Trilby Station To Bourke On The Darling River Run

by David Sloane | Oct 3, 2018 | Camping Trips, Darling River Run

Trilby Station To Bourke On The Darling River Run

It was beginning to rain in the morning as we packed up and kept on getting heavier while we got the job of preparing to leave done. We were meant to stay at Trilby Station for a few nights but only stayed the one. We loved it and were really looking forward to exploring the tracks around the property as we have heard that they are absolutely fantastic.

The BOM Weather app Save Us

We had very little mobile reception however we had enough to use the BOM weather app and it was saying that it would begin raining in the morning and up to 50mm was predicted by the evening. 10mm of rain is enough out here to close the roads for two or three days. We bit the bullet and decided to move on to Bourke. You seriously can not begrudge them a bit of rain out this way. Everything is so incredibly dry and they need every drop they can get.

Bourke Left Tilpa Cobar Right Raining At Louth

Rain began to fall in the morning as we packed up and kept on getting heavier while we got the job of preparing to leave done. The road in to Louth from Trilby Station was already getting soft as we headed off. Luckily we only had about a hundred kilometres to get to Bourke and we got there without too much trouble. Another couple of hours later and I think it would have been a very different story. Later that afternoon we heard that the road we had used in the morning had been closed off. We had made the right decision. We’ll be back to Trilby Station some time in the future so we can have that look around.

Mud Covered Supreme Getaway

Kidman Camp Bourke

We set up in a caravan park in Bourke. We don’t like caravan parks. We really don’t but this seemed to be the sensible option with the predicted rain. We stayed at Kidman Camp. We’ve been there before a few years ago in an earlier part of the year. It was a lot quieter last time. This time it was your typical caravan park abomination. Packed in like sardines with kids making a hell of a racket. we love kids and think it’s great that their parents are travelling around with them showing them our great country. As we get older we realise that we like the peace and quiet a lot more than we used to.

Kidman Camp Bourke

In the afternoon we went for a trip up the Darling River on a paddleboat. That was great and if you are in Bourke you should give it a go. The captain of the boat was awesome, he filled us in on heaps of things about the history of Bourke, this section of river in particular as well as environmental stuff. He also pointed out many different species of birds and knew a lot about each of them.

Aboard The PV Jandra On The Darling River At Bourke

Darling River Run Wilcannia To Louth & Trilby Station

by David Sloane | Oct 2, 2018 | Camping Trips, Darling River Run

Darling River Run Wilcannia To Louth & Trilby Station

We travel the Darling River Run from Wilcannia to Louth with a stop off at the Tilpa Hotel and camp at Trilby Station. It is one of Australias most iconic touring routes and it’s a nice easy drive.

We got up nice and early and headed back in to Wilcannia for fuel and some basic supplies. Ice, some tomatoes, a loaf of bread and a few other bits and pieces. Then it was off along the Darling River towards Tilpa along the road on the Eastern side.

Heading Off On The W Tilpa Road

The W Tilpa Road – The Darling River Run

There’s not a whole lot to see along the road. You drive past a lot of stations and you don’t actually see the Darling River at all except for the treeline off in the distance. I sort of thought that the road would follow along the edge of the river but I guess having a bit of distance between the two helps with the road being open in times of flooding. Overall road conditions were pretty reasonable. Sections were corrugated, sections were rutted and there were of course the obligatory bulldust holes but overall it wasn’t too bad.

Selfie Out The Front Of The Tilpa Hotel

Tilpa Hotel

We stopped in at the Tilpa Hotel for a beer. It is a fantastic old pub with a lot of history. We sat out the back in the “beer garden” (was more like a backyard) and it would have been a great place to have spent the whole day if we’d had more time. We paid a $5 donation to the RFDS and the barmaid lent us a pen so we could add our signatures to the wall of the pub. Amanda put ours outside on the doorframe.

Signing The Wall Outside Of Tilpa Hotel

Louth

After leaving the pub we travelled another 100ks or so to Louth. Again the road was in reasonably good condition although there were a few beautiful, red sandy sections. We had a quick stop in at the hotel at Louth to get a bag of ice (which they were out of) and then it was across a bridge over the Darling River and off towards Trilby Station heading back down the western side of the river.

Crossing The Bridge At Louth On The Darling River Run

The western side road was very different to the east. The road on the western side was horribly corrugated and very badly rutted. We ended up driving most of the time in the spoon drains in an attempt to make things a bit smoother. It was a bit better, but still as rough as guts.

Corrugated Road To Trilby Station

Trilby Station

Eventually we made it to Trilby Station. It’s a great old place with many camp sites available along the river. I think it was only about $25 a night. There’s plenty of firewood around for you to cut and most of the camp sites have ready made fire pits.

We set up and then Amanda sorted out a load of washing by hand and hung it up to dry on a length of clothesline I strung up between trees. Then we cooked up a beautiful massaman curry in the camp oven over an open fire.

Massaman Curry In The Camp Oven At Trilby Station On The Banks Of The Darling River

All up it was a truly magnificent day. It was the kind of day I would love to replicate again at some time in the future.

