Murray River and the Mungo National Park: [Click on photos to enlarge]

Early in December 2005 a friend and I set off from Bendigo on what was to be a short, five day camping and fishing trip to the Mighty Murray River. We had expectations of fishing on the Murray River at one of my favourite spots, Boundary Bend; this is where the Murray and the Murrumbidgee Rives intersect. After a few days here the plan was to venture into outback NSW to Mungo National Park for a further couple of days, to explore the famous Walls of China and the historic Mungo Woolshed. We were then going to return home via Mildura, a fantastic town on the Murray River and right in the heart of beautiful Sunrasia, for a final night stop over with a relation I enjoy having a beer or two with.

The first weekend in December also marks the annual opening of the Murray Cod season for anglers in NSW waters; this follows a three-month ban on the taking of Murray Cod from the river to assist with the breeding process of the native fish. Detailed information on freshwater fishing rules can be found at this website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au or by calling 1300 550 474. Needless to say, this particular spot on the Murray River, being a popular spot amongst anglers, was thriving with activity. As such, motivation to actually remove the camera lens was extremely limited, and I found my-self only snapping a few shots of our campfire as well as one of the early morning sunrises. 

After two nights at Boundary Bend, catching and releasing only one undersize Yellow Belly, we packed up and set off for the Mungo National Park, (about a 200km drive), half of which is along a somewhat rough dirt road. On arriving at the Mungo National Parks visitor centre in the early afternoon we were surprised by the temperature which seemed about 20 degrees hotter than it was only hours south on the Murray River. This isolated place would be sure to get very bloody hot in summer. 

After filling out the necessary paperwork to acquire a NSW National Parks visitor permit as well as a camping permit, we spent a few hours admiring the historic Mungo Woolshed. This spectacular heritage listed timber shearing shed that hasn’t been used commercially for almost thirty years, provided brilliant textures and lighting somewhat revived my motivation and I found myself happily snapping away – I even dragged out the medium format camera (medium format images yet to be processed). 

[Click on photographs to enlarge]
All content (c) Copyright Randal J Dell-Spector. Please ask permission before using here.

Exiting the shed we found that the weather had changed dramatically. Still hot, there was now a strong wind blowing from the west, it initially looked like rain was on the way, but we soon realized it was dust being hurtled across this somewhat barren landscape. Nevertheless we made the decision to set off on the 70km self drive tour that takes you across the floor of the ancient Lake Mungo to the Walls of China, over the dunes and around the northern shores of the dry lake. Belah Camp, approximately half way round and on the western side of the Walls of China, was to be where we laid our swags for the next couple of nights.

On arriving at the walls car park we left the vehicle and anxiously began the trek, through the sandy pinnacles, to reach the summit of the Great Walls. It was at this point that we realized the severity of the winds that were blowing from the west and had been hitting us in the back on the walk up. The dust that was being hurled around by the wind was now mixed with billions of particles of fine sand which smacked us in the face all the way back to the car. We were very bloody silly, in my opinion anyway, as we could have found ourselves in real trouble with respiratory problems not to mention the amount of grit that found its way into our eyes. Photography was also hard. The risk of the fine sand finding its way to the delicate digital sensor in my brand new digital SLR well and truly outweighed any likely rewards of photographing in these types of conditions.  

I managed only a few fairly average shots of the general area. The winds did not look like calming so we decided to change our plans as we were going to camp stay on the western side of the dunes, right in the path of the constant sand swirls. Although the camp ground at the entrance of the park was well equipped and complete with shady trees, we opted to have a drink of water and head the car for Bottle Neck Bend on the Murray River just east of Mildura. I have in mind to return to this area next autumn and stay for a good week or longer as I believe this will yield some spectacular photographic results. 

All content (c) Copyright Randal J Dell-Spector. Please ask permission before using here.

Arriving late at Bottleneck Bend, we had just enough time to set up camp and put the boat in the water, before the darkness of night set in. The long days travel, the sandy outback and a few VB cans ensured a good night sleep. The following day photographic opportunities presented themselves by way of an adventurous couple of Goannas that came down to the river via our camp to get a drink. A further highlight was the second and third fish caught on the trip, one a massive Carp (SH#T), and the other another undersize yellow belly. 

Consumption of more green cans throughout the afternoon and into evening with an uncle who came out from Mildura, and I was ready for another good nights sleep. Then wow, crash bang and completely unexpected, I was awakened by the noise of thunder and the flashes of lightning that flooded in through the open top of my swag. Thankfully, it was just a light show at this stage and no immediate likelihood of rain, so it was straight to the car to grab the camera bag and tripod. I captured as many images as my memory cards would allow before uploading them to my laptop and going back for more, the show was great.

All good things however must come to an end, and this good time finished with the imminent threat of rain, and the likelihood of becoming stuck, as the dirt tracks here quickly become unpassable when wet. After waking the other two, it was the quickest and most efficient pack up of a camp I think I have ever seen before getting into the cars to get back to roads that would not turn to bog holes. Still dark, and only a few hours after going to bed, the worry of being over the blood alcohol limit, forced us to set up camp again and sit it out for a few more hours. Then after a four hour trip home to Bendigo it was all just a memory. 

If you like the Australian Outback, the Mungo National Park is a must see! I am without any doubt going back in about May 2006 to do it all again and probably more. I anticipate some fantastic photography from this area and at that time of the year hopefully there is no wind!

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