In this post: Sunset and traces of a giant kangaroo at Menindee Lakes Caravan Park.
This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).
Today’s travel notes
Me and the TC camped overnight at Menindee Lakes Caravan Park, on the shore of Lake Menindee. The area lies south of Broken Hill, NSW, and is a scenic stopping point on a long Outback trip. We were on our way from Flinders Ranges, heading towards Sydney. We arrived at Menindee Lake in the middle of the afternoon and set up camp. Then we headed off to Sunset Strip before coming back to camp to take in the sunset. The next morning we made a short trip into the village of Menindee before heading off towards Wilcannia.
The book I’m in
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The TC is about half way through this book now, and I’m munching through it with great delight. It’s meaty and muscly, a good tale full of nourishing information.
Travel tips
Spend more than one night in the area of Menindee Lakes if you can, to explore all the lakes and waterways and to learn about the history of the area.
The photos
Me at Menindee Lake:
In the photo, Menindee Lake is behind me. I’m facing the caravan park, which you can’t see in the photo.
The lakes are only 30% full at the moment. The receptionist at the camp site told us that they had been full only recently, but then South Australia demanded more water. She found this odd and, it seemed, rather annoying, because South Australia had just had a surfeit of rain, so much so that areas of it had flooded. In fact, that very watery blessing was the major contributor to the wash of flowers described in my previous post: Flowers in the Flinders Ranges.
The TC, bless her cotton socks, was here for the sunset. And she was not disappointed:
The colours kept changing as the sun descended:
Beetle the Jeep nestled up close to our tent to watch the last light leave the sky:
Let’s go back in time a few hours. This view shows the camp site, seen from the lake:
The camp has a good ablution block: the light brown building that you can see just to the right of centre. There’s also a large, well supplied camp kitchen. Beetle and the tent are hanging out behind the tree in the middle of the picture. Our neighbour was the white Toyota visible on the right with the roof top tent. You can just see the blue and silver of our tent in the gap in the foliage.
At the back of the camp, on the left, is a row of old cabins and caravans. These used to be for hire, but are looking pretty derelict now:
Down at the lake shore, the TC measured a giant kangaroo footprint against her own not inconsiderable boot. It’d be an experience to meet the owner of this print in the dusk of evening!
Before sunset, Beetle took us for a drive along the tracks next to the lake, in search of Sunset Strip. We ended up following one of the waterways that connect Menindee Lake with the other lakes in the area, then climbing the bank to get back onto bitumen:
The romantically-named Sunset Strip turned out to be a town. Access to the water was somewhat restricted by the rows of housing along the shore. Beetle did manage to point her noise towards the water, before we had to turn round in obedience to a sign post:
We took the photo then high-tailed it back to Menindee Lakes Caravan Park to catch the sunset. (Of which, Dear Reader, you’ve seen the photos earlier in this post.)
That’s all for today, folks.
Talk to the Travelling Worm!