Mungo National Park is a 10hr 30min drive from Sydney, 6hr 30min drive from Melbourne and slightly over six hours’ drive from Adelaide. Mildura, the closest airport to Mungo has direct flights to Sydney and Melbourne, and is a 1hr 30min drive from Mungo National Park via an unsealed road.
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Mungo National Park is one of the world's most significant archeological finds. This UNESCO World Heritage-listed site depicts a lunar-like landscape comprised of dried-up lake bed and sand dunes. This is where the remains of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man were discovered, that were thought to be roughly 40,000 years old, which make this the oldest known site of human occupation in the southern hemisphere!
This itinerary explains everything you need to know to visit this natural wonder. This post assumes that you reach Mungo in the afternoon/evening the day before if you're on a long drive, stay overnight in Mungo and explore the park the next morning. On the other hand, you can also stay in Mildura the previous night and start early in the morning to reach Mungo around 9AM to efficiently use the daytime to explore the park.
A note about Mungo roads: The roads to and in Mungo are unsealed and may be badly corrugated depending on when they were last graded. There are NO fuel or service stations within the national park so make sure that you fill up before heading to the national park and carry a portable air compressor with a built-in tire pressure monitor, a car emergency kit, and a tire puncture kit so you can manage in an emergency. Also, carry surplus water with you.
If you're planning to stay overnight in the park, you have the following options:
- Stay in unique heritage bunkroom accommodation at Mungo Shearers’ Quarters. Information about the facilities and booking is available in NSW National Parks' website.
- If you prefer campgrounds instead, there are two of them: (1) Main campground and (2) Belah campground. Information on the campgrounds and booking is available in NSW National Parks' website.
- Lastly, if comfort is your preference, Mungo Lodge is the perfect option for your stay in the park, where you can choose from either cabin and glamping options. Mungo Lodge also has a Café that serves scrumptious country meals.
Read our post below to learn about our unique experiences while travelling to Mungo.
Out & about in the NSW outback
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Now, to our itinerary! We reached Mungo the previous night and stayed in Mungo Lodge.
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Mungo Lodge offers both self-contained deluxe cabins as well as dormitory style budget cabins. The dormitory style budget cabins come with a shared amenities block, a kitchen and an undercover bbq area that the self catering travellers can utilise. The lodge also offers glamping opportunities, if you're interested in one.
After breakfast, we headed to Mungo Lookout to enjoy the desert views across the famous and historic Walls of China formation. I should say, the views were truly spectacular! While it’s been 14,000 years since water dried up at Lake Mungo, the long array of white sand dunes, known as the Walls of China, that once surrounded it is an amazing sight not to be missed!
We then headed to Zanci Woolshed, to commence our Mungo self-guided drive tour, also known as Mungo Loop Track.
Mungo Loop Track, a 70km 2-hour self-guided drive tour is a great introduction to the awe-inspiring desert landscape of Mongo National Park and should not be missed. The following are the key stops of the tour:
On the day of our visit, the road beyond Red Top Lookout was closed so we couldn't explore stops 3 through 5 unfortunately!
- Walls of China viewing platform and boardwalk
- Red Top Lookout and boardwalk
- Rosewood Picnic Area
- Mallee Stop Walking Track
- Round Tank picnic area and Vigars Well picnic area
On the day of our visit, the road beyond Red Top Lookout was closed so we couldn't explore stops 3 through 5 unfortunately!
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We then headed to Mungo Visitor Centre from Red Top Lookout and spent some time in the visitor centre.
We then headed back to our hotel for lunch and rested for the afternoon. Mungo Lodge incorporates a restaurant that offers a relaxed eating atmosphere for that country dining experience. I should say that the food was so delicious! The lodge reception has a gift shop for that souvenir of your visit and the dining area has a pool table as well, that you can utilise during rest breaks. The lodge also has a few emus that you can feed, which the kids enjoyed much!
It was then time to set out for the Mungo sunset tour. Sunset tours are provided by both Mungo Lodge and Outback Geo Adventures; as we stayed in Mungo Lodge, we had pre-booked our sunset tour with them, which was quite handy. We boarded the tour van at 7PM and reached the Walls of China viewing platform at around 7:20PM.
What we saw for the next 2 hours was pure magic! The top of the Walls of China, a restricted area of the park, is where you’ll reach with your guide for the perfect sunset shot with stunning 360° views of the lake and the lunettes. This restricted area of the park can be accessed only via guided tours. The sunset was one of the best and cannot be described in words!
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We were then dropped back at our hotel at the end of the tour and we went to bed after dinner with ineffable joy!
Here’re few more exciting things to do in the park, if you have got more time:
- Explore the park under a full moon with the Mungo Full Moon Tour from Outback Geo Adventures.
- Fully appreciate the size and amazing landscape of Lake Mungo from the air with Mungo Scenic Flights.
- Take the Mungo walk the Walls of China tour, guided by an NPWS Aboriginal ranger.
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