Darling River Walk, Bourke - April 2022

The Darling River flowing past the old wharf. 

Sam and I spent a couple of nights in Bourke on our April road trip up to North Queensland. While our days were spent out in Gundabooka National Park on the second night that we were in town I thought that I'd check out this little walk. This walk starts at the historic Bourke Wharf on the Darling River and it basically follows a shared path up river for a kilometre and a half before returning via the same path. The old port precinct made for a good spot to head off as there is plenty of parking, toilets, picnic facilities, cafés and pubs all close by. After checking out the old wharf (actually a replica of the original built back in 1898) and getting my first look for today at the fast flowing brown water of the Darling River I set off upstream.

I started this walk at the old wharf precinct.

The old wharf is actually a replica of the original wharf.

The Darling River was flowing a banka on this visit. 

Initially I followed a concrete shared path so the walking was pretty easy going, the warm early evening meaning that there was pretty well no one else around tonight. The main interest along here was the low sun shinning a golden light through the River Red Gums - and the river gauge which was showing the Darling River still running at over 7 metres after all the rain that has fallen recently up in northern NSW and southern QLD.

I followed a sealed shared path initially this afternoon.

The Darling River was running at about 7 metres this afternoon.

I did a bit of a dog leg through town at one point. 

After a short dog leg through some quite Bourke streets the shared path re-joined the riverside levee bank, although now I was on a gravel path mostly. This walk passes along the back fences of a lot of houses and businesses that line the Darling River in Bourke and it seemed to me as though every property had a huge dog that was itching to get out and introduce itself to me - teeth first! Never have I done a walk where I was so concerned about being mauled by an animal as I was on this stroll, and to put that into perspective I'm a dog kind guy and never really feel threatened when I'm on foot (being on a bike is a different kettle of fish though). 

Once back on the levee bank I was on a gravel shared path.

My turn around spot.

I was able to get down near water level on the outskirts of Bourke. 

With the levee starting to veer away from the Darling River on the outskirts of Bourke in an industrial area the track abruptly finished so it was time to start heading back. After a short detour down to water level I retraced my steps back to the old wharf, although instead of jumping into the ute and heading back to the hotel I took at bit of time to check out the port precinct which features an old Crossley Steam Engine. Wandering down Mitchell Street a few metres I then checked out the site of the historic Telegraph Hotel (now the Bourke Riverside Motel). This old building dates back to 1875 and no doubt would of been a rambunctious place when the wharfies turned up after a day of lumping wool bales in the heat. 

Passing by a light industrial area on the outskirts of Bourke. 

Late afternoon light on the Darling River.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 3.5 kilometres and climbed about 24 metres on this easy stroll. This walk would be suitable for wheelchairs and prams I'm thinking. If anyone contemplating this walk is scared of dogs then maybe reconsider the stroll (or take a trekking pole!). This walk also goes far enough out of Bourke that it starts to pass through some light industrial areas so I'm thinking that it would be a good idea to make sure that you get back to the wharf well before dark - Bourke is currently (April 2022) going through some serious social issues and meandering around after dark wouldn't be a good idea (in my humble opinion). I found this walk on the Alltrails website and used that map along with my GPS topos this afternoon.

Relevant Posts.

Little Mountain Walk, Gundabooka National Park, 2022.

After getting back to the wharf I checked out the historic Crossley Steam Engine...

... before passing by the EV charging station (in Bourke - who knew!)...

... and finishing up my stroll by checking out the historic Telegraph Hotel (1875).