Onward to Yarrawonga

7/10/10
Today was a public holiday today for SA Labour Day, and the first day of Daylight Saving. We drove out of the fertile valley, through arid plains until finally we arrived in the Riverland Area of SA. Barmera is home to the Overland Corner Hotel, first established in 1859 and popular with sheep drovers moving stock from NSW into SA. Barmera lies north of that Goyder line I mentioned in an earlier post, but because irrigation has been available it is a highly productive agriculture and viticulture area. They are selling 4 butternut pumpkins for $6 on the side of the road but I just can’t think of a way 2 people can eat that many. We have a site right on the banks of Lake Bonney, a popular spot for water enthusiasts apparently. 

There are plenty of other people here and all manner of watercraft. I had no idea there were that many things you could tow behind a boat! When we lived upstream from here in Cobram we were very happy with an opportunity to jump on a pair of skis or a donut when friends provided the boat, but these days there are so many variations on the kneeboards and inflatables. We restocked the pantry, took a drive around the district, then Eric cooked a delicious stew while I did the laundry and went walking. The sunset was delightful. 

8/10/19
Leaving the Riverland we crossed the border into Victoria and entered the mallee, famous for its sunny skies and wide open spaces covered with little more than Mallee trees, the multi-stemmed eucalypts with the roots that produce the best heat in a fire. As a student in Ballarat I shared a house with 2 girls from Mildura and each time they drove home their dads would send them back with a boot-load of mallee roots. You needed them to survive the winter in Ballarat! 
Today we drove past Lake Cullulleraine and remembered that in the early '90s we camped there over New Year with Cobram friends, Greg and Adrienne Penny and all the little kids. It was fun as they held traditional games like the gumboot toss and tug of war, so there was lots to see and do, but mostly we remember that the temperature was an extreme 43deg. Today as we passed through the area we were stunned by the effects of the drought, much of the arable land is bare topsoil and now and that is being blown about by the wind. We saw a number of emu and I was distressed to see one pair separated by a fence. Not far ahead though, the fence was buried by shifting sand, so at least it would provide a positive outcome for them, not the farmer however. 

In Mildura we called Greg, as he has moved back here to the town where he grew up, and now we are looking forward to catching up when we return in a few weeks. 
We crossed the Murray River into NSW and entered the Sunraysia district as we followed the river upstream to Lake Benanee, just beyond Euston, for the night. 

We camped on the edge of the lake and enjoyed the birds; our first sighting of both crimson and white fronted chats among others. They were so close to us in the bluebush by the side of the main road. 








9/10/19
We headed to Deniliquin and the road was straight. And flat. And straight. It wasn’t a long drive but we were pleased to arrive, on the Edward River, a nearly 400km anabranch that connects with the mighty Murray. What a pity we missed the Deni Ute Muster just last weekend, a celebration of all things Australian. We could have been at the Tim McGraw concert along with 20,000 other patrons all free camping on the flattest plains on earth! I know at least one of our good buddies who would have been happy to join us. 
Instead, we slipped out to the golf course for a quick few holes around the front nine. The weather was lovely, the wildlife fabulous and I was not going to let a game of golf spoil another good day. We shared the course with many of the locals including a pair of wood ducks and their 18 ducklings and a number of laughing kookaburras. This particyular bird has been immortalised on the local silos.

After a quick trip to the supermarket we then we took a stroll around the nearby Murray Valley Regional Park before getting dinner ready. Wildlife here is abundant. A few more new sightings. 

The most exciting news of all is that we have discovered our van has the capacity to plumb directly into tap water rather than filling the tank as required. We have been jealously watching other vans do this and wished we had the same capacity only to discover today that we do!  Never too late.

Fri 10/10/19
We both woke this morning with a good feeling about reaching the most easterly point of our journey. From here on we will be easing up the pace and not spending so much on fuel. Yesterday we were on the Cobb Highway and then today we drove the Riverina. These roads follow part of the great network of stock routes that became known as “The Long Paddock” – a historic web of trails linking stock-breeding areas of inland NSW and Queensland with growing markets in Victoria or as an option to carry on during drought when the seasons failed. Unlike the early drovers though, who traversed the plains of the Riverina on horseback, we now see them in their air-conditioned utes, probably listening to their favourite cds. 
Once we drove into Finlay things started to feel very familiar. We recalled how Spiderbait were a huge band in the early 90's and they went to school together here, this tiny little neck of the woods. Then we arrived in Tocumwal, the township on the river where we first stayed while waiting for the settlement on our new home in Cobram, having just returned from Malaysia. Over the Murray and we were back in Victoria, driving through Koonoomoo and on through Cobram to Yarrawonga, the blocks on either side filled with familiar looking orchards of stone fruit and dairy herds. Our home for the next 4 nights is Riverlands Caravan Park. Crisps are also due to arrive today and have a unit in Mulwala, the twin town on the NSW side of the river. On Saturday another couple from Melbourne, who were also at RAAF Sch Butterworth, will also be joining us. Eric had predicted that we would be on D before reaching here but we are still listening to tracks beginning with E.