Monday, July 8th to Saturday, July 13th, 2024 - Lake Mungo, Learning About 'Weather Dependent' Travel

Sunset at Mungo Lodge

When Nadine (my sister) and I conceived this trip, she immediately expressed concern because she knew that La Niña would be kicking up again while we were there and might make travel impossible due to increased chances of rain. I must admit, I didn't quite know how to process this information, but I can say that her prudence in planning around the weather was invaluable for the success of our trip. You see, it was all about water!

Map of The 13 Willandra Lakes

The water that had filled the Willandra Lake System lakes 60,000 years ago, had come from the  thawing of ice-age snow fields hundreds of miles to the north-east. The melt came down the Lachlan River and created lots of waterfront property which led to an easy life for the residents at that time. When the lakes dried up 17,000 thousand years ago, the times of plenty ended and the shapes of the lakes only became an echo, revealed by the lunettes, such as the ones we visited at Lake Mungo.

Treacherous Roads In the Morning Sun

Although the lakes dried up long ago, water in the form of rainfall was the tricky thing we had to keep constantly in mind - as did the Park Service. As you see from the photo above,  the roads were not paved and were a combination of a sandy substrate that was packed pretty well, with nasty spots of red clay that were rendered treacherous by the slightest bit of rain. There was no bitumen within 60 miles!

Sunset at Mungo Lodge

So we left Hay, (where we stayed the first night of our trip) earlier than we had planned, as Nadine saw that there was a prediction of 3 mm of rain that day. For my American friends, that's about one tenth of an inch! In Florida it would barely be noticed! Nadine's research revealed this could lead to road closings, especially as there had also been rain the previous day. To be sure things were not closed, we called the lodge where we were to stay. They said roads were still open, but suggested that the shortest route would be unsafe, especially as there were roadworks. They recommended that we drive another hour or two to approach from the larger nearby town to the west - Mildura! 

Not liking this idea, we stopped in the Police Station in the nearest small town, Balranald, where the young officer eyeballed us two grey-hairs, and immediately attempted to assess the likelihood that they  would end up pulling us out of the mud! 'Do you have a 4WD vehicle?' he asked. Thanks to Nadine's planning we had rented an all-wheel drive, so we passed that test. 'Do you have water?' was the next question. Again yes, we had also prepared for that. After we had reassured him we also had plenty of food and warm clothes, he suggested a third route - shorter than the long one recommended by the lodge. (He suggested that if we did get stuck, we should stay with our vehicle, as it can be days before a rescue is possible!)

Saltbush Along the Road

In trepidation, we followed his directions and were very fortunate that the road was good. Clearly there were ruts from other weather events, but the substrate seemed to be more of the sandy, solid base than the clay. Only near our final destination did it get slick and show muddy ruts, but with just a little sliding about, we got through fine.

The Next Morning Was Clear - The Birds Greeted the Day

How fortunate we were. There were no rain predictions on our first day, we set off in bright sunshine with only light winds.

Erosion on the Lunette

All the images in my previous blog were taken on our morning National Park tour with an aboriginal guide. The impact of water on the sand and clay is very obvious, as you see from the multiple signs of gullies and rivulets here. We left footprints, but after the next rain they will be wiped away. When there is substantial rain (more than 5mm), the park will close and the rangers will scour the landscape for any new artifacts the rains reveal. If any are discovered, they are photographed and documented, but left in place. Sometimes they may be covered with some natural materials like leaves or sticks to protect them from animal feet, but the hope is that erosion will scatter or re-bury it.

 Walls of China at Sunset

At the end of the day we returned to the same place - what a difference the low light made!

Walls of China at Sunset

In case you're wondering why it's called the Walls of China. The speculative explanation is that Southern Chinese building a nearby a woolshed thought it reminded them of the 'Walls' in their homeland......and the name stuck for this portion of the lunette.

Red Top Lunette

The next morning we were told that 3mm of rain was expected by mid-to late morning. In anticipation, tours had been cancelled and we were told that a loop road behind the lunette was closed. We set out relatively early, hoping to beat the rain and planning to just come to a part of the lunette called Red Top. It showed many of the same erosional features as the Walls of China.

The Formation of Residuals

You might have been wondering how those funny, bumpy shapes are created. Our sunset guide had told us they they all contain some type of vegetation that provides resistance to the winds and captures the blowing sand and silt. In the photo above, you can see different stages of formation - the ones right in front being the youngest.

Mixed Cloud Cover

Much to our surprise, we found that the 70 km loop road was not closed and we saw others taking off along it without worry. Emboldened, we set off on this one-way route, with a plan to just keep moving if/when the promised rain could mess up the road.

Mallee Tree at Vigar's Well

The drive was through lovely mallee scrub - a small eucalypt that has tuberous roots. This lone mallee tree was near a well that used to be a stopping place for the stagecoach company called Cobb and Co, which served remote communities between 1853 and 1924. I loved this old tree in particular - his gnarly arms and wild beard evoked a small 'Ent' in my mind.

Zanci Station

There was an old station (homestead) which was a soldier settlement block that had been settled by the Vigar family after 1922. It looked like it had been a hard life there. The family might have been happy to have it become part of the National Park in 1984. Here you can see a bed, the outhouse and an underground dugout which helped the family escape the blistering summer heat.

An Enchanting Sky

It was mid-afternoon and there still had been no sign of rain. There were a few drizzles around dinner time, but by the time I was in bed I was feeling smug about inaccurate weather predictions and had no concerns about driving out the next morning.......until I heard raindrops on the roof. It sounded heavy to me, my confidence rapidly disappeared and I stayed awake preparing myself for the probability that we would be spending another night at the lodge.

Our Cabin at Mungo Lodge

In all, around 3mm of water had fallen overnight. Fearing the worst, we approached the front desk upon waking and were not surprised to learn that the park was closed . They were waiting for the road closing updates, but the narratives of people who had been out driving already said that at least two of the roads were in bad shape, including the one that we had arrived on and hoped to use. As we stood there, a call came in with the news that the shortest road with roadworks was open, 'with caution'.

I was VERY willing to apply caution, so we moved quickly and got moving, out of fear that the road might be closed at any time, especially if more of the expected rain arrived.

Sticky Mud in The Wheel Wells

It took us two hours to drive the 60 miles. Much of the way it was OK, with occasional modest hydroplaning on the clay sections. Fortunately there was little traffic, so we could choose the firmest looking part of the road. We heaved a sigh of relief when we finally saw the bitumen in the distance. When we were three quarters of the way up the very slight last slope, I noticed that though the wheels were turning, we were going nowhere and the sensation of sliding started. 'Oh, No!, we thought! That Nice Young Policeman is going to have to rescue us after all! 

I was driving and thought I had chosen the firmest part of the road, however the clay had filled all the tread in the tires and we had no traction. The middle of the road looked as it there was deeper mud, having been disturbed by the road work. However, with the belief that what I was doing wasn't working, I turned the wheel toward the center of the road. Lo and behold, we started moving again and within seconds, were on the bitumen, heaving a great sigh of relief.

Note the Gap Between the Mud and The Tire

When we got out, we were astonished to see how much mud had collected in the wheel wells and on the bottom of the doors. Without our all-wheel drive vehicle, it would have been a different story.

The bottom line is that everyone watches the weather at Lake Mungo and good preparation is vital. It had really been very exciting!