RETURN TO DIARY

Well I found another small gold nugget bringing the grand total to 2 for Tarnagulla. Some of the detectorists are quite friendly, which is very nice, and makes for a pleasant time. I have a leaking shock absorber on the caravan so I have ordered a new set of two from Bendigo which we picked up on the way out.

We headed to Echuca to set up camp on the river at Braunds Bend with 40,000 other campers to watch the Southern 80 Ski Race. 3 days of racing with the main event covering 40kms from Torrumbarry Weir to finish at Echuca.

BULLDUST!!! The tracks along the river where most of the camping is done is made of dry river mud and when cars travel along the tracks the dust rises. When HUNDREDS of cars travel on them the track turns to rivers of dust up to a foot deep. All the campers vehicles and tents were covered with dust, some cars were so covered you couldn't see the colour of the car. After we left I had to clean my solar panels and got an extra 2 amps out of them.

All the boats towed two skiers and the V8 boats exceeded 100 Miles Per Hour! As in any motor race the noise from the boats were awesome. The river was closed during the races so no houseboats were sighted until after the events. The 40km event was covered in just 20 minutes by the leading boats who hardly slowed down for the numerous bends in the river. Spectators lazed in the water, on tree trunks or just watched from the banks like us. Our awning finished a metre from the edge of the river bank. It was quite impressive but I think we will leave it to the enthusiasts next time. The campers beside us raged all