Camping At Trilby Station On The Darling River

How To Get There

We started this leg of the Darling River Run at Wilcannia but you could just as easily start at the other end from Bourke. Road Conditions on the Darling river Run vary greatly depending upon weather conditions and when they last received maintenance or where graded. One thing to keep in mind when travelling on these roads is to SLOW DOWN for cattle grids. A lot of the cattle grids are very narrow and have steep drop offs on both sides. Hit one of them at 80km/h and you will be calling for a very expensive tow. I have listed the travel distance and times to Wilcannia and points along this leg of the Darling River Run below.

Travel From	Distance	Time
Adelaide to Wilcannia	714km	07:53
Brisbane to Wilcannia	1318km	14:19
Canberra to Wilcannia	804km	08:58
Melbourne to Wilcannia	814km	08:49
Menindee to Wilcannia via Teryawynia-Ashmont Rd	172km	02:05
Sydney to Wilcannia via Dubbo	946km	10:50
Sydney to Wilcannia via Griffith	1012km	10:57
Wilcannia to Louth	224km	02:02
Wilcannia to Tilpa	128km	01:31
Bourke to Louth	150km	01:47

Mars Enthusiasts 2018 NSW Muster at Wee Jasper

by David Sloane | Jun 11, 2018 | MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group

Mars Enthusiasts 2018 NSW Muster at Wee Jasper

Had a great weekend camping with the crew from the Mars Enthusiasts group at Wee Jasper down near Yass. Had a heap of fun with them – they’re a really good group of people. I think Tracey Kelly added up we had 11 trailers/vans, 21 adults, 9 kids and 10 dogs. Bloody great turn out.

Beautiful Views At Billy Grace Reserve Campground Wee Jasper

Firewood Collection & A Bit Of Exploring

Thanks go out to Sean “Big Daddy” Weaver for organising the even and to Peter Woolsey for doing all the behind the scenes stuff.

We got there early on Saturday morning and it was raining a bit. After setting everything up we went out with a few utes and some chainsaws to get some firewood for the nights big camp oven cook. Out of Billy Grace Reserve we turned left and the wood was pretty ordinary but we got a couple of ute loads of the best we could find. We probably drove maybe 10 or 15 kilometres down muddy twisty narrow tracks, it’s pretty spectacular scenery. On the way there we drove through another 3 or 4 camp grounds similar to Billy Grace Reserve that are worth checking out in the future.

Firewood Collected At Wee Jasper

Muster Night – Camp Ovens Everywhere!

Muster Night Camp Oven Cook Up

Saturday afternoon we had a beer pong tournament. I’m rubbish at it. Dinner was great, it was cooked on the fire in camp ovens and everyone had a great feed. Took a while to get it done but it turned out great.

We also had a trivia competition, we were rubbish at that too. Afterwards we sat around for ages and talked and had a great time. Oh and at some stage of the evening for whatever god knows reason I apparently agreed to go for a swim in the river the following morning. The evening finished off for me by being the subject of the NSW Muster’s pillow talk session.

On Sunday we got up early and Amanda and Johnathon made some damper for everyone. A couple of plain ones and a couple of fruit ones, they all turned out great albeit they tool a while to cook as the coals we had available weren’t all that hot due to the dodgy wood we collected on Saturday.

A Great Day On Sunday

After breakfast it was time for my swim. It was freezing, absolutely bloody freezing but I said I’d do it so I did it. What an idiot I am! To be honest it wasn’t too bad once it was over and I got out. The creek was only about waist deep in most parts but they managed to find a deep hole so I could get in and do my swim spa thing and flop about a bit.

Cold Morning At Billy Grace Reserve Wee Jasper – Ice Everywhere!

After my swim I had a nice hot shower and sat around the fire for a bit to warm up. When I had thawed out properly Simon, peter, Matthew and myself took a couple of utes and chainsaws out to get some more firewood. This time we turned right out of camp and a couple of kays down the road found a heap of nice dry gum halfway up a really steep hill. Simon and I climbed up with the chainsaws and cut a few uteloads. At one point Simon rolled down the hill a bit and tried to shishkebab himself on a branch. I was worried for a second but he was ok.

Lunch was cooked on the fire and then we all settled in for the afternoon and evening. We had a bloody great time and had heaps of laughs.

Lunch Was A Group Effort Cooked Over The Fire

All up the first ever NSW Mars Muster was a huge success. We met up with some friends we already knew and made a heap of new ones. Amanda and I are really enjoying the whole muster thing and we are really looking forward to going to Menindee late September for the national one.

Graciee Loved Billy Grace Reserve Wee Jasper

Free Camping Near Robinvale On The Murray River

by David Sloane | May 16, 2018 | Cameron Corner & Farina

Free Camping Near Robinvale On The Murray River

Free camping near Robinvale at Happy Valley Landing on the Murray River. It’s a nice, quiet secluded spot. I found it on WikiCamps not that far from Robinvale VIC. I’m not going to tell you the name of it or exactly where it is suffice to say it’s on WikiCamps. You can look it up for yourself.

