Menindee

Menindee These lakes have the capacity to hold three and a half times more water than Sydney Harbour - and seven and a half times the area. No wonder the town of Menindee, on the banks of the tree-lined Darling River is an oasis in the outback and the sunsets are gorgeous: artista and photographers take note. Menindee sits amongst approximately 20 overflow lakes of the menindee Water Storage Scheme. Willows shade the shoreline and the sky fills with the colour and noise of birds. This is one of the finest freshwater fishing spots in NSW, with Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, European carp, crayfish and catfish in abundant supply. (A lazy afternoon angling under a red gum could be your idea of heaven.) The lakes and rivers are great for water sports, too - water-skiing, sailing and safe swimming. Copi Hollow, an artificailly constructed lake developed for speedboats, sailing, swimming and water-skiing. Bring binoculars - the lakes and surrounding wetlands are an important breeding habitat for over 170 different bird species, among them many waterbirds - they're keen on the fishing, too. The dry sand-dunes around the lakes have given up some of the most prolific and consistently early remnants of human existence anywhere in the world - fossils and marked stones of the Barkindji people and their ancestors dating back 26,000 years. Menindee was the first town on the Darling. Be sure to find the two historic trees - one marked by a survey team in 1882 and one in Yartla Street that marks the height of the 1890 floods. Take a heritage walk past 19 historic sites to uncover a colourful past featuring local characters, Ah Chung's bakehouse and the Maiden Hotel and a cast of local characters. The Menindee lakes make a striking contrast to the desert that surrounds them, but now the desert is blooming with citrus, apple and stone fruit orchards, tomato and vegetable fields. With modern irrigation Menindee has rapidly a developing horticutural industry. A pipeline running from Menindee provides Broken Hill with a regular supply of water. Outside of town is the historic Burke and wills campsite, the Woolshed, Kinchega National Park - and the wreck of the paddle-steamer 'Providence'. Accomodation, fuel, food. Eastern standard, 110km southeast of Broken Hill.