Location Statistics
Miscellaneous info for selected locations including climate and astronomical dates
Supplies
Food
There is generally a store of some description every 200 to 300 km along the river. There are major supermarkets at Inverell (Woolworths and Coles), Goondiwindi (FoodWorks and Coles), Walgett (IGA), Brewarrina (Cash and Carry plus a FoodWorks) and Bourke (IGA), as well as general grocery stores are found at Mungindi (SPAR) and Collarenebri (Foodtown).
Walgett is not on the river. It's a 8 km walk along the Castlereagh Highway (B55/B76), a 6 km walk along the Kamilaroi Highway (B76) or a 4 km paddle up the Naomi River and 750 m walk.
Yetman appears that the Australia Post shop also serves as a small store. Best to ring to check what they supply before relying on them for supplies.
I couldn't find any references to a store at Toomelah (pop. 200). Boggabilla (pop. 200) had a general store that apparently burnt down according to a Google review March 2020.
River distances between stores
Tap or hover your mouse over a table cell to show the estimated number of days it will likely take between two locations.
| Distances (KM) | Inverell | Yetman | Goondiwindi | Mungindi | Collarenebri | Walgett | Brewarrina | Bourke | Distances (KM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverell | 0 | 182 | 272 | 590 | 752 | 881 | 1,167 | 1,371 | Inverell |
| Yetman | 182 | 0 | 90 | 408 | 570 | 699 | 985 | 1,189 | Yetman |
| Goondiwindi | 272 | 90 | 0 | 318 | 479 | 609 | 894 | 1,099 | Goondiwindi |
| Mungindi | 590 | 408 | 318 | 0 | 161 | 291 | 576 | 781 | Mungindi |
| Collarenebri | 752 | 570 | 479 | 161 | 0 | 130 | 415 | 620 | Collarenebri |
| Walgett | 881 | 699 | 609 | 291 | 130 | 0 | 286 | 490 | Walgett |
| Brewarrina | 1,167 | 985 | 894 | 576 | 415 | 286 | 0 | 205 | Brewarrina |
| Bourke | 1,371 | 1,189 | 1,099 | 781 | 620 | 490 | 205 | 0 | Bourke |
| Distances (KM) | Inverell | Yetman | Goondiwindi | Mungindi | Collarenebri | Walgett | Brewarrina | Bourke | Distances (KM) |
The distances were calculated by manually digitising the river path from various aerial images (ESRI, Bing, Google) in QGIS (WGS 84).
Water
Even though you are surrounded by a billion litres of water, getting drinking water is not always as straightforward as one would expect. There are two main options, to use the river or town supplies. The former may not be safe in the hotter summer months due to blue-green algae outbreaks. If these get too bad, it may not even be safe to continue paddling on the river!
River Water
Below Kwiambal National Park or in high flows it is highly recommended to clarify and treat the water before you drink it. This will remove some toxins, extend the life of your water filter and make the water taste a lot better!
Refer to the Safety page for some of the issues related to drinking untreated water.
Refer to the Water Treatment page for various options on how you can clarify and treat water.
Blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria)
Blue-green algae is common in most freshwater systems, but some species are known to produce toxins that make the water unsafe to drink and even unsafe to touch in bad blooms. All of the major Australian rivers will have a risk and the Darling River is no exception. Blooms may not be reported from remote sections of the river.
The national algal information line 1800 999 457 for known outbreaks by Water Quality Australia. The MDBA publishes monthly updates of key rivers and WaterNSW has a real-time alert map.
In the event of an algae bloom, switch to town supply! There are no simple ways to remove Cyanobacteria toxins and each species has specific treatment requirements.
Town Supplies
If anyone has any information on the town supplies along the river, let me know and I can publish this here.
