Tuesday 28 May. Menindee / Kinchega National Park

While the weather is so good we decided to do a big trip to the Menindee Lakes in Kinchega National Park, 110 km south east of Broken Hill. The countryside on the way was similar to what we saw yesterday. Some distance along the road was a sign telling us that we were now switching back to Eastern Standard Time, so we got to Menindee half an hour “later” than expected. Menindee was the first town established on the Darling River and the last stop for Burke and Wills.

There was a little cafe on the corner as we came into the town and we stopped for a cuppa and a cake, and bought a sandwich for lunch somewhere in the park. The town has some great sports facilities for kids and there was children’s art work displayed around the town. Some workmen directed us to a great spot to view the river.

Once into the park we followed the Lake Drive which took us along the edge of Lake Menindee, but we never got really close to the water. It’s a huge lake though. We also followed the Riverside Drive and got more views of the Darling and some pretty great places to camp. There were a number of signs warning people not to camp under trees as they are known for dropping branches. The road around the lake was red dirt and quite corrugated in places but my lovely car took the road surface in its stride.

By now it was about time to head back to Broken Hill as we wanted to be off the road well before dusk. We stopped at Sunset Strip for a final view of the lake from the other side before getting on our way. I have never seen so many dead kangaroos as we did today. There were lots yesterday too. We also saw a number of emus, lots of goats, a few sheep and two living kangaroos, fortunately not hopping across the road.

Got back to Broken Hill and the SA time zone around 4.00. Bought petrol and got some cash out out at Woolies. Lots of places around here only want cash. Dinner tonight was at the Demo Club. I wondered about demonstrations but turns out it’s The Barrier Social Democratic Club. It is T bone Tuesday so we had a $25 T bone which was very good, though of course it didn’t compare to the eye fillet we had in Mildura!

Ready for another early night after our big day.