The End is Nigh

Only 3 nights left until we hit the big smoke of Melbourne. Luckily the weather has improved and it's time to leave the Murray and head south. We traveled about a hundred kilometers and found a free camp on a large lake called Green Lake which had large grassy sites right on the banks of the lake. We decided we wanted to be as close to the lake as we could get so we got out of the ute, checked which spot we wanted and made sure it was dry after all the rain that had fallen. Sure enough it looked fantastic. We drove around to put the caravan door on the right side and buggar me dead we get bogged! It was only dry on the surface with thick slippery mud underneath. An hour later after using a plank of wood and some straps we finally get free. Plus unbelievably with very little swearing on Steves part which made it even more scary!   

Makes for good photos though and now we know we can get out of sticky situations on our own.

We cleaned up and set up a little further from lakeside but still great for a few days of relaxation.

This was our view. Day and night both beautiful.

We even woke at dawn to watch the sunrise. Very unusual for us as we really have taken to the retirement lifestyle!

                               Here's my man doing a mans job making me coffee while I lay in bed. Don't ya love it?

 We went for a drive around the local region as we usually do and came across this fence lined with dead foxes! What the?

Without realizing it our holiday only had a couple of days left. We had a one night stopover at, of all places, a Scout Retreat that has now been open to caravans. For only $20 a night for power and water and less than an hour from Melbourne it was all good.
We dropped off our caravan for some warranty problems and continued into Melbourne to stay at a hotel in Carlton just around the corner from the famous Lygon street. Famous as a great restaurant strip but infamous for street shootings!We had a great night meeting up with one of my oldest and dearest mates Annie and going to a show from the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the night was filled with laughter and reminiscing and finished off with a delicious Italian feed.
Disappointment hit next morning when we found out our caravan wouldn't be ready until next month as some idiot forgot to order the splashback they were supposed to replace. Oh well this is the end of our adventure we decided to drive home and pick up the caravan next month. Hear ends my blog until we travel again. Thanks for sharing the ride!

Back to the 1880's

 We spent 2 very wet days at Swan Hill which is another large town on the Murray River. Victoria's regional towns are so much better looking then their NSW counterparts. The historical buildings have been so well cared for and the respect for their forefathers is shown everywhere but no where more than at The Pioneer Settlement. This is the best attraction of this type I've ever seen, we had to go back the next day to see it all.

 It's a whole replica village, established in 1963,and whoever decided to save all these buildings, machines, furniture and all these things so that we can now experience how life was for the settlers in the 1800s was an absolute visionary. Everything here was bought in from within 100kms they are not reproductions. You would swear you have been transported back  nearly 200 years! We made our own butter and ate it on lovely warm bread. You can ride around the village in a vintage car or go by horse and carriage plus travel down the river in a paddle steamer. So much to see and do. I think I sound like an advertisement but it was brillant!

Just check out the photos and you'll see what I mean

The dispensary was full of all the things the chemist would have used in the 1880's

This is Black Bess get a load of it's size!!

A travelling school for kids in remote areas.

Pine Point School

Plenty of houses all fully furnished.

You could just move straight in, everything you need is here.

There's even Australia's first caravan!

Note the front fence is made of Malley Roots.

This is a wooden bath. Who's ever heard of a wooden bath?

An original pub. Outside and in.

                                               There's even a church and a humpy!

If you're ever in this region this is a must!

Following the Mighty Murray River

Over the past week or so we've been following the Murray River. This river is so iconic to us Aussies it's like the Mississippi is to the Americans. We've loved every minute. I have taken so many photos as it changes under different light,weather conditions and parts of the river. The river gums and the muddy water, it's just sooo Aussie!! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Our first stop was a beautiful bush camp right on the banks and once again we had this magnificent place to  ourselves. We were about 5 kms out of Berri and just near a punt which we took our bikes on to the other side for a bit of exploration. It was great other than when we got back we had 4 flat tyres! Our tyres were covered in sharp thorns, what the locals call 3 corner jacks. Other than this little mishap we had the greatest time with perfect weather, BBQ's, camp fires loud music and good wine from the Barossa. I even had the chance to go to the hairdressers while Steve fixed the tyres.

Every time I looked at the other side of the river it looked just like a painting.

Further on the Murray goes through these beautiful red cliffs. I could never get a perfect picture but it must be an amazing site from a boat.

Our next stop, just for a few hours of biking, was Renmark. Such a pretty place with heaps of beautiful large house boats.




Plus some mad eccentric man called The Chookman who lives in a bizaare old barge and they've made a movie about him. Check out this boat, only a bachelor could live on it, talk about filthy. He's even got a chook on board!

                    

Can you believe this???

The next few nights we spent in Mildura with plenty of site seeing during the day. We just had to see where Australia's two greatest rivers meet The Darling and The Murray. The Darling starts up in Queensland and meanders through 2 states to reach the Murray in Victoria 

 The Darling is the left fork and the Murray the right fork

 How different does the landscape look here 

 And how about this change : This is the Perry Sand Hills only 5 ks out of Mildura and they cover 10 hectares and date back to the Ice Age 40,000 years ago.

I cheated with this photo, I cut and pasted but isn't it magnificent!

Smally lost and dying in the Perry Sandhills!! Luckily I came across him in time and showed him the way back to the ute. Hhahahah.

On another expedition we went to The Wentworth Gaol which was built in 1879 and is still in amazing condition. The prisoners certainly did it rough. Just a mat on the ground and a bucket in the corner. Boiling hot in Summer and freezing in winter.

I thought about leaving him here. Just for a minute!

 Here's a recipe for the grog they used to drink in the 1800's. In case you can't read it :
The Knocker
1/2 pint of Metho
1/2 cup cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Indian Opium
2 gallons of Rum
1 gallon of hot water

Stir and leave for 24 hours.  OMG! I think I;ll give this one a miss.

In between Renmark and Mildura we spent 2 days at Swan Hill which is where this Giant Murray Cod is. There we went to the Pioneer Settlement which was so amazing I have to give it it's own blog. I'll post that soon as I can.