Our departure from the caravan park was delayed somewhat by a blocked drain. I now realise, after two unsavory experiences, that one must test drains before use.
The road to Menindee 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Broken Hill takes one through a fascinating variety of scenery. There are stretches of saltbush desert, areas of mulga and other acacia trees, a creek with no surface water but bordered on either side by huge eucalyptus trees which are visible from far away and, in places, hills and steep gullies.
We saw many flocks of Emu, a beautiful Wedge-tailed Eagle on the ground only a few metres away which took of and flew majestically into a tree, several Australian Kestrels hunting, a Bearded Dragon crossing the road for which we stopped, but no kangaroos.
While the roads are all signposted with Kangaroo warning signs and there is the occasional kangaroo body beside the road, we rarely see any as we drive along. Perhaps they are all resting under trees away from the roads, perhaps they are just hard to see, or perhaps the population density is really very low, but in the National Parks we have no trouble seeing them.
Menindee is notable for a series of controlled storage lakes which alter the environment dramatically and which provide opportunities for many plants and animals to thrive. This is now protected by Kinchega National Park which we visited briefly this afternoon.
The floods of a month ago are now evident here and the river is lapping at the toes of the town. Some of the streets are now underwater and the caravan park barbecue area is awash.
This months floods are is predicted to arrive in October and to be 10 metres (thirty feet). There is precise control of the river level here because the river and the lake inlets and outlets are all regulated by adjustable weirs so that water can be stored in the lakes in times of flood and released in times of drought.
All of this is quite predictable because the flood water has been measured far upstream. On this week's bulletin the flow through Bourke, which is about 500 kilometres away as the crow flies and probably two or three times that distance along the course of the river, was reported to be 105,000 megalitres (39,000 million gallons) per day. Because the Darling flows across an extraordinarily flat plain, the flow is so slow that it will take several weeks for this water to reach here. The elevation here is only 70 metres (210 feet) above sea level and the river still has over 1500 kilometres (900 miles) to run.
We spent the day on the river in a very small, very uncomfortable tin boat taking a guided bird watchers tour.
The river above the Main Weir is amazing. Its level is controlled so that it forms extensive lakes year round. As we saw it was 1.5 metres (5 feet) below its normal level because they have sent lots of water downstream in preparation for the next flood which will arrive in four or five weeks.
The birdlife is impressive. We saw twenty nine species all told. There are many, many Little Corella and Galah and Whistling Kite nests abound. We also saw a nesting White-breasted Sea-Eagle and several Sacred Kingfisher and an unexpected, dazzling, spectacular flock of about twenty Rainbow Bee-eater.
We added at least ten species to the list today.
Sadly, we couldn't get any pictures.
We awoke stiff and sore from the trip yesterday.
We set off towards Broken Hill in the teeth of a northerly gale which also carried a minor dust storm.
We took the easy way out and stopped at Copi Hollow which is just outside Menindee on the banks of one of the lakes and took a lay day.