4th November
While it is not officially a long weekend there are many people who must have taken an RDO or other leave today to make it a 4 day break with Melbourne Cup tomorrow. We took about 2 hours to get to Robinvale where I had found a likely bush camp site on the banks of the Murray down Pump Rd. Problem was we drove down Pump Road until we found a 'No Entry, Authorized Vehicles Only' sign. The turn to the right was closed due to a bridge under repair. With limited room to turn we made the silly mistake of driving ahead to the gates thinking we would have turning room. Wrong! That meant a long back up and then turning in the limited area anyway. Talk about compounding a mistake! Get out and walk it next time. Discouraging us from doing that was the heavy rain we had just driven through and the threat of more approaching. To say the skies were inclement would be an understatement.
On a happier note we haved moved on to the letter H in music titles.
In town we found a couple of sites at the Robinvale Riverside Caravan Park which is a lovely setting, tucked close to the bridge and obviously very popular with skiiers and fishing enthusiasts. The first ones to book-in get absolute waterfront positions.
Once again the variable bark on the eucalypt trees interests me.
Looming high above us at over 18m and with a wheel greater than 9m in circumference, is the largest Southern Cross windmill in the Southern Hemisphere. It was erected in 1948 to supply Robinvale with water. Just as we were thinking about dinner, so were the local ducks who seemed to know I would be a soft touch and Eric would be happy to go without toast for breakfast in the morning. Jenni cooked up a great pot of spaghetti bolognaise to warm us up, a chilly night ahead.
Tuesday 5th Nov
Good luck to all our friends who had money on the horses today, none of us could name even one horse in the race until I read the morning Age and noticed that Koondrook and Bahram (which we visited recently) have Finch as their community sweep and are hoping to use the winnings to improve the local health facility. Sounds good, so we backed that too at the Robinvale Golf Club after 9 holes. It was a lovely walk with the fairways carved through natural mallee bush. This meant lots of trees though, so straight driving was required and accurate approach shots to small greens. Neither being my forte, I found it a struggle but enough good shots towards the end to encourage another go. Jen's game also improved as she played.
We had lunch at the golf club then drove to Mildura. Everyone had agreed to aim for sites at Kings Billabong Nature Reserve. The signage wasn't good, there is supposed to be a camp just 1km off the main road but we couldn't find it. We were keen to get that absolute waterfront site so we drove on, over road that was marred by recent rain but not too bad. Eventually we set up at Psyche Pump Station at a tremendous spot, and yes, we have the waterfront view.
No luck for us at the races. Our late afternoon was only occasionally interrupted by speedboats and jet skis and we're hopeful that after the public holiday today, they will all pack up and go home. Glenn cooked up a stir fry for dinner as we watched the sun go down and lit the fire. Thank goodness restrictions have been lifted after that recent rain.
Wednesday 6th Nov
We were roused from our slumber by the butcherbirds, then a chorus of others joined in. There's nothing sweeter. The morning light is soft and it is not too chilly. The sky is promising another clear and sunny day.
Ugh! How far wrong can you be? Mid-morning we went to town so I could visit a tech shop. Google Play Store on my phone hasn't been loading or updating for some time and I couldn't fix it. While I got that sorted Eric did the grocery shopping and by the time we returned to our site the wind was gusty an the sky was becoming pink with dust. My planned bike ride was abandoned as the conditions deteriorated.
I spent most of the afternoon inside the van reading and playing guitar. I can't remember ever experiencing anything like this before and the forecast for tomorrow is increasing wind again. By the time we shared dinner Glenn and Jenni had decided they will move on tomorrow unless the weather is better, as the dust is triggering Jen's asthma. We will persist for at least one more day as we are catching up with a long lost friend from Cobram days in the afternoon.
Thurs 7th Nov
Woke to a clear morning so all agreed on a game at Coomealla. Another beautiful course right on the banks of the Murray with undulating fairways and challenging greens, all bunkered of course. Love the fact that because these are on the river they are not hilly. We saw many native birds and some kangaroos enjoying the natural bush setting just as we were. Someone has been very creative by the 8th green. There is a green door painted in the scar of a tree, complete with handle and house number.At the doorstep are a number of toadstools. Eric spent far too much time in the trees today and I found the bunkers as usual.
