Tilpa (340km / 4404km)

Leaving Broken Hill, by far the largest place we have seen for nearly 3 weeks, we set off towards Bourke, not sure where we would spend the night. We drove to Wilcannia, where we decided to head along the Darling River run, a small dirt road, through many small towns, that used to be river port towns when the river was the main transport system. We phone the Tilpa pub to check in road conditions after the rain and they said to be cautious but ok to drive. We had a beautiful but eventful drive as the rain made for very slippery and muddy conditions with mud almost completely covering the wheel arches. We were definitely not camping in the muddy conditions tonight and got very modest pub accommodation for the night with shared outdoor bathroom. Tilpa was the 2nd smallest place we stayed at after Betoota and half the town (2) were in the pub that night. The pub was quite busy with fellow travellers, escaping the weather. Tilpa was one of the stranger places we have stayed at after all the warm, friendly places we have been. We were hoping that we would not be isolated in Tilpa with roads closing if the rain was to continue.Read more