Australia South East - 2016

First of all… welcome to 2016!

Wasn’t really planning on putting fingers to keypad so early in 2016 but having undertaken a bit of a journey, this time within Australia, thought there might be a few things which may interest some of you, well we hope so.  No… not everything is focussed on going overseas.

It was almost 15 years ago we first planned part of what we undertook recently, but back then it was halted by flooding rain. So this year, with a family Xmas planned and happening in McLaren Vale, South Australia (SA), rather than simply fly down, we thought why not drive down and combine a few things, including an important anniversary for us.

It was time for a road trip and by the time we returned home, our 15 year old Landcruiser had clocked up another 5,826 kms!

The map below shows in summary, where we went during the whole trip and during the first 11 days on the road, only one of them was under 38 deg C, pretty warm when you consider we were camping in a tent for the first 6 of them.

The first goal of the trip was to complete what is called the ‘Darling River Run’, the Darling River being the second longest river in Australia at 1,472 kms and hence the use of ‘River’ in the title of this post.  

The second goal was to celebrate an anniversary on Kangaroo Island, SA which also happens to  be Australia’s third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Islands.

Additional benefits included enjoying a family Xmas in one of Australia finest wine growing regions and then during a more sedate return journey, visiting family and friends scattered along the way.

So why the Darling River?  Well this river is more remote and to complete the ‘Run’ means undertaking quite a bit of dirt driving in areas, especially during at this time, where there would be very few other travellers also out there, which turned out to be the case.

The map below shows where we went along the river and slightly beyond, starting essentially in Bourke, New South Wales (NSW), reaching Wentworth, NSW where the Darling flows into the Murray River and this map, stopping near Renmark, SA.

From St. George we reached a very small little town called Hebel, Queensland (QLD) where we sought some road condition advice from the local store owner about a dirt shortcut to Brewarrina, NSW.  “I wouldn’t go that way because there’s lots of bull dust” she said to me.  Bull dust for those who have never experienced it is very fine dust like talcum powder which can cover sections of dirt roads.

Heading towards the bull dust

So what’s the big deal with bull dust?  Well for a start, when you hit it at any sort of speed, its like driving through water except with large plumes of fine dust most likely erupting all around you, including the windscreen.  Next you never really know what’s under the bull dust, for example holes, rocks and other interesting items.  

Finally if you hit bull dust you haven’t spotted earlier, you can’t try to swerve out of it. Some years back we had previously had to help another 4WD lying on its side back upright because they had attempted exactly that.

Rolled car in bull dust near Finke, NT 2008

She was right, there was a LOT of bull dust, so obviously we had taken the shortcut, but slowed our speed for the conditions.  From Brewarrina, NSW it was onto Bourke, NSW where the Darling River proper starts.  There are 2 ways you can go and we chose the eastern side of the river, having read this provides more glimpses of it as it snakes its way further south west.

For those of you that are unaware, parts of Australia, including the areas we were travelling through, have been experiencing severe drought conditions, so for us, apart from it being 38+ deg each day, the country was very dry and dusty as we jolted our way from Bourke, NSW towards our first stop near the river at the town of Louth, NSW.

Camping amongst the gum trees

After setting up camp amongst the gum trees on the opposite bank of the river to Louth, we drove back across the bridge to the only pub in this town with a population of less than 50.  

We were the only people in the pub, it was hot, it was dusty but a cold beer tasted great.  

Whilst setting up camp, the wind had been picking up with dark clouds forming on the horizon so we asked the person serving us if any rain was forecast.  

As people who live in the bush do, she took her time to answer and simply said, “there is a 70% chance of getting less than 1mm”.

Next thing out of her mouth was, “sorry… we’re closing in 10 mins because it's the annual school graduation tonight.  We had only been there for 5 mins so this was a bit of a surprise and bad luck really because the pub only shuts early on 1 day of the year, the hot and thirsty one we happened to visit on, mind you, I quickly ordered a backup beer.  Well it did only rain a few drops and the change blew through, the temperature next day dropping to 37 deg.

Early next morning after packing up we pushed on following the river until we reached our next ‘town’ called Tilpa, well a pub with a few buildings around it.  We pulled up under the shade of the tree out front and made our way towards the front door and to a few more bush style experiences.