Back in town we caught up with Greg Penny. When he, and his then wife Adrienne, lived in Cobram, they were our best friends and we spent a lot of time in each others' homes. Adrienne and I were both secondary PE teachers but home with our young children at the time. Greg was a builder and generously shared his tools and time on many weekends to help Eric cart wood out of the forest, repair our broken furniture or put a new top on our table. We so enjoyed their company and missed them dearly when they moved to Noosa in 1993. Greg is now living in the town where he grew up, for the time being helping his elderly parents stay in their own home. Still a handsome, generous man there has been lots of water under the bridge over all those years but it was like they were never missed. We hope it is not so long between reunions next time.
Fri 8th Nov
Well Mildura managed to throw the lot at us: from dust storms to overnight rain. There had been much discussion in the camp last night about the pros and cons of moving on and possible target locations and with the arrival of morning we were packing up once more. We are keen to get our load across the dirt track before it gets too slippery.
While it is not officially a long weekend there are many people who must have taken an RDO or other leave today to make it a 4 day break with Melbourne Cup tomorrow. We took about 2 hours to get to Robinvale where I had found a likely bush camp site on the banks of the Murray down Pump Rd. Problem was we drove down Pump Road until we found a 'No Entry, Authorized Vehicles Only' sign. The turn to the right was closed due to a bridge under repair. With limited room to turn we made the silly mistake of driving ahead to the gates thinking we would have turning room. Wrong! That meant a long back up and then turning in the limited area anyway. Talk about compounding a mistake! Get out and walk it next time. Discouraging us from doing that was the heavy rain we had just driven through and the threat of more approaching. To say the skies were inclement would be an understatement.
On a happier note we haved moved on to the letter H in music titles.
In town we found a couple of sites at the Robinvale Riverside Caravan Park which is a lovely setting, tucked close to the bridge and obviously very popular with skiiers and fishing enthusiasts. The first ones to book-in get absolute waterfront positions.
Tuesday 5th Nov
Good luck to all our friends who had money on the horses today, none of us could name even one horse in the race until I read the morning Age and noticed that Koondrook and Bahram (which we visited recently) have Finch as their community sweep and are hoping to use the winnings to improve the local health facility. Sounds good, so we backed that too at the Robinvale Golf Club after 9 holes. It was a lovely walk with the fairways carved through natural mallee bush. This meant lots of trees though, so straight driving was required and accurate approach shots to small greens. Neither being my forte, I found it a struggle but enough good shots towards the end to encourage another go. Jen's game also improved as she played.
We had lunch at the golf club then drove to Mildura. Everyone had agreed to aim for sites at Kings Billabong Nature Reserve. The signage wasn't good, there is supposed to be a camp just 1km off the main road but we couldn't find it. We were keen to get that absolute waterfront site so we drove on, over road that was marred by recent rain but not too bad. Eventually we set up at Psyche Pump Station at a tremendous spot, and yes, we have the waterfront view.
No luck for us at the races. Our late afternoon was only occasionally interrupted by speedboats and jet skis and we're hopeful that after the public holiday today, they will all pack up and go home. Glenn cooked up a stir fry for dinner as we watched the sun go down and lit the fire. Thank goodness restrictions have been lifted after that recent rain.
Wednesday 6th Nov
We were roused from our slumber by the butcherbirds, then a chorus of others joined in. There's nothing sweeter. The morning light is soft and it is not too chilly. The sky is promising another clear and sunny day.
I spent most of the afternoon inside the van reading and playing guitar. I can't remember ever experiencing anything like this before and the forecast for tomorrow is increasing wind again. By the time we shared dinner Glenn and Jenni had decided they will move on tomorrow unless the weather is better, as the dust is triggering Jen's asthma. We will persist for at least one more day as we are catching up with a long lost friend from Cobram days in the afternoon.
Thurs 7th Nov
Woke to a clear morning so all agreed on a game at Coomealla. Another beautiful course right on the banks of the Murray with undulating fairways and challenging greens, all bunkered of course. Love the fact that because these are on the river they are not hilly. We saw many native birds and some kangaroos enjoying the natural bush setting just as we were. Someone has been very creative by the 8th green. There is a green door painted in the scar of a tree, complete with handle and house number.At the doorstep are a number of toadstools. Eric spent far too much time in the trees today and I found the bunkers as usual.
Fri 8th Nov
Well Mildura managed to throw the lot at us: from dust storms to overnight rain. There had been much discussion in the camp last night about the pros and cons of moving on and possible target locations and with the arrival of morning we were packing up once more. We are keen to get our load across the dirt track before it gets too slippery.
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