The highlight of our stay was our tour of Mungo National Park, a short drive away from Mungo Lodge. The Mungo National Park lands sits on the junction of three nations – the Ngiyampaa, the Paakantji, and the Mutthi Mutthi.

It is the home of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady, human remains found in the area from the 1960’s and dated to be 42,000 years old. Footprints on the old muddy lakebed were also found, and dated to a similar period. Replicas of these footprints can be found outside of the visitor’s centre.

Back then, the area was a series of lakes fed by the Lachlan River. The climate was colder and snowfalls were more extensive on the Alps leading to more water flowing downstream. After the last ice-age, the climate became drier and warmer, and with a change in the course of the Lachlan River, the lakes were no longer fed. With erosion, the lake bed is now a flat sandy surface.

The area has a fascinating ancient history that really belies its seemingly unremarkable appearance.

More on the tour in the following post.