Wilcannia to
Kallara Station via
TilpaLeaving
Wilcannia we travelled up the western side of the
Darling River to
Tilpa. The road was in very good condition and we ambled along at about 70 to 75 km/h, only slowing down for the dreaded cattle grids and to look at the wildlife. There were lots of Kangaroos, Emus, Hawks and other birds. The stock along the roadside were cattle, sheep and of course goats. The only traffic we uncounted was one stock semi going the other way. The weather continues to be very cool and in fact a windcheater or similar was required if not in the sun.
At
Tilpa we took part in the hospitality of the Pub and had lunch and a drink. As others have said the walls of the hotel are covered in names and other graffiti, with an assortment of hats hanging from the ceiling.
We then departed
Tilpa continuing along the western side of the river to
Kallara Station. Just to make a change of scenery this time we also saw some horses, they were very quiet and just stood under the shade of a tree, even after we stopped right next to them. They were in very good condition and branded. The road once again was in very good condition, even in the sandy patches. The soil was now
grey instead of red and the fine dust got into everything. We should have opened the pressuring hatch in the caravan, but forgot. (Another thing for the prestart checklist)
Kallara is a very large Station running mainly meat sheep that don’t need to be shorn. The
shearing shed is huge and is now used for storage. The
camping area we chose was with power and was right alongside a very
large camp kitchen. There are huts for the workers, when on site, and a large house that they rent out for groups of visitors. The showers and
toilets, although not new, were clean and the shower was very welcome. Justin and the crew made us very welcome,
We shared the facilities with 2 fishermen from
Echuca and Rochester. They have been there for a week and had caught a number of “Yellow Belly” Perch as
well as some yabbi’s they cooked up for eating.
Took a trip out to the
Shearing shedThere is no Internet connection so I am writing this on the laptop and will cut and paste it into the blog when we get to the next stop.
Camping at powered site near camp kitchen
Camp Kitchen