Balonne & Culgoa Rivers
Past the black stump and literally out the Back o' Bourke.
Darling River
Onto this Australian iconic river that is formed by the merging of the Barwon and Culgoa Rivers.
As the river is fed by multiple basins in the upper Murray-Darling Basin, flow is more consistent than the other upstream rivers of the system. However, the river has still run dry for months and even years at a time recently, making it effectively impassible by boat in many sections. While there are reports that a tiny flow will be enough to traverse the river at 20 ML/day, a minimal flow of 100 ML/day or 200 ML/day is more realistic. Above 400 ML/day will be much more enjoyable. Minor flood conditions (~40,000 ML/day) made for a fantastic and memorable trip albeit take care as some "shortcuts" are actually distributaries!
Carefully assess the flow and speed of the water through the system before any trip. See the planning page for more details.
Key Waypoints
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1,538 km
Darling River Head
The character of the river instantly changes as you enter the Darling. It now has all of the characteristics of a major inland perennial river with broad waters and high banks.
The Darling is most commonly started from Brewarrina (Bre for short) that is 121 km above the head of the river, a 205 km trip to Bourke.
Walgett is the next major town upstream of Bre on the Barwon River, accessible with a 5 km paddle up the Namoi River. Walgett is 407 km above the head of the Darling, and 491 km from Bourke.
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1,622 km
Bourke
Flood: minor: 9.5 m, moderate: 11.4 m, major: 12.7 m
Flow: no flow: 3.92 mThe old wharf was having a bit of a facelift when I passed through and seems like it'll be a popular spot for the grey nomads in the cooler months. It is only a short walk to the IGA in town.
COVID-19 stopped my progress at Nth Bourke in 2020, it was a relief to be able to paddle past just over a year later.
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1,825 km
Louth
Catchment: 489,300 sq km
Flood: minor: 8.6 m, moderate: 10 m, major: 12 m
Flow: no flow: 1.21 mShindy's Inn (02 6874 7422) is a pub that serves as a cafe and store. They stock basic supplies and you could possibly be able to organise a food run beforehand.
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1,993 km
Tilpa
Catchment: 502,500 sq km
Flood: minor: 9 m, moderate: 10.5 m, major: 11.5 m
Flow: no flow: 0.18 mTiny town with pub and petrol station, no supplies unless organised beforehand with the owners of the Tilpa Hotel (02 6837 3928). They do a food run about once per week.
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2,264 km
Wilcannia
An IGA in town (the Friendly Grocer 08 8091 5989). There are apparently petty crime issues so keep a watch on your gear. (RK).
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2,569 km
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2,855 km
Pooncarie
Port Pitstop Pooncarie Fuel Stop (03 5029 5267) is the only general store and fuel.
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3,008 km
Ellerslie / Palinyewah
Ellerslie is a small citrus-growing community. Likely no shops etc.
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3,085 km
Wentworth
Final stop before joining the waters of the Murray.
First time around, almost all of the flow was being generated from the waters flowing out of the Culgoa floodplains. River height of 5.2 m with a flow of 108 Cumecs at Bourke.
On my return trip, the river was in minor flood from the Barwon River. A river height of 9.4 m with a flow of 30,000 ML/day at Bourke.
Paddling both flows was pleasant, the main difference was one didn't have to climb the banks much to camp!