A River Called Darling
By John Godwin
The Darling River Run is a popular but nevertheless remote trip that provides a safe introduction
to genuine outback travelling for both 2WD and 4WD travellers. We followed the Darling from Wentworth to Bourke,
and of the five days that we were actually on the road, we passed very few other travellers.
This certainly helps to create the outback experience.
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The River Darling was discovered in 1828 by Captain Charles Sturt RN,
who named it after New South Wales governor Sir Ralph Darling, a former adjutant general of the Horse Guards.
The river is an integral part of the Murray-Darling basin, an area of over one million square kilometres
stretching from Queensland to South Australia, and which supports 40% of Australia’s farms.
The Murray-Darling Basin is currently the focus of much political debate centred upon the politics of
climate change and water rights. But for travellers its popularity centres
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upon the opportunity to
experience the river and its vast flood plains, its history, and the life and activities of the people
who live ‘out West’.
Our trip started in Mildura, Victoria, where we had to wait two days for the roads to open following rain.
It’s no effort to spend time in and around Mildura and Wentworth, and Stefano de Pieri’s bakery in the
Grand Hotel complex is the ideal spot to plan a day’s activities.
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From Mildura we travelled via Wentworth, where the River Darling joins the River Murray, to Menindee.
Magnificent grey river gums clearly mark the river’s course, but the road is not always close to the
river and you have to look out for, and take, opportunities to get to the riverbank.
The solitude and sense of history and time is entrancing.
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