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

Table Of Contents

The W Tilpa Road – The Darling River Run
Tilpa Hotel
Louth
Trilby Station
Best Time To Do The Darling River Run
How To Get There

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

Best Time To Do The Darling River Run

Best Time To Do The Darling River Run By Seasons

Spring (September to November) Best Time To Do The Darling River Run

Weather: Mild temperatures and minimal rainfall make spring an ideal time for the Darling River Run. Daytime temperatures range from 20°C to 30°C, providing comfortable driving and camping conditions.
Flora and Fauna: Spring is a vibrant season when wildflowers bloom and wildlife is active, offering excellent opportunities for photography and nature observation.
Accessibility: Roads and tracks are generally in good condition, with fewer closures compared to other seasons.

Autumn (March to May) Best Time To Do The Darling River Run

Weather: Similar to spring, autumn offers mild temperatures and low rainfall. Daytime temperatures typically range from 20°C to 30°C.
Scenery: The autumn foliage adds a touch of colour to the landscape, enhancing the scenic beauty of the route.
Crowds: This season is less crowded compared to spring, making it ideal for those seeking a quieter experience.

Weather Considerations

Summer (December to February)

Extreme Heat: Temperatures can soar above 40°C, making travel uncomfortable and potentially hazardous.
Road Conditions: Heat can cause road surfaces to deteriorate, leading to challenging driving conditions. Additionally, summer thunderstorms can result in flash flooding, particularly in low-lying areas.
Recommendation: It is advisable to avoid the Darling River Run during the peak summer months due to the extreme heat and potential for severe weather.

Winter (June to August)

Cold Nights: While daytime temperatures are generally mild (10°C to 20°C), night time temperatures can drop significantly, often falling below 0°C in some areas.
Road Conditions: Winter rains can lead to muddy and impassable roads, especially in remote sections of the route.
Recommendation: Winter travel is possible but requires thorough preparation. Ensure your vehicle is equipped for cold weather, and check road conditions frequently.

Key Tips For Planning Your Trip

Weather Check: Always check the weather forecast and road conditions before embarking on your journey. This information is crucial for ensuring a safe trip.
Vehicle Preparation: Ensure your vehicle is well-maintained and equipped for off-road conditions. Carry extra fuel, water, and spare tires.
Emergency Plan: Have an emergency plan in place. Carry a satellite phone or UHF radio for communication in remote areas where mobile coverage is limited.
Accommodation: Plan your stops and book accommodations in advance, especially during peak travel seasons.

The best time to do the Darling River Run is during spring and autumn when the weather is mild, and the roads are in good condition. Avoid the extreme heat of summer and the cold, wet conditions of winter for a safer and more enjoyable adventure. Proper planning and preparation are essential to make the most of this iconic Australian outback experience.

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

Tilpa Hotel We Visit An Iconic Aussie Outback Pub

Established in 1894 the Tilpa Hotel is one of the last remaining true bush pubs in Australia. Grown from river boat trade along the Darling River in outback NSW Australia. The Hotel at Tilpa was built over 100 years ago. A timber and corrugated iron building. Inside the inside walls are covered in messages and autographs placed by visitors in return for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

View From The Beer Garden Behind The Tilpa Hotel

We chucked some money in the donation jar and the barmaid lent us a texta so that Amanda could add her signature to one of the doorframes out the front. There are literally thousands of autographs and messages covering nearly every surface. It’s great to seen so many people have donated money to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Signing The Door Frame At The Tilpa Hotel

We visited the Tilpa Pub – Hotel on our way along the Darling River Run. It’s a great old pub and well worth a stop in and a beer. We had a couple of light beers out the back in the beer garden that overlooks the Darling River. When we ere there the river was very low, almost empty in fact. It must be a magnificent when it’s full and running. The views from the beer garden of the bridge across the Darling River at Tilpa are just magic.

Where is the Tilpa Hotel

You will find the Hotel at Tilpa on Darling street at Tilpa. It is off the Tilpa Road on the northern side of the Darling River. You can get to it via Bourke to the east of via Wilcannia to the west.

Address	Web Site	Phone
1 Darling St, Tilpa NSW 2840	https://www.tilpahotel.com/	(02) 6837 3928

Getting There

Travel From	Distance	Time
Bourke to Tilpa	191km	02:23
Wilcannia to Tilpa	273km	03:00
Broken Hill to Tilpa	468km	05:04
Sydney to Tilpa	906km	12:34

Wilcannia Menindee Road – Wilcannia To White Cliffs

We left Menindee this morning and drove to White Cliffs. The Wilcannia Menindee Road (east) was a better road than we had been led to believe but it was still pretty rough. The Wilcannia Menindee Road east road travels on the southern side of the darling river and leaves Menindee just out of town past where the Ivanhoe Menindee Road comes in to town. The west version is accessed out of Menindee to the north on the road that goes to Broken Hill. We were told that the east road was in much better condition so we took that one. The road looked like it hadn’t been graded for a while. It had corrugated sections and stretches of sandy red dirt. There were also quite a few bulldust holes, not many of them marked.

