Supplies and the route to Wentworth

Well, I've managed to reach Pooncarie, which is around 1,350 odd kilometres from where I started. A decent old paddle really.

What does this all mean? Well, it means I only have about 240 kilometres to go before I reach the confluence of the Darling and Murray Rivers. It also means reaching Wentworth, which is a decent sized town and a place where I will actually be able to buy a reasonable amount of supplies.

Imagine that.

I went into the general store here at Pooncarie to stock up on supplies but I wouldn't say that the selection was terribly extensive. I didn't see any eggs but I did get some bacon. A little bit of meat, some flour, chocolate, tea and some biscuits was all I was able to buy. This means no sweetened condensed milk to help me through. Tragedy!

I expect the river will be quite challenging from here for quite some way. There was today 72 mega litres going over the Pooncarie weir, which is very little indeed. Normally i would expect around 200. Apparently the reason there is only 72 is that I am now on a controlled river (since Menindee) and the government system is on the blink. The people in Menindee who open up the weir to supply water downstream know how much water is going through by looking but the metres show something different. In other words, the system is broken and as a result they are not allowed to let more water through until somebody from Sydney has been sent out and recalibrated the water metres.

May that be sooner than later is my prayer. Full Story

The Importance of Progress

One thing that I have noticed is that as I wonder down the Darling River, the towns through which I go vary enormously. Pooncarie, which is where I am at the moment is a ripper.

First of all, it is immaculate. Nice and clean and quite welcoming. Clearly the people who live here believe that it is important to ensure that the place looks and feels good. The camping area nearby is well kept, there is a golf course (which has no grass I might add) and the houses are generally well kept. It also has (joy of joys) a cafe where you can sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee. I'm actually sitting out the front of this cafe as I type now and it brings to mind the pub in Parachilna, South Australia.

The pub there has decided that instead of aiming purely at locals and being a place where travellers fear to tread, they would change the outlook and aim at the myriad types of travellers who love the Flinders Ranges. The pub, which from the outside looks to be the quinessential outback pub opens up when you walk inside. The bar looks like any other bar execpt that on one side they are selling ice creams and gourmet hot chocolate. They have a good art gallery for people to wonder and the dining area is clean. The food, rather than being traditional pub fair is far more cosmopolitan with wraps and falafals being on the menu. In other words, it is bringing a touch of wealth to the outback. A place where people can feel comfortable and don't have to feel that they have to drink alchohol all the time.



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Clearly, the Cafe here in Pooncarie is trying to do something similar - though on a slightly smaller scale. Several locals look askance at this new venture by out of towners, yet those out of towners have clearly taken to a clean, airy cosmopolitan area like bees to honey. Well before I hit this place I had heard about it. First at Bindara, then later as I met travellers camped on the banks of the Darling River.

No, this is not an advertisement for this cafe. Rather it is an endorsement of bringing a touch of class to what has recently been seen as a rough place to be - the Outback. Whilst some people may be attracted to a rough and tumble lifestyle, many people love the bush but also enjoy quality as well - and quality means cleanliness, open spaces, welcoming people at the very least. Often these elements are brought about when new people hit a town. People entrenched within a town often have difficulty in seeing what can be done to life a town. Pooncarie, like Parachilna, has been given a new lease on life thanks to John and Pauline.

Now if only the Tilpa pub where visitors are a little like creatures from alfa centauri.

Christo
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The People You Meet

Breakfast this morning, was superb. Huge as well, which was good. And all because of the great people you meet on a journey like this. Wonderfully tender steak, onion, exquisite tomatoes and a couple of eggs is a great way to start the morning.

A few days out of Menindee and after some pretty tough days paddling - or to be accurate - dragging - meant that I was pretty keen for at least one easy night and it was with this in mind that I was keeping a lookout for Bindara homestead. As a way of supplementing their income. Bindara has opened its grounds to people for accomodation and after a couple of long days in the saddle (figuratively speaking of course) i was keen for a touch of luxury.

I reached the homestead quite late - 4:30 or so - and wondered up to find somebody and see if I could get a bed for the night. In the end I found Barb and Kanga (Barb's tree climbing dog), and she offered me a bed for $25 a night or $30 if I wanted fresh linen. Fresh linen! Who could say no to such a proposition? In the end I was given the old boundary riders quarters. The grass was nice and green all around, I had my own kitchen to do with as I wished and the showers were excellent. In fact I liked the place and my hosts Bill and Barb so much that I stayed an extra night.



Asides from the kitchen, there is a well organised area for a campfire and sitting around the campfire for dinner and solving the problems of the world a perfect after dinner job. Bill is mad keen on home grown energy solutions and has solar panels, wind generators for the house and he powers his car with fish and chip oil.

When I did finally leave it was leaving friends behind whom I would like to see again - not as it is when normally you leave. I also left well stocked, with many tomatoes, mandarins and capsicum freshly picked from their garden. The only problem was that I didn't get far after setting out. No more than five or six kilometres down river I ran into Karl and Gay. brand new grey nomads - though Karl proclaims himself to be a bald nomad - not grey.

I came across Karlas I rounded a bend and he was seated next to a fishing rod, hoping or preying to catch a fish. after a few minutes down came his wife and before you know it I was invited to lunch which was a fantastic salad sandwich. It had to be one of the best lunches I've had in a long time. One thing led to another, meaning I ran out of daylight and camped the night next to (well within 100 metres anyway) their decidedly flash 4wd camper van.

Very gernerously, they shared their dinner with me - steak bacon, chops and potatoes wrapped in foil and thrown in the fire not to mention several galsses of decent red wine. Who could ask for me? When I left the next morning Karl went to the fridge and ripped out four vacuum packed sides of beef and a side of bacon for me. his parting gift to me.

So you can begin to see why I dined so well this morning Last night I ate two of those steaks with onion, garlic and roasted capsicum (coming right out of the Bindara gardens of course). Its all positively decadent. Now I relate this all not to show the largese of Karl and Gay, Bill and Barb, but rather as an example of the wonderful people I've been reading. This last few days is just a part of the continuing story. Whether its Graham and Kerry, Barry and Irene with their Irish stew for dinner and samples of yellow belly and yabbies or the manager of Wienteriga putting on a BBQ with Johnny Cakes on the side and ample bread and baked beans for a week or two, or Izy, Steph and Tracy inviting me to dinner then lunch and dinner at Kallara station or any of the others I've met as I've travelled the river.

All the station owners and property owners have been great as well, offering to fill my water with fresh rain water and offering plenty of cups of tea and views on life. These are the reasons - or at least some of the reasons this journey is turning into such a wonderful odyssey.





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