

4/7/2023

I had dinner in the pub last night - locals are friendly but I stood out like a sore thumb. I went to bed early - the only TV channel was showing Wimbledon all night and then in the morning a TV evangelist. Very sad offer
ing.

I went to the Old Wharf Cafe and had the big breakfast. The fellow serving told me I could stay and use the Wifi all day if I wished. I was grateful as it had rained all night and was still raining. 

Around 1:00 pm Denis came into the cafe and was asking about driving to Menindee. The direct road is closed. I jumped up and told him I was anxious to get to Menindee and would be happy to share driving and pay for fuel. Turned out he didn't quite understand what he agreed to but we had a lovely time chatting all the way to Menindee where Lisa had arrived.

Denis from Willow Grove was doing some volunteer tree planting for Birds Australia at Gluepot near Waikerie. He had planned to visit Lake Mungo but the roads in that area were also closed which meant he had tome on his hands. We had a lovely time time talking about birds and some other things we had in common. Very grateful for his assistance.

Lisa and I drove back to Pooncarie the next day to collect my kayak and gear and then spent 3 days getting abck to Melbourne. Included was a visit to Amy Outdoors who was paddling the Muray near Wood Wood. Great to catch up with her again.

Amy Outdoors in action

Amy, Joe and Lisa