Change of plans

Predicted rain hit Wentworth last night but when I headed out, after breakfast at the local bakery, the sky was clear: my goal Pooncarie. The landscape changed frequently. Kilometres of yellow acacia, blue-grey saltbush and stubby trees suddenly gave way to paddocks of crops and then the vibrant green of grapes vines. Obviously the land holdings out here are huge and stock unconfined so occasionally huddles of red-brown sheep rested under trees and cattle wandered alongside the road. There was much more clearing and cultivation than I expected.

The creatures most prolific were feral goats - they were everywhere but fortunately stayed away from the traffic. 

Pooncarie is situated on the Darling River and once was part of the river trade. 

Now it is a sleepy little stopover, population 86, with a pub, general store, a very active and creative school and the Wharf Cafe doing a roaring trade with grey nomads.  It came highly recommended so I sampled the cream tea whilst watching the river go by. Excellent by the way!

Lisa at the Cafe said the weather was coming in and fierce storms had hit during the night - we looked at the radar which showed more weather approaching.

So off to Minindee! The road is terrific! It has been paved all the way -  wide lanes, clear verges giving good sight lines of intruding wildlife and stock and long and straight. You can see traffic approaching for kilometres! They prefer straight lines out here - very few curves or corners. Maybe the planning engineers only have long rulers to work with!

I saw my first emus: 3 chick's in single file behind dad. Sadly, despite following them on foot for a while I didn't get a photo.  The chick's scurried into the bush followed by dad and they blended perfectly with the grey-brown shrubs. I didn't see any more. Plenty of raptors though and one big red kangaroo sitting still, thinking about crossing the road. Lots of birds including a small group of Major Mitchell Cockatoos. All drinking at puddles.

Locals said the region is almost in drought and all the water courses and waterholes along the road are dry so people are welcoming the rain. 

Menindee! Population 560! Police, fire brigade, school, pubs, VIC (hardly seems to  be open), and houses. And cars growing trees through the rust! It's been there a while!

This is where my plans fell apart! I arrived at Maidens Hotel, where Burke and Will's stayed before pushing on, ultimately perishing further north, to find a sign on the door.

          "Hotel closed. Power outage!"

The storm during the night had been ferocious and reduced 3 electricity towers to scrap metal breaking the grid! It's estimated it may be off for 2 weeks! Everyone in town was scrambling for generators. The hotelier was off to Broken Hill to source one!

Kinchega NP was closed, the lake cruise was called off and I cancelled my planned stay at Menindee. So Broken Hill! It was raining again and anywhere that wasn't sealed was rapidly turning into red slurry.

It's certainly flat out around here, no trees nor any bushes of size just scrubby pincushions as far as the eye can see.

The road is elevated above the scrub, necessary because the water quickly turns the dirt to mud. Dips in the road were filling rapidly. The rain doesn't seem to soak in to the soil despite the dryness. Pools on top.

I arrived in Broken Hill, gaining half an hour because the city is on South Australian time and decided to splurge, booking into the Royal Exchange Hotel - Art Deco and suitably regal!

The best laid plans! Out in a thunderclap!