Rob in front of Tilpa Hotel

As we got close to the door, there was a ‘Closed’ sign on it, even though it was open and just at the same time a man of generous proportions appeared at the door.

“ How ya going” I said, “alright now” came the reply as he pushed past me, a carton of beer under one arm disappearing to who knows where.  

Rum and coke at 11:00am.. different!

There were 2 people sitting at the bar when I peered through the door whilst asking, “is it closed?”. “Nup” said one of them, “what would you like?” she then asked so I replied, “coffee”.  “Sure” she said and yes, they don’t like to waste words in the bush.  

Her work colleague who was looking the worst for wear from a big night before simply said, “out of coffee!”.  “Rum and coke” came my reply.

The wildlife was a little limited as we followed the river, mainly due to the drought we thought, mind you, on a number of occasions we had galahs drinking in front of us and when we stopped to look at the river, flocks of red tailed black cockatoos would tell us noisily not to disturb them

Galahs enjoying the river

Red kangaroo on the go

A very low Darling River

The river did not look very healthy apart from being very low but it was still a source of life to the kangaroos we watched drinking from the banks or the small birds hiding amongst the bushes.

There were however plenty of wild goats along the way, hundreds of them obviously still doing quite well despite the conditions, goannas and even a dingo turned up very briefly.

Koala

We camped again next to the river as it bordered the Menindee Lakes but the lakes were dry, again a combination of the drought further north and the release of water from them for environmental flows further downstream.  

So after nearly 1,000 kms of dirt roads from Bourke, NSW, we reached Wentworth, NSW and the Darling River disgorged itself into the Murray River.

Houseboat on Murray River near Renmark, SA

The trip from Wentworth to McLaren Vale, SA was very straight forward, including 2 days camping next to the Murray River in 40+ deg heat watching the houseboats glide by.

After a few nights at Mum’s place, we headed further south to Cape Jervis to take our 45 minute car ferry trip across to Kangaroo Island, a place we first visited 40 years ago.

This time we were staying in a small cottage for 6 nights and not in a tent as we did the first time we visited.  Over the next 6 days we learnt a lot has changed on the island, for a start, there is a lot more sealed road than previously but not enough to lose some of the islands appeal.

Kangaroo Island originally earned its way from farming and still does, but it has also become quite a tourist destination and during our time there, we came across almost more international tourists than Australian ones.  

Australia fur seal and pup

Kangaroo Island offers an interesting combination of very good scenery with the likes of the Remarkable Rocks, Admirals Arch and the rugged coastline generally.  

You can still access Seal Bay and walk amongst the Australian fur seals if you wish and want to pay for the privilege, very different to our first visit when you could just walk where you wanted to.

Kangaroo Island coastline

The island also has a growing foodie reputation which includes honey produced by the now rare Ligurian bees.  

These bees were brought to the island in 1884 and due to the islands’ relative isolation and are now the only remaining pure strain of this bee type left in the world and disease free.  


There is also a very good gin and vodka distillery, a eucalyptus distillery, marron (freshwater prawn) farm, wineries and multiple cafes and restaurants.  All of these are located across the island and it means visitors have to explore and find them, quite often along well kept dirt roads.

Admirals Arch - Kangaroo Island

Looking through remarkable rocks - Kangaroo Island

Got lucky!

The island also supports access to plenty of fresh seafood both in its numerous eating places or if you venture out yourself, as we also discovered when I went out on a fishing charter with a good friend.  

In half a day we managed to achieve our bag limit of snapper and caught plenty of the famous king george whiting.  

We kept a few whiting and the largest snapper (8+ kgs) I luckily caught and these managed to feed about 10 of us during the next few days.

If you have ever pondered visiting Kangaroo Island, give it a go, especially if you think you would enjoy the charm of a more rustic destination with a country feel whilst also offering great scenery and food experiences.

Coastline in front of our accomodation - Kangaroo Island

After an enjoyable Xmas with family, too much wine tasting and then dropping our daughter off in Melbourne before continuing along the normal highways visiting some family and friends as we progressed.  

With our ‘River and Island’ trip completed we our now keen to balance between our overseas travel plans and wandering through further remote parts of Australia.

Go well!