Oasis

I was surprised, on the drive out of Mildura, how quickly the oasis of the Murray irrigation area turned into the endless scrub and red earth that characterises so much of the Australian outback. Ryan, who was perhaps the one most looking forward to the “desert” was delighted, and the boys’ eyes were glued to the landscape that emanated a starkness they had never before experienced.

After an hour of driving we turned off the Silver City Highway towards the Kinchega National Park near Menindee. Emus were plentiful in the low-lying scrub, and at one stage some wild goats crossed the wide sandy road in front of us. The national park itself was a disappointment. Time after time we were turned back by roads that had been closed as we tried to find the campsites by the Darling River we had planned to use as a base to explore the area. Eventually it became clear that we would need to find another place to stay. We drove into the dusty and deserted streets of Menindee. (It was, after all, a Sunday afternoon). Menindee had held a fascination for me as it was the last contact Burke & Wills had with civilisation before heading north to Cooper’s Creek and beyond. However, at first glance, the town had little appeal and even less evidence of a place to camp!

We then attempted another fruitless search to find a camp by the Darling called the Burke & Wills camp. Thwarted by a lack of road signage on these bush tracks we then discussed the possibility of bypassing Menindee altogether and going straight to Broken Hill, before we came across a turn off to a campsite called “Copi Hollow”. As it turned out, Copi Hollow is the name of one of the smaller of the man-made lakes that scatter the region and provide drinking water to Broken Hill. In the midst of the scrub we were greeted by a green oasis on the edge of the lake; A picturesque place to camp, watching the sunset over the lake, and cooking our first camp oven meal over an open fire.