Coming In To White Cliffs NSW

White Cliffs is an interesting place, it’s an Opal Mining town and in some ways it’s like Lightning Ridge but on a much smaller scale. Like Lightning Ridge there is a real sense of humour in this town. There are funny signs all over the place. There’s a touring map you can follow around town and on the route you drive past somebody’s toilet, everybody’s toilet and nobody’s toilet. Also many signs on abandoned caravans advertising “room for rent – water views”.

Diggings At White Cliffs

What isn’t on a small scale are the meals in the pub! They were massive and tasted great. I went a beef schnitzel and the thing was humongous.

We camped the night at the White Cliffs Caravan Park. It’s the only one in town so it’s very easy to find. For $15 a night you have access to water, toilets and nice hot showers. You can’t ask for any more than that.

White Cliffs Caravan Park

In the morning we are off to Trilby Station, it’s a working sheep station near Louth for a few nights. We plan on stopping in at the Tilpa pub on the way there.

Copi Hollow – Menindee Lookout & Kinchega NP River Drive

Had a fun day today. Went for a drive to a place called Copi Hollow for a look around. It’s a water skiing park near Lake Pamamaroo. Not much water skiing going on the moment though due to a lack of water.

Driving Out To Copi Hollow

Next we went to Lake Menindee lookout. The lake is as dry as anything, more like a depression in the desert than a lake but it was still extremely interesting to see.

Menindee Lake From The Lookout

We had to cross the railway tracks and on the way back we had to wait for ages while a freight train took quite a few minutes to rumble by.

Freight Train At Menindeee Lookout

Then we went back in to Kinchega National Park and followed the River Drive from start to finish. It’s a great drive about 30ks in length that winds along the bank of the Darling River beneath overhanging red river gums. There are a lot of very good camp sites along the river.

Darling River Kinchega National Park

Between camp 32 and 33 you can see the remains of the boiler from a paddle steamer that exploded after running dry back in 1872. The chinese cook got thrown in to a tree by the explosion and wasn’t found for two days. They pulled him down and carted him off for medical assistance but the poor bugger died a bit later.

Remains Of Old Riverboat Boiler In Kinchega National Park

We also stopped at camp 34 which is meant to be another Burke & Wills camp site. It is certainly a magnificent spot. Back at camp we had a few beers with friends Suzi and Mark and then settled in to watch the NRL grand final on a massive projector screen. Was a great day.

Camping By The River And Just Doing Nothing

A relaxing day camping by the river, enjoying homemade damper, exploring the area and appreciating simple outdoor moments. I got up early and got the fire cranking so we would have some coals to make a damper. Was a bit of a cool start to the day but be we were nice and warm overnight in the van. I don’t really get why people fit diesel heaters etc, we’ve had plenty of nights around zero and below and all you need are some warm clothes and a decent quilt. Was the same when in the old camper trailer.

Camping By The River Some Firewood Collected

Anyway, Amanda made us up some nice mini dampers in the camp oven. Normally we just do one big one but this morning she made up smaller bread roll size jobbies. They were very nice.

Exploring The Area While Camping By The River At Happy Valley Landing

We were camping by the river at Happy Valley Landing campsite on the Murray River near Robinvale. I went for a bit of a walk around the area we were camping in and found quite a few other nice spots. One of them even has a nice smooth walk down the bank of the river to a sandy beach. The track at that point had a tree fallen across it however you could clear that out of the way easily enough with a chainsaw and towing strap. Another spot had a massive old tree in the middle and then a circular track around it, could get maybe half a dozen vans all camped around the tree with your fire off to the side. It’d be excellent for a small group.

Mini Dampers In The Camp Oven

We just sort of sat around all day reading books and had another go at playing UNO. I got the chainsaw out and cut us up some more firewood. I also cut up a fair whack more to take home with us to use at the NSW Muster we are going to on the June long weekend with the Martian Enthusiasts Camper Trailer Group we are a part of.

Happy Valley Landing On The Murray River

All up it was a really relaxing day. Amanda and I love doing outback touring type trips but we have also rediscovered just how nice it can be to be camping by the river with a fire going and just doing nothing. It’d be great if we can do a bit more of this type of thing in the future.

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. It’s such a great spot that it made our list of the best Murray River Free Camps.

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.

If you’re after where to free camp on the murray river our list of the top 25 is a must visit.

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.