Tourism NSW puts out a brochure titled 'Darling River Run'. Over the years, I have done bits and pieces of the Darling River but was thinking of doing the lot. The trip goes from Walgett to Wentworth with off the track detours to places of interest, e.g. National Parks, lakes, etc. I'm planning on leaving early April, going solo and probably take about 6 weeks. I'm pretty well set up, Hilux turbo diesel, semi off-road 18' caravan and self sufficient. Any advice, hints, ideas, or experiences would be appreciated. Someone else must have done this trip before.
dave06 said
10:59 AM Dec 28, 2008
you are in for one hell of a trip, we didnt do it all but we did most, take your time enjoy the scenery and dont push your vehicle, take plenty of spares, car and van, plenty of water, a good uhf and next g phone also a top of the range first aid kit. watch the little sideshoot roads with the van. if you are not sure unhook BEFORE you attempt anything a little difficult, the secret of getting out of trouble is to not get there in the first place
take your time and just enjoy!!
Bridgee said
05:12 PM Dec 28, 2008
After watching "Two Men in a Tinnie" on ABC TV ther seems to be many places of interest along that route. Just make sure you don't camp within 5kms of Wilcannia. I don't want to offend the law obiding citizens of the town ( I'm sure there must be a few) but after stopping there for fuel a few years ago we were absolutely shocked at the vandalism, truancy and lack of respect shown by some of the young indigenous population.
For such a historical town / port on the Darling, beautiful old buildings that once stood with pride when riverboats were the main form of transport, were in disrepair. Any windows that weren't broken were boarded up.
Maybe it's wrong to focus too much on negative things on any trip or to judge a place or its whole population the personal experience of one visit in a lifetime but it's hard to get bad experiences out your head.
So please don't be put off by our little 'glitch' in one little place out of a hundred on the journey, I'm sure you'll find the whole "Darling River Run" an exhilarating challenge and an awesome experience.
tonyd said
05:20 PM Dec 28, 2008
Captain, not an answer, but a question: How do you find the Hilux for travelling? I'm leaning towards perhaps a Hilux with a canopy and carrying a tent for solo trips, but being able to sleep in the back if the local wildlife have long noses, sharp teeth and anti-social attitudes.
I'm assuming there is a single-cab version available. The dual-cab ones don't have sleeping room in the back.
Comments welcome from other Hiluxers out there. Cheers, Tony
Captain said
06:01 PM Dec 28, 2008
Hi Tony I have owned my Hilux for about 3 years and wouldn't buy anything else. It's the best vehicle for the job, plus I fitted a DP chip. With the power and torque, one has to be careful not to spin the back wheels when starting off, even with the van attached. It is a 3 ltr, 4WD, turbo diesel, single rail, twin cab, and no canopy. I also have an ARB bullbar, and a 9,000lb Warn winch as insurance, just in cases. I found that I don't need a canopy. The ute is great for the firewood, spares, jerry cans, chainsaw and all the other not so clean things. You still have inside the cab for those items you want to keep dust free. I leave the rear seat out permanently so the extra room comes in handy. The ute tray is NOT dust free, in fact, it's terrible. There are no rubber seals whatsoever and even though I put duct tape on the inside where the tailgate meets the body, dust still enters even though I have a tight fitting torneau cover. If you were intending to sleep in the back, you would certainly need to do something about the dust problem. For me, a bit of dust doesn't matter on the things that I carry in the back. As a matter of interest, I towed a Jayco camper almost 15,000 kms earlier this year and averaged just on 15 ltrs/100 kms.
dave06 said
07:10 PM Dec 28, 2008
nothing tougher than toyotas, little blue is coming up on 250,000kms and I wouldnt trade her for anything else on earth
tonyd said
03:53 PM Dec 29, 2008
Hi Captain, Thanks for that info on the Hilux. The dust matter is something I had not thought of, but obviously would need to consider. Like me, the Hilux seems a bit thirsty (though I appreciate you were towing a van). After the silly season is well and truly over, I'll hit the car yards and see what's on offer. Cheers, Tony
Basil Faulty said
01:31 PM Dec 30, 2008
Bridgee wrote:
After watching "Two Men in a Tinnie" on ABC TV ther seems to be many places of interest along that route. Just make sure you don't camp within 5kms of Wilcannia. I don't want to offend the law obiding citizens of the town ( I'm sure there must be a few) but after stopping there for fuel a few years ago we were absolutely shocked at the vandalism, truancy and lack of respect shown by some of the young indigenous population.
