From Pooncarie, we rolled on along the now fully sealed road to Menindee, cutting across vast stations and open country. It didn’t take long for one thing to dominate the conversation — the sheer number of feral goats. They’re everywhere out here.
Curiosity got the better of us (thank you Google and a bit of Starlink magic), and what we found surprised us. Many pastoralists are now mustering and selling goats for export, with goat meat currently Australia’s highest meat export. In recent years, some farmers are even getting better returns per head than sheep or cattle — not something you’d expect in sheep country.
Menindee itself is steeped in history — the oldest European settlement in western NSW and the first town established loop a along the Darling River. Once a thriving trading hub in the 1800s, today it draws travellers for a different reason: its vast, striking lakes and rugged natural beauty.
After topping up the water tanks, we made our way out to Lake Pamamaroo and scored an absolute gem of a campsite right on the water’s edge. There’s also a nearby campground along Pamamaroo Creek with basic facilities, but for us, this spot was hard to beat.
Lake Pamamaroo is famous for its “drowned forest” — hundreds of ghostly River Red Gums and Black Box trees rising straight from the water. When the lake is full, it transforms into a photographer’s dream, with glassy reflections and an incredible sense of stillness.
And then there’s the birdlife.
Pelicans, and plenty of them. Watching them glide silently past camp was something special, but even more impressive was seeing them hunt. In perfect formation — lines, curves, even full circles — they worked together, using their wings and webbed feet to herd fish into shallow water before striking in unison. It’s coordinated, efficient, and surprisingly mesmerising.
We’d seen something similar years ago at Lake Bonney in SA, where pelicans and shags teamed up in a feeding frenzy — but it never gets old.
Menindee also carries the weight of exploration history. It was the final staging point for the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, with their base camp set along Pamamaroo Creek. Standing there, it’s hard to imagine the scale of what they set out with — 15 men, 23 horses, 27 camels and 21 tonnes of supplies — heading into an unknown interior. Today, a marked tree and information board quietly tell the story of their departure north on 19 October 1860.
Not far out of town lies Kinchega National Park, where we spent time exploring both its pastoral past and deep cultural significance. Once part of a vast sheep station, the park is home to the remarkably preserved Kinchega Woolshed — over six million sheep were shorn here during its working life. Walking through it, you can still smell the lanolin and feel the history in the timber beneath your hands.
But this landscape tells a much older story too.
Kinchega is rich in Aboriginal heritage, with middens, scarred trees and ceremonial sites scattered throughout the park. This was an important gathering place for the Barkindji people of the Darling River and the Wiljakali people of the Broken Hill region — a connection to Country that stretches back thousands of years.
We wrapped up our time in Menindee the best way possible — sitting back by the lake, watching the sky light up as the sun dropped below the horizon.
Another place that quietly leaves its mark
** Tip: For the best viewing experience, click the YouTube link in the bottom left corner of the video to watch in higher clarity.
Add comment
Comments