MONDAY AT MUNGO

I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that there was no phone signal at Mungo National Park (160 kms north west of Balranald) so this is being published on Tuesday from Mildura on the banks of the mighty Murray. Trish is at the laundromat doing the washing and I have just filled the water tanks and emptied the waste ready for our next National Park adventure at Hattah Kulkyne National Park about 50 kms south of here.

 

 

Mungo was delightful. The van survived its 100 kms of dirt road each way quite comfortably and we camped at the very well set up National Park camp ground where the locals were very friendly.

 

 

The National Park is based on a number of former sheep stations, one of which was Mungo. The shearing shed remains as a reminder of previous activity. The name Mungo comes from Lake Mungo which is part of the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region. Having said that, they are lakes in name only. It is 15,000 years since they were last filled with water.

 

 

In formation, they are very like the Menindee Lakes or Coongie Lakes but without the water.

The lake is famous for Mungo Man and Mungo Lady being aborigines reputed to have lived here 40,000 years ago whose remains were found as a result of the erosion of the lake edges.

 

 

The signature formation is known as the Walls of China (presumably a reference to the Great Wall of China). The area constituting the Walls is what originally constituted the eastern beach of Mungo Lake, known as the lunette. Because the prevailing wind is westerly, the eastern shore is a series of sandhills eventually becoming very large white sand sandhills comparable to sand blows on Fraser Island. The western shore is a typical outback dune of red sand. 

 

 

The area nearest the eastern shore of the former lake is hard sand/clay which, as it erodes, reveals aboriginal artifacts and remains as well as remains of the animals which inhabited the area between 15,000 and 50,000 years ago. 

There is a 70 km self guided drive tour which gives access to the numerous very interesting natural and man made features of the area.