Tocumwal and Cobram

We are now going to be meeting up with my brother Col and Beth next weekend in Yarrawonga, so instead of driving the loop through Benalla to Cobram today as initially planned, we retraced our steps and that gave me the chance to photograph these iconic RMB (roadside mail boxes) that we flew past last time.  

Well we have fallen on our feet here in Tocumwal. Jim and Joan booked an Airbnb with room for the 2 caravans as well. We all shared a relaxed afternoon and then terrific first night eating curry and sitting around the firepit as the moon rose through the sparse cloud cover. Nothing quite like a fire is there? Bit of competition between us as to who had the stoking rights though. 

Unfortunately the Victorian contingent all left the next morning and apparently the interstate golf scores at this point in time sit at all square, despite (or perhaps as a result of) Jim's creative scoring methods. The NT team took on NSW this morning on the President's 18 and guess what, its still all square. Eric won the longest drive and I won the most bunkers (again). Joan won the most consistently down the middle and Jim won the best escape from a boundary fence. We shared the round with a koala and some recorded bird calls which I am still trying to find the purpose of, I suspect they are to deter magpies swooping the putters on the 12th green. 

There was light drizzle as we finished the last few holes and so we didn't rush home but walked under the verandas of the lovely old buildings in the main street of Tocumwal. When we first returned from Butterworth Eric had a position at Strathmerton Primary. We bought a house in Cobram and he initially stayed here with his brother Kenny, who owned a motel. Adrian and I went to help out my sister Jude in Warnambool who had just had her knee operation and had 2 kids to get to and from school or kinder each day. Then we rented a house here in Tocumwal until settlement on our new home in April. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon catching up on communication with family, listening to music, I did some knitting and Eric cooked a dish to supplement the left-over curries on our dinner menu.  

We were very disappointed to learn that Peter Scarrott's mum isn't well and he now wont be arriving tomorrow as planned. We are hopeful he might be able to join us in Echuca. 

We woke to a fine morning but chilly wind. After dawdling over one of Jim's delicious cooked breakfasts we were still reluctant to brave the outdoors, so instead we rugged up and drove over to Cobram for the nostalgic tour. While all the shops are still operating and there has been quite a lot of new development on the outskirts, it was disappointing to see a shabbiness about the place. Our tour took us out along Pullar Rd, past our home for 12 years. It lies about 2kms out of town next door to a fruit packing shed and surrounded by stone fruit orchards. The block was almost a hectare, half we fenced off for the goat and the horse, the front was our house yard and a mixed orchard. The house was clad in ripple iron also known as mini orb; picture corrugated iron on miniature scale. I will never forget the look of horror on Dad's face when I told him, he had warned us never to buy a building made of cement sheet. I guess he never thought corrugated iron would be a consideration. We were very happy there, sheltered from the hot summer by huge walnut trees (since removed) and warmed in the winter by a potbelly stove fed with local red gum and grey box. 

The house is much more exposed now and much is changed but essentially still the same.

We spent endless hours enjoying the river, accessing it through the Cobram Regional Park which protects a wide stretch of river frontage, just at the bottom of our road. Each summer we camped at Quick's No.2, one of the many sandy beaches on the bends in the river. We were joined by our present company and a number of other families from Butterworth, as we had just returned from there. Luke was 2 weeks old when we first camped at Quick's, all be it with access to a flush toilet and hot shower 4kms away. I often had others offering to take a break with the two of us. So many terrific memories over the years as we watched the little kids grow and become brave enough to swim across the river and sit on 'the log' under the guidance of the older ones. I'm sure the adults were doing something responsible at the time. 

There has been one very impressive improvement on the shore since we were last here; someone has thoughtfully constructed a permanent bar. We carted a cane one down from home, a legacy of Butterworth days, along with the defunct freezer rescued from the tip and the thunder box. 

In those days the opposite bank downstream was home to an orchard but that has been cleared and some magnificent homes now overlook 'our' beach. We had considered bringing our van in here on this trip but in retrospect it was a good thing we didn't try, the road starts out looking very well maintained but disintegrates as you get closer to the river. 

We called in at the Cobram Barooga Golf Club and booked a round for tomorrow on the West Course. The weather is expected to be much warmer and that will be another trip down memory lane. Before returning to Tocumwal we called in on Jenni and Wayne. Jenni was the Principal at Cobram Consolidated when Eric was teaching there in the 90's. She was also at RAAF School but before us but at the Penang site. Coincidentally, she lived in the house at Jalan Cheah Phee Cheok (commonly known as Chippy Choc) that Joan and Jim moved into in their first year there, before they then moved to the mainland. Jen is having a birthday party on Saturday night and we have all been invited.

Fri 18th Oct
A much brighter morning greeted us and we made a fairly hasty departure by our standards to be ready to tee off in Cobram. Today the girls took on the boys. They even coordinated their outfits. It's a shame the boys didn't make the same effort because we lead from the first hole and they didn't catch us all day. Winners are grinners😁😁😁😁😁. Even the kookaburras were laughing.

I'm not allowed to say any more about the golf apparently. When we got home I thought it would be a good idea to do a quick load of washing while the sun was shining and the wind light. Unfortunately I chose the Eco Cotton cycle on the front loading machine thinking it would be pretty quick, but it took over 2 and a half hours so I was lucky to get it on the line before dark. Who'd have thought?  Meanwhile Jim prepared dinner and Eric gave him a hand. The girls enjoyed sipping on the winnings of the day; a bottle of sparkling shiraz.

We have been intrigued by the family of superb fairy wrens that call our garden home. One of the males is particularly keen to watch his reflection in the rear view mirrors of both our cars.










Next morning I had a hair appointment and was a little early so took the opportunity to capture some of the massive mural on the front of the IGA.

Then  Joan and I spent our last day at Tocumwal finishing up knitting projects while Eric and Jim monitored the weather and moved the washing accordingly. Then we went for a drive to Strathmerton and called in to Cactus Country which was established by an ex teacher we knew when Eric taught there. What amazing growth and expansion they have made over 12 hectares in the last 30 years. Julie and her husband Jim now have more than 4,000 species of cacti and succulents from around the globe. Next weekend they are hosting the 'Day of the Dead Festival', a traditional Mexican holiday to honour the dead. Its their biggest event of the year and already sold out. 

In the afternoon we went to explore the Blowhole and The Rocks as these are signposted just near our turn-off to our abode. We found them just a few kms down the road. Surrounded by flat arable land, for as far as the eye can see, The Blowhole is situated in a granite outcrop that rises up to break the monotony, yet just a minor bump on the horizon. This area is known as Tocumwal Rocks. The hole is an amazingly symmetrical depression in the rock, believed to be 15m deep and perhaps connected to another much deeper underground chamber that in turn is linked to the Murray River. While it doesn't gush water like the coastal ones, this one is said to be sacred to the Ulupna and Bangaragn Aboriginal Tribes and when the Murray River is low, the Blowhole flows and bubbles as if it has come alive. Nearby were more rocks and depressions which would also hold water over long periods of dry weather. 

In the evening we celebrated Jenni's birthday at their home in Barooga, beside the golf course, and enjoyed catching up with lots of friends and acquaintances we haven't seen in years.