There is no place in Outback New South Wales quite like Menindee.
The town sits beside the vast Menindee Lakes some 1106 km north-west of Sydney. The mighty Darling River is nearby and the railway line which takes passengers across the continent – the Indian Pacific – passes through the town. It was here, in 1860, that the ill-fated explorers, Burke and Wills, spent their last nights in proper beds and with their companions.
This is the true outback. It is flat and the area around the town is covered in grey saltbush and scrub.
While in the town make sure you visit the Menindee Lakes in the Kinchega National Park and inspect the remarkable Kinchega woolshed, have a drink at the famous Maiden's Hotel where Burke and Wills stayed, go to Sunset Strip (a unique lakeside holiday destination where Outback folk retreat when they need a holiday), visit the grave of Dost Mahomet, the Afghan camel driver, and drive out to the Burke and Wills campsite on the Darling River.
