We have had fantastic weather at Menindee, so much so that the girls have enjoyed paddling around in the water and digging their own swimming pool.  We have been treated to wonderful sunsets from the comfort of our camp on the bank of Lake Pamameroo and enjoyed driving around to explore the Lakes systems here.

The bird life, although not as abundant as we thought it would be is still enough to delight the girls and Jasmine is driving us nuts with her excited YELL every time she sees an eagle circling the sky. It seems that the birdlife across much of the flooding lakes is not as abundant as people thought (or hoped) it would be. We think that this is due to the amount of flooding rivers and lakes across the country, the birds are not concentrated in one area for breeding rather have the chance to visit just about any Lake as the QLD floods make their way further south. 

The lakes are all full which is an amazing sight. Last time we were here only Lake Pamameroo had water in it however thanks to the flooding in the North the Weir has been opened and the water is filling Lake Menindee and Cawndilla Lake.  Lake Menindee is at roughly 75% full we were told and the water is still flowing in.  This is momentus as both these two lakes were dry on our last trip and Menindee Lake hasn't had water for around 10 years.  What we did feel sad about though was the dry state of the Darling River, still short of water.  We were told by other travellers that the water was supposed to have been released into the Darling at the Main Weir however we are not sure if it was but it was certainly the same as our last visit, if not lower.

We have enjoyed the great weather tremendously with mild nights so we didn't have to worry about Teddy getting cold.  Greg decided not to worry about the fridge and that the lake would chill his beers just as well so made a makeshift beer cooler.  He then thought that he would share the kids enjoyment of the water by enjoying his first beer in there - Now you have to admit it, it is good relaxation, even if he is a nut sometimes!

What we love most about Menindee and the Lakes systems is that thee is always plenty to explore.  Dirt tracks that are not too bad to drive take you to little nooks and inlets of the lakes that you can walk around and explore easily.  The view is always fantastic and you never know what you might find around the next bend.  Around one bend we encountered about 8 or 9 camels on the road staring at us with those big eyes, we saw (and thankfully this time missed hitting) many kangaroos on the roads and always got the chance to stop and chat with other campers along the lakes.

When we arived we got chatting with our neighbours who turned out to work at one of our favourite places in Australia - Adel's Grove in Lawn Hill National Park, North West Queensland.  We chatted with another couple from Queensland who stayed in Broken Hill but came out for the day to see the water.  There were campers all along the bank of Lake Pamameroo and they would always stop for a chat was they walked past, you never felt crowded in as you sometimes do at a caravan park yet there was still the good fun of interaction and chats with other people.  We had a great camp fire too!

As it was time to pack up we lost Teddy.  We had been so careful with him as we were camping so close to the water edge but in a split second he had dissappeared.  Thankfully we found him fast when there was a noise in the trailer we looked in to find Teddy munching on an orange - just out of arms reach!  He quickly headed down the back of the trailer behind the drawers where it was impossible to reach but was enticed back to his orange thankfully and eventually after a little coaxing, he came close enough for Greg to grab.  He thought he was very smart, the little monkey.  He had used our food box to climb up into the trailer. 

After a great few days we are heading out to Lake Mungo and looking forward to a change of scenery, and a SHOWER!