Mungo National Park

[sjm]

I posted this over at subaruforester.org, but figured it could also be of interest here...

From Melbourne to Mildura via the Calder highway, then out the Arumpo Road to Mungo National Park, then on to Menindee via Pooncarie and through to Broken Hill and Silverton. Finally back to Melbourne via the Silver City highway.

A total of 2200km over 2.5 days.

The roads around Mungo have recently re-opened due to flood damage. There is a new single-lane road across the lake (which is currently holding water), but it's quite rough in places and would definitely be closed when wet. The road from Pooncarie to Menindee is in excellent condition.

Heading north along the Arumpo Road:

New road across Lake Mungo:

Looking across the lake:

In the eastern section of Mungo NP:

Along the Menindee road:

Another along the Menindee Road:

Emu crossing:

Sunrise just south of Broken Hill:

 

[Rally]

Me jealous

 

[Greentreefrog]

Me too ....
looks like a worthy destination to add to my (very long) list
did you find any good camping spots?

 

[Kevin]

Welcome over here sjm! Looks like an interesting trip too.

 

[mr turbo]

G'day sjm & to ORS.
Like Rally & Greentreefrog said & I agree, I too am jealous
Looks like you had a great time :iconwink:

I really like the pic with the Emu's crossing too

Sunrise just south of Broken Hill:

But this pic of the sun rising is an absolute beauty

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[eden]

yeah i'm jealous too awesome pics:biggrin:

 

[carljwnc]

Howdy and sjm!!!

Looks like it was a great trip, thanks for sharing.:ebiggrin:

We have a "Sunrises & Sunsets" thread your pic would fit into really well.

 

[Dulagarl]

ahh. Mungo.

Thanks for reminding me of some great times. What a place.

Great pics.

 

[pezimm]

Looks really nice!!

When do we go?? When do we go???

I'm keen!

 

[sjm]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Me too ....
did you find any good camping spots?

Sure. There are heaps of little tracks heading off the main roads. It's not hard to find a nice flat, shady place to setup for the night. On my first night, I camped under a tree that had a huge flock of budgies roosting in it. Not something you see in Vic, so that was a nice experience.

I really like the pic with the Emu's crossing too

Unfortunately, taken through the windscreen, so it's not as sharp as it could be.

Looks really nice!!
When do we go?? When do we go???
I'm keen!

Mungo can be done as a comfortable weekend trip from Melbourne, even more so now that we have daylight savings, but if you want to continue on to Broken Hill via Kinchega (near Menindee), I'd suggest at least 3 days. I only stopped in at the shearing shed at Kinchega, but could have spent a lot more time exploring the lakes.

 

[my04tone]

Nice stuff !!

will be back into Mungo in March, its 20yrs since our last visit

 

[Ratbag]

Gidday mate

Nice stuff !!

will be back into Mungo in March, its 20yrs since our last visit

I have never been there, but I nearly deviated by turning right at Hay instead of left in early December ...

However, one of the reasons for turning over Roo1 (Impreza) for Roo2 (2006 Fox) was for the approach/departure angles and clearance, none of which Roo1 had in abundance.

Another was that I have no specific desire to die on a back track because I am silly enough to use the wrong vehicle for the task!!

I am thinking of taking a run to Mungo in Autumn, coming back via Big & Little Desert NPs, and maybe Adelaide.

Roo2 has Pirelli P7s on it, which do not strike me as the ideal tyre for rough road use, but then I have found that the technology in the drive train of the AWD Subies makes up for a lot of grunt and fancy off-road tyres in the past.

On that basis, I will probably replace them with Bridgestone Ecopia 100s when they are dead. Open to lots of advice on this subject. The current lot probably have around 10~15 K kms left on them, so no rush.

With my Landcruiser (RIP circa 1980), I ran Goodyear Custom HiMilers on the front for handling, and full bar lugs on the back for when I needed to 'walk' out of nasty bits; or spray bunnies and gravel all over the countryside when I accidentally drove onto a rabbit warren in the southern Flinders area ...

I really can't see me using full bar lugs on Roo2 though ... :rotfl: ...
I have a sneaking suspicion it would end in tears ...

 

[NachaLuva]

sjm, my04tone & Ratbag, great to see more Melbournites :biggrin:

We're having a trip on 11th/12th Jan to Mt.Cole area. Would be great way to stretch your legs (tyres)

Will be mostly easier tracks so feel free to come along :ebiggrin:

 

[Sigmund]

Re tyres, most of the unsealed roads in those areas are sandy or dirt rather than gibber and sometimes the corrugations can be bad. Take a 12v compressor along and drop your pressure by around 30%.

If you want extra insurance for gibber roads or rocky tracks, go for light truck AT tyres.

I've done two outback trips with Bridgestone Dueller 693IIs that have performed well.