Bourke to Wilcannia

Definitely worth it. We went eastern side Bourke to Louth then Western side to Tilpa where we crossed again and continued on to Wilcannia on the Eastern side. That was a year or so ago. Enjoyed the drive.

Viv

Just make sure you wind the windows up- and don't stop through Wilcannia....

Lived in Wilcannia for years. It is a good drive. Just ring the local council before you go to check road conditions - just in case it rains lol .Bourke Shire is (02)68722055 and Central Darling- Wilcannia- is (08) 80915927.
Cheers.

Wilcannia is not as bad as a lot of people make out - just be sensible. DO stop at the Tilpa pub- write yr name on the wall and give a donation to the RFDS.

It's a lovelly drive, especially if you have a couple of weeks to do it in.

If you are just passing through it would take about the same time as the sealed road from Bourke to Cobar to Wilcannia but is much more interesting.

There is heaps to see along the way, hence my opening sentence.

As well as stopping at Tilpa, you should pull up at Louth and have a feed or morning tea in Shindy's Inn. Say G'day to Wally if he is there. When you look up bush hospitality in the dictionary it has a picture of this guy. If you have time I recommend being in Louth for sunset. Ask at Shindy's about viewing the gravestone at sunset. It really is worth hanging around for.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay along the way try Killara Stn. West side just upstream of Tilpa.

p.s. I have no commercial interest in any of the places mentioned. I drove through there once and the people of Louth in particular were extremely generous to me and my group as was every local we met.

Despite what could have been a catastrophic vehicle failure, it ranks as one of our most enjoyable holidays ever, thanks predominantly to the people we met along the way.

Hope your trip is as good as mine was.

Duncs

Make sure you stock up before you get to Wilcannia.
I was there last week.....diesel was $1.669 ...17c/l dearer than the truck stop out of town, the dearest place for fuel for the trip, and a loaf of bread and a tub of marg. was $8.
Regards
Neil

Better check the road conditions we had almost an inch (24ml) of rain last night (friday) and all unsealed roads in the Central Darling Shire (Tilpa, Ivanhoe, Menindee) are closed. If you aren't travelling til later in week check latest road conditions in the area on 0880915155.
If there is still any moisture around the west is better, more red soil less black clay.
Fuel is expensive, BP is cheaper than Shell.

Don't let people frighten you about Wilcannia, I've lived here 5 years having moved from Sydney. After 6 months I went to visit friends in Bondi. On a Saturday afternoon I had to back out of one street when 30 or so people came spilling out of a pub fighting, around the next corner there were two police cars with the street blocked. There are people begging for money in Sydney.

The town is as safe as anywhere else in the country, but as everyone says, you can have bad experiences anywhere you travel. I guess if you think how you would feel with people driving down the street you live in looking and taking videos/photos all the time it may give you some idea.

So take the time to stop, just say hello to people and go about your activities as you would in most capital cities, you lock your car, so do the same here. It is an opportunity to see that there are places that have different people and different problems... doesn't mean they are worse... just different.

I should probably state here that I do have a business in the town.. but that isn't what this is about. The town has some wonderfull old stone buildings, yes in disrepair because city land prices haven't caught up with us yet, and yet just out of town (1km) there is a 3 km track along the river that lets you see what the Darling River is all about with some great picnic spots and river red gums.

Make up your own mind. Sorry if this sounds like preaching.