The Joy is in the Journey

Friday 8th November After stopping in at a caravan place in Mildura to pick up some supports for our awning we were on the road to Loxton. These supports will stop rain pooling on it and stop it flapping so much in the wind. Once again it's windy and unfortunately we are driving straight into it so it is going to cost us in fuel consumption.  But that wasn't the main concern; as we proceeded out of town a dust storm swamped us and we were forced to slow right down. At some points we were only able to see about 10 dotted white lines ahead and cars or trucks coming in the opposite direction were suddenly upon us before we had hardly even seen their lights. Gusts of wind up to 40 km/h were driving drifts of topsoil across the road and you can imagine what a struggle Eric had to keep the van travelling straight. The planned comfort stop at the Cullulleraine local store was almost skipped because the conditions were so bad, but on the other hand it was a chance to check on the se...

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...

This morning we got confirmation that Jenni and Glenn are on their way to meet us. We followed the Murray Valley Hwy through Kerang township and on through the Kerang Lakes District which comprises a series of 22 lakes and swamps including Lake Charm, Lake Boga and Kangaroo Lake. The wetlands support large numbers of birds and again is recognised as an important Ramsar convention site. Some facts you may not know.....Kangaroo Lake is the birthplace of John Gorton and Burke and Wills passed through the area, crossing the Murray at Swan Hill, on their ill-fated journey in 1860. We didn't stop as it was hot, windy and the glare of the sun off the water would make birding difficult.  Arriving in Swan Hill we crossed the Little Murray, also known as Marraboor River onto Pental Island. Some people take cruises to islands, we drive to them it seems. We knew of this Holiday Park as we stayed here with the Cobram Junior Soccer Club for the 1997 Vic Country Championships. The camp is ...

Driving towards Cohuna we stopped off at Gunbower to see the mural on the local hotel. Again this was completed by Jimmy Dvate, like the ones in Goorumbat and Rochester. It is a beautiful scene of waterbirds of the area.  Gunbower Island is the largest of Australia’s inland islands at over 45 kms long covering 26,400 ha. It sits beyond Gunbower Creek, which branches off here and then rejoins the Murray at Koondrook, hence forming the island. We are camped on the island in the shade of gum trees which line the edge of the practice fairway of Cohuna Golf Course, where Stuart Appleby first developed his swing. It is a lovely setting, we just walk across the first fairway which lies adjacent to the practice one, to the creek which is very pretty and this evening was alive with birds. Earlier in the day we called in at the local Sunday morning market to buy some fresh produce. It was held right in town beside the irrigation channel. On the other side of the channel wer...

22nd Oct The drive to Echuca was trouble-free and we reminisced about the many times we drove the same stretch as far as the Kyabram turnoff when we went to either Maryborough for Smith family occasions or to visit Bendigo. We also visited Echuca regularly as the port history, in particular, makes it a very picturesque town. There always seemed to be something on; the Jazz and Blues festival for instance.   Our caravan park is right on the banks of the Murray and we are backed onto the boundary fence so we have a fabulous outlook from the shade of the awning. The shade is important as the temperature is rising. Tomorrow is expected to reach 30 deg.  Over the next five days we saw plenty of birds here in the later afternoons and mornings. I'm going to list just the ones that we don't see in our Darwin environs. If you are not interested just skip to the next paragraph.  The list is comprised of: Aust. Magpie, Long-billed Corella, Little Corella, Superb Fairy-w...