Along the River Darling, Australia

Received a phone call ............................. "fancy a ride up the River, Darling" :huh

Actually it was from the Riverland Adventure Riders after our last enjoyable foray Ghost Town Rally, Copi Hollow, NSW. Sep 2011

Unfortunately the locals were dropping like flys at the last minute with only the usual 3 amigos + 1, still fit enough for the ride
............. errr! well? .............................. just anyway.

So us three city slickers headed east over the ranges in their most lush state





Stopping off at the Mannum Waterfalls for morning tea



and on through the fabulous tracks of Bakara Well



A new tourist attraction ............. "The Riverland Pyramids"



Starting our ramble from Renmark



It wasn't long before the natives became restless



So we called time-out inspecting the "Suicide Bridge" just off The Old Coach Road to Wentworth







Our first encounter with a road train



Luckily the wind was from the right direction



We weren't too sure about Damien's experience though ............................... "Did you do that on the ground?" oser



It wasn't long before we reached the the outlet for Cawdilla Lake, just south of Menindee



But we were obviously late arriving in Menindee ...................................... no one was home :huh



to be continued ..................

Nice! Any more road train pics coming up?

Another good Ride Report MB..

I would love to have a ride along those Adelaide Hills tracks shown above, they look great, would be good to use them & put togehter another one of the famous 'MB 1 Day Adv Rides' sometime, or maybe even an over nighter & then the riders can do a bit of this :slurp ?

Cheers, Sol..

Thanks Sol, appreciate your confidence, would love to take you on that track anytime.

Lots more of this ride report to come.

Nothing like the good old days, those famous "MB1 Day Adv Rides" were something else, hey?

........................... simple innocent fun ...

Question is? ........will all future ride participants accept & agree to this assumption



Cheers

I'm keen as MB, the 690 has been gathering a bit of dust lately unfortunately through lack of use, most Sundays are good for me..

They were great rides indeed & I accept & agree with your disclaimer, I might have to use that for the rides that I 'arrange' in the future..

Damn, I need to get down in your part of the world. I think I'd like it there...

With all my hours & hours of research, effort & legal opinions sort etc ......................... will cost ya

Moving right along ............................. well no! not really, we stayed the night



enjoying some camping luxuries for a change



under the watchful eye of some locals





We were entertained with essential emergency survival information for when you are down to your last sheet of toilet paper



and as dark fell, our resident "Master Chefs" set to work :dg



But when you talk of cooking secrets ............................................................ if looks could kill



............ and a good first night had by all



Next day the Darling River ramble started in ernest





Riding north along the river towards Wilcannia, only stopping out of the wind for morning smoko ................................... without the smoke that is





Yet again, we seemed to be too late





Enticed by the media hype, both boys agreed it wasn't worth it



A quick tour of Wilcannia ......................... a really, really quick actually







Before we hit the road to Tilpa



............... to be continued

and yes .............................. there's more!

It wasn't long before something caught my eye, every riders enemy







The roads were enjoyable easy cruising





Apart for a moment or two, after which we stopped to catch our breath & inspect for damage









Our thirst was growing as time ticked ever closer to "beer-o-clock" ..................... and so did the speed





Finally sated



as we chatted to the lovely, quite innocent, charming young barmaid from Bristol, England :huh



We tried to identify who it resembled



GOC & YC had years before put there names to the wall, but alas could not remember where. The wise OC picked a large marker for future reference



A minute later the CB radio crackled and we could hear someone ordering "takeaways" .

Next a helicopter flew in, collected their "takeaways" & flew out



Collecting "supplies" we headed 5kms outa Tilpa to the weir to set up camp with the thousands of extremely large mozzies





Bastards



To be continued

We rose to a beautiful morning sunrise on the banks of the Darling River



and headed on some very enjoyable tracks to Louth





Arriving to a deserted little town on the Darling with a few locals just lazing about





However we became a little suspicious when we went to get fuel though :eek1





and then even more worried at the service we could expect :huh



There was never any doubt, we would pay what ever the attendant asked for, lookin' at how thorough her assistants were



with more security officers soon to fill the ranks







Just in awe, at the original "Adventure Rider's" equipment



But soon high-tailed NW it across the Darling & on towards Wanaaring





Just in time for lunch & some locally made drinks





There no missing where the pub is





and off to White Cliffs



Unfortunately some 50kms before White Cliffs, YC dismounted unexpectedly landing heavily, but luckily no injuries, bending only the handle bars & pannier.



However with the delay, the long shadows were indicating we would have tough job riding into the setting sun on what turned out to be dusty, loose surfaced, rutted tracks .............................. another accident waiting to happen :eek1

With head lights next to useless with the dust, we survived with only a couple more of small offs, before reaching White Cliffs in the dark only to find all accommodation was full .................... The Pub, The Caravan Park ......... bloody gray nomads

OK then, where can we eat? ................... Sorry mate, no meals left at the pub either, The cafe had 4 long tables all full but luckily we persuaded the cafe chef to stay on and his steak sandwiches were delicious. :dg

This town is in the middle of no where and it's full WTF :huh

Took us several laps of the caravan park to find a roadway to camp on too.



inspecting the damage in the morning light



to be continued

After a quiet restful night, thank god there is a good thing that gray nomads do is go to bed early

we regrouped for a tour of the local attractions, White Cliffs being an old Opal mining town.



We also found the "other" available accommodation



The local lookout



The mines in the area are numerous, but now mainly all deserted



We were fortunate it was an open house day for some of the residents and visitors could see what a "DugOut" underground home looked like. We picked this one for no apparent reason and knew from the sign we were in for a treat



Jock was definitely a true rogue in every sense of the word. The local tourist office told us, a gold coin was all that was needed.

Jock said his house was "special" ......................... he was in it and $5 bucks was needed to benefit from his expertise.

Worth every penny if you ask me oser







He told us his good woman had left him many years before and we could see why















Our only other escape if we so chose



After spending a very enjoyable 30minutes listening to his many stories true or not we hit the road west





Regrouping occasionally to share experiences





Eventually reaching the end of "the long dirt road"



Before the boring ride into Broken Hill to some very comfortable lodgings for the night and parting ways the next morning and home.



Me back across the river Murray to the big smoke .



A very enjoyable adventure with great mates & many laughs.

cya again soon I hope.

Cheers

Thanks for taking the time to put this up. Went to a few of those places on this years SAVariety bash and wish I had my DRZ to make the trip a bit more fun. That camp ground at White Cliffs is like rock wether you are on the road or the dirt!

A few more months MB and I'll do that trip with you ....anytime.

Top report MB lovely pics. Looks like you all had a great time.
Cheers Tony

Great RR as always MB. Been a long time since I was last at White Cliffs as a backup vehicle for a mate in the Endeavour Foundation Bash. I particularly remember us all (like over 100) 'Running the Gauntlet' -involving a lot of alcohol, freezing temperatures, and a mad unclad dash down the Main Street. I think first prize was a warm blanket!

How long did you take to do this trip? Would love to get up there again!


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Thanks GS, we left Renmark Wednesday 5th Sep and I was back in Adelaide Sunday arvo, all under absolutely fantastic B.C.F weather. ... (that is Biking, Camping, Fart'n weather for the uninitiated )

good stuff!
love the tdm

Great report MB. The pannier racks are coming out of the shed and bolted back on the DR asap.

The corgi did well to bring down that roo

Well done MB.... Lucky Barstids.