It’s such an awesomely great spot that I’m not going to plaster it’s precise location all over the interwebs. Otherwise the nice quiet secluded spot could be overrun with people. Running generators 24/7 and blasting about on their quad bikes scaring the sheep. Send me an email if you are interested and I will give you the exact location.

Happy Valley Landing On The Murray River Near Robinvale VIC

From Berri To Robinvale

We drove through from Berri to near Robinvale in VIC, the roads were excellent. Most of the way we were on B and C roads so traffic was at a minimum. Mostly local trucks and a few cars travelling between small regional towns. If you don’t know the difference between what the M, A, B and C classifications for example “C727” mean for roads within Australia it’s worth your time to look it up. WikiCamps has a good explanation of it here. It can help you assess the quality of road and the amount of traffic you are going to encounter. All of the states we have been in use a similar system.

Free Camping Near Robinvale On Murray River

The track in is a bit tricky. It’s not too bad but you definitely need a 4×4 and an offroad camper trailer or SMALL high clearance offroad van to get in to it. No it isn’t suitable for on road vans. Same goes for semi-offroad vans, motorhomes or big rigs and you can forget bringing in your 5th wheeler. It’s quite sandy in patches with some fairly tight turns and some humps and hollows to climb up over or through. It’s really 100% guaranteed your effort if you can get in there though. At a few places the track forks off and it’d be worth your effort to get out and go for a walk down them to assess their suitability. All up I reckon there are about a dozen spots all spaced well well from each other along the track.

Awesome Spot To Get The Camp Oven Out

And there is heaps and heaps of deadfall firewood lying about for you to cut up. There’s literally more than you could poke a stick at. After setting up camp we got the fire going and sat around all afternoon reading or books and playing UNO, it was very relaxing. Just before dark a big mob of sheep wandered down the bank for a drink on the other side of the river. They were the only other things we saw all day, very peaceful.

Lamb Shanks In The Camp Oven

For dinner we cooked some lamb shanks in the camp oven and they were absolute monsters, the biggest lamb shanks I have ever seen. They were absolutely beautiful. Later in the evening while sitting by the fire and having a drink Graciee got all stirred up about something – scared shitless would probably be a more accurate description. Turns out it was an echidna that had wandered in to camp for a bit of a poke around.

Marree & We Explore Around Farina A Bit More

by David Sloane | May 13, 2018 | Cameron Corner & Farina

Marree & We Explore Around Farina A Bit More

We drove 60 kilometres up to Marree for a look around. Again it was very good gravel road all the way. Marree is where both the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks start so we will be going through there again one day for sure.

We had some lunch at the Marree Hotel. It’s was a very nice old hotel and our lunches were great. The chef was a nice young bloke out here from Canada. He was staying for about three months at Marree and then he was off somewhere else.

Lunch At The Marree Hotel

Ghan Railway Relics At Marree

After lunch we went across the road to check out the collection of old Ghan Railway stuff they have on display at the disused station and park. We had a chat with some people who were heading off up the Oodnadatta Track on their way to Darwin. It would have been great to have had another month off work so we could go too. Some other time for sure.

Marree Ghan Railway Old Engine

Looking Around Marree

The town of Marree itself is very small. They have a health services station, a caravan park, a pub and a roadhouse so they pretty much cover everything you’d need when out bush. We filled up at the roadhouse and bought some basic supplies including more insect repellent – you tend to use a lot of it out this way! On the way back we very almost ran over an emu who decided to jump out in front of us. Luckily I didn’t have the van on and was able to brake in time. It was all a bit much for poor old Graciee as she slid off the back seat and on to the floor. It was pretty funny although I don’t think Graciee saw it the same way..

Marree Hotel

Farina Underground Bakery

Once we got back to Farina we went for a bit more of an explore around. We had a look at the famous underground bakery. We were there about a month too early for it to be open which was a shame. Maybe another time. Farina really is a cool old town. It’s surprising to see just how fast it has gone to ruins as all of the buildings were seemingly strongly built out of local stone. For example the police station and post office were in use up until about 1960. In the last 60 years they have all but fallen apart. Perhaps a lot of the roofing timbers and flooring was pilfered for use elsewhere or for campfires maybe?

Farina Underground Bakery

Camping At Farina

Farina was really one of the better places we have camped. I recommend it highly to anyone who can get out there. If you are expecting a Big4 caravan park type experience then give it a miss. If you are like us and love the Aussie Outback and bush camping then add it to your bucket list.

Camping At Farina Ghost Town SA

Getting To Marree And Farina

Marree is at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks 655km north of Adelaide SA. Farina is about 50km south of Marree. If you leave Lyndhurst SA and head north towards Marree you drive right past Farina. Road conditions can vary greatly in the outback. It’s always a good idea to check conditions before you travel. Check conditions by calling the Marree Hotel or looking up https://www.dit.sa.gov.au/OutbackRoads.

Travel From	Distance	Time
Adelaide to Marree	655km	07:07
Brisbane to Marree	2215km	23:43
Melbourne to Marree	1378km	14:27
Sydney to Marree	1851km	19:22

Location Map

Marree Google Maps Location

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