Kinchega on the Darling River

The Kinchega National Park is on the Menindee Lakes about 110km from Broken Hill.  We've just spent a few days camped at one of the many excellent campsites on the banks of the Darling River under the huge river red gums.  We were here a couple of years ago and said then it would be a great place to camp.


There's plenty of water in the Darling River and also in the lakes at the moment and the trees are looking very healthy.  

The stumpy tail lizards were out in force and the birdlife was abundant.  We watched herons and pelicans fishing and listened to the many birds as we relaxed.  Aboriginal sites reveal that the area has had continuous human habitation for some 35,000 years.



There are plenty of drives along the river and lakes in the park, although the roads were pretty rough.  We were pleased we had a vehicle designed for these conditions.

The Kinchega Homestead is within the park and its woolshed saw 6 million sheep shorn there in the 90+ years of its operation.

Nearby Menindee has a memorial to the ill-fated Burke and Wills exhibition which passed through the area around 1860.  One of the members, William Wright, joined the expedition from Kinchega.  Burke and Wills Park, opposite the visitor centre,  had some aboriginal pole sculptures and the public toilets are decorated with paintings.