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.
While there are reports that a tiny flow will be enough to traverse the river at 20 ML/day, a minimal flow of 1 Cumecs is more realistic and likely only enjoyable above 10 Cumecs. 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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1,515 km
Darling River Head
The Darling is most commonly started from Brewarrina (Bre for short) that is 122.7 km above the head of the river, a 205.2 km trip to Bourke.
Walgett is the next major town on the Barwon, accessible from the Namoi River. It is 406.2 km above the head of the Darling, and 488.7 km from Bourke.
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1,597 km
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1,802 km
Louth
Shindy'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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1,970 km
Tilpa
Tiny 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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2,241 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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2,559 km
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2,854 km
Pooncarie
Port Pitstop Pooncarie Fuel Stop (03 5029 5267) is the only general store and fuel.
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3,012 km
Ellerslie / Palinyewah
Ellerslie is a small citrus-growing community. Likely no shops etc.
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3,092 km
First time around, almost all of the flow was being generated from the flow 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. 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!