The other campers left early so we had the place to ourselves and managed to get in a few hours schooling before once again heading off down to the river the get that elusive Murray Cod! You’ll be pleased to know we had sandwiches for lunch!
Pack-up went smoothly and we were one the road by 2 heading further west to Wilcannia – and what a sad town it was that we pulled into at 4pm. Young aboriginal kids were camped out on the sidewalks and when we asked for directions our kids were amazed –‘they talk so weird’. We fuelled up at what we later found out was ‘Mad Mary’s BP’ – the cheapest diesel around $1.86/L or so she claimed (boy were we duped it was 10c cheaper at White Cliffs!).
You can see this place was once a thriving port for the wool cargo that was shipped along the Darling by river steamers, however those days are long gone. The town still has a legacy of magnificent stone buildings but there was not one shop open and everything was either boarded up, covered in barbed wire, or just so derelict looking that we couldn’t leave fast enough.
White Cliffs sprung on us out of the blue and looked like beach at low tide with a myriad of mud-crab holes in the sand. White mounds were everywhere, a few scattered buildings marked the centre and we ID’d the caravan park just on sunset. We strolled on down to the local pub to find all 7 of them there and drinking! A quick game of pool and back along the road under a vast black sky with red rims (Ah sunset, what a spectacle!) to spaghetti courtesy of Toby tonight!
White Cliffs Population 200 – tonight though 204 - Opal Pioneer Camping Ground (Powered $17/night)
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