Some rain this morning as we left Tilpa for Wilcannia. Just enough to make the gravel road a little slippery in places but of no great concern.
That was until we got to Wilcannia to discover that the road south to Manindee was closed. Opps!! Here it was Saturday with a road closed and little likelihood that it would be reappraised before Monday even if there was no more rain.
What to do? While we were thinking about it we filled up with fuel, went to the camping area across the river to fill up with water and then went and had lunch at the local cafe. The food was good and the indigenous folk running it were doing a great job. With all the negative press Wilcannia gets we would have to say we're pretty impressed with the town this visit.
Decision time? After asking around and having our thoughts confirmed that nothing was likely to happen before Monday morning re the closed road we decided that the camping area across the river was the spot to be. Set up camp and went for a wander around the town. Such history in this place with its wonderful sandstone buildings, a throwback to the 19th Century when Wilcannia was a thriving river port on the edge of the Outback, transporting wheat and wool by paddle-steamer along the Darling in the 19th century.
