wentworth

It was raining steadily when I left Deniliquin on the Cobb Highway but cleared after turning off for Moulamein. The countryside was very flat, the road long and straight and traffic almost non-existent. Blue- grey salt bush and low scrubby gums stretched to the horizon and intermittent red dirt roads headed off into the distance leading to homesteads well out of sight. It felt isolated and lonely but more like my expectations and I soon encountered mobs of cattle with drovers (sadly in vehicles not on horseback) taking advantage of the "long paddock". Some were small mobs congregating around the irrigation channel whilst others had 100 or more beasts spread out over a couple of kilometres. 

I tucked in behind a big truck and was overtaken by one in the 80k to the town of Moulamein.

Moulamein was an important inland port of the riverboat trade operating on the river systems feeding the Darling and eventually joining the Murray River. Remnants of the punt and wharf at Moulamein pay testament to the importance of the rivers. Transporting wool bales could take a month by road to reach Echuca: a river boat delivered in 7 days.

The viability of the river and the arrival of the railway in the 1920s effectively put an end to the river trade, at least here at Moulamein. 

Balranald is the lower gateway to the Outback and a jumping off point for Mungo NP.  I had lunch on the banks of the Murrumbidgee - bit different here!

I arrived in Wentworth and had a long chat at the VIC - so many ideas for travelling on! A new route from Broken Hill following the explorations of Charles Sturt looks amazing but a bit beyond me I think. Rain is forecast with a possible 10mls, so the Mungo track in from the Pooncarie road may be closed but I am told the road to Menindee will be fine.

The Darling meets the Murray here at Wentworth: it's a lovely spot with pelicans and cormorants sharing the river with canoeists,  bathing dogs and fishermen. It's pretty muddy but big and broad as it rushes down to sea.

The confluence of the these rivers was an important meeting place for aboriginals and native title belongs to the Barkindji people. The explorer Charles Sturt had a respectful and friendly relationship with the aboriginals he met during his explorations which saved him confrontations on several occasions. He began exploring the region in the 1820s and Wentworth was established barely 30 years later. The river trade had begun! Wentworth became an important inland port benefiting from the pastoral successes. 

There's a saying "wealth made from riding on the sheep's back"!

Here's a sheep riding on the roof of a house in Balranald - is the saying reversed?

 I feel my true adventure starts tomorrow  - off into the real outback!