In this year’s Easter camp, we’ll explore Yanga National Park and its surrounds. Yanga is on the Murrumbidgee River in far western NSW. We’ll base ourselves at Mamanga campground, a lovely birdy spot right on the Murrumbidgee. There is no cost other than a $6 booking fee, but please book early. There are no facilities there other than pit toilets and fireplaces. It has decent mobile reception.

Balranald is about 10 minutes away and has a number of motels for those who prefer not to camp (again, book early as it’s Easter and Balranald is a popular spot to break up the long drive between Sydney and Adelaide). Balranald is also a convenient spot for supplies and the Balranald Discovery Centre features the luxury of free showers.

Locations that we’ll explore include:

– Yanga Homestead

– Yanga Lake (with a short walking track and bird hide)

– Yanga Woolshed (yes, there are a lot of things called Yanga there)

– two nature trails in Balranald

– some locations on the Murray River which is less than an hour away

– any other good sites that people can recommend

I’ll be aiming to get there on Thursday evening. We’ll do local trips Friday-Sunday and head off on Monday. We’ll do a group dinner one night in Balranald.

For those wanting more information about birds and birding locations in the region, Ted and Alex Wnorowski’s ‘Australian Good Birding Guide: NSW-ACT’ has good coverage. There’s also birding information in this guide put out by the local tourism board:

https://www.discoverbalranald.com/nature-wildlife#:~:text=A%20large%20number%20of%20migratory%20birds%20rely,as%20a%20resting%2C%20foraging%20and%20breeding%20ground

Unfortunately, Yanga is quite a drive away from Canberra — around 650km, or a good seven hours, so please factor that into your travel plans. You might want to break up your trip with a visit to the excellent Fivebough wetlands at Leeton.

There are possibilities for self-organised extensions to the COG trip if you have more time available: Yanga is less than two hours’ drive from Mungo National Park and (in a different direction) the birding hotspot of Hattah-Kulkyne NP in Victoria (featuring Mallee Emu-wrens and Regent Parrots). Those with a few more days could even head north to Menindee Lakes, Broken Hill and the amazing Mutawintji National Park in outback western NSW. If you are thinking about follow-on trips and are looking for people to travel with, I’m happy to share details with other participants.

If you are interested in attending, please contact me on pickelbarrel@gmail.com with you name, mobile number and the name and mobile number of an emergency contact.