For such a historical town / port on the Darling, beautiful old buildings that once stood with pride when riverboats were the main form of transport, were in disrepair. Any windows that weren't broken were boarded up.
Maybe it's wrong to focus too much on negative things on any trip or to judge a place or its whole population the personal experience of one visit in a lifetime but it's hard to get bad experiences out your head.
So please don't be put off by our little 'glitch' in one little place out of a hundred on the journey, I'm sure you'll find the whole "Darling River Run" an exhilarating challenge and an awesome experience.
Yep the Darling Run is fascinating and an essential experience. Look at the river now and you would find it impossible to believe in the heyday of the Paddle steamers that paddle steamers regularly visited Willcania, Bourke and in a few instances actually crossed the border into Qld.... you have to wonder what happened but I think the Chaffey Bros caused a lot of the problems.
mike and Judy said
09:43 AM Dec 31, 2008
Did that run back in the 70s, the Menindee lakes were full then, and the river was actually running, the only problem we had was a flipped trailer, got into a bulldust hole, and before you could yell bugger it was head over turkey, gotta be worse now with the drought, another thing to watch for is the jump ups, a slab of concrete over a creek running in to the river, the wind and weather washes the dirt away from the edge and its a bugger on tyres, and any low prt of the vehicle At the time we was in a ford wagon XP and we were doing the flange gasket on the exhaust all the time , probably dont apply to today gear, but as Davo says be prepared
dave06 said
10:07 AM Dec 31, 2008
hell I'd forgotten the causeways, did a sump plug on my nissan patrol, wheel hit one side, flipped the block and took my sump plug off as clean as a gas axe,
the lakes were full then as well and the river was bank to bank, marvelous stuff, two men in a tinny didnt see anything, the bird life has to be seen to be believed
there are tons of open spaces to park the van, we did it with swags but the experience is much the same, watch the soil after a rain it turns into a black swamp when wet, take plenty of mossie repelent
dont worry too much about our little dark mates, they are everywhere, just apply the rules of free camping, dont camp within 50 kms of a town on friday or saturday nights, common sense at all times will make for a fantastic trip
mike and Judy said
10:14 PM Dec 31, 2008
something else has come to mind, the pigs, were a lot around then, some big buggers and very wild, if you hear em in the night lay quiet and still, ----or carry a BIG gun
I'm pretty well set up, Hilux turbo diesel, semi off-road 18' caravan and self sufficient.
Any advice, hints, ideas, or experiences would be appreciated. Someone else must have done this trip before.
For such a historical town / port on the Darling, beautiful old buildings that once stood with pride when riverboats were the main form of transport, were in disrepair. Any windows that weren't broken were boarded up.
Maybe it's wrong to focus too much on negative things on any trip or to judge a place or its whole population the personal experience of one visit in a lifetime but it's hard to get bad experiences out your head.
So please don't be put off by our little 'glitch' in one little place out of a hundred on the journey, I'm sure you'll find the whole "Darling River Run" an exhilarating challenge and an awesome experience.
I have owned my Hilux for about 3 years and wouldn't buy anything else. It's the best vehicle for the job, plus I fitted a DP chip. With the power and torque, one has to be careful not to spin the back wheels when starting off, even with the van attached. It is a 3 ltr, 4WD, turbo diesel, single rail, twin cab, and no canopy. I also have an ARB bullbar, and a 9,000lb Warn winch as insurance, just in cases. I found that I don't need a canopy. The ute is great for the firewood, spares, jerry cans, chainsaw and all the other not so clean things. You still have inside the cab for those items you want to keep dust free. I leave the rear seat out permanently so the extra room comes in handy.
The ute tray is NOT dust free, in fact, it's terrible. There are no rubber seals whatsoever and even though I put duct tape on the inside where the tailgate meets the body, dust still enters even though I have a tight fitting torneau cover. If you were intending to sleep in the back, you would certainly need to do something about the dust problem. For me, a bit of dust doesn't matter on the things that I carry in the back.
As a matter of interest, I towed a Jayco camper almost 15,000 kms earlier this year and averaged just on 15 ltrs/100 kms.
Thanks for that info on the Hilux. The dust matter is something I had not thought of, but obviously would need to consider.
Like me, the Hilux seems a bit thirsty (though I appreciate you were towing a van).
After the silly season is well and truly over, I'll hit the car yards and see what's on offer. Cheers, Tony
you have to wonder what happened but I think the Chaffey Bros caused a lot of the problems.
At the time we was in a ford wagon XP and we were doing the flange gasket on the exhaust all the time , probably dont apply to today gear, but as Davo says be prepared