The Outback 2014 - Back O'Bourke (or not) - Day 1

0530am... my mind was buzzing.  Day 1 of the Australian Outback 2014 trip was starting.

Land Cruiser 80-Series & Land Cruiser Prado

My first stop of the day was to collect a friend and his gear and then we turned North and slowly headed out of Sydney towards the Blue Mountains and Dubbo.



Our planned route was Bourke and a remote camping spot on the Darling River (Australia's 3rd longest river).  Bourke has an interesting history with Charles Sturt being the first explorer reach the banks of the river.  Another interesting fact is that Bourke is home to 21 different indigenous language groups.

Searching for alternative routes

Bourke is trapped in drought but on the day prior to our departure, the heavens opened and rain tumbled from the sky.  This had a major affect on our route as the roads were then classified closed.  The impact was 200km of additional driving.

The first train carriage slowly appeared out of the dense bush... it was an ancient carriage rusting slowly in the bush.  There was not only one carriage, but many more emerged from the bush and as we drove past, a Dakota Airways aircraft was standing proud next to the road.

Meadow Glenn Campsite

We were unable to head North from Dubbo so diverted towards the town of Cobar and a camping spot listed on the WikiCamps mobile app.  Arriving at the rest stop, we were greeted by to young boys on their bicycles.  The boys and their parents were traveling around Australia.  Seven caravans, all with hidden occupants were scattered around the rest stop.

Distance for the day: 800km
Driving time: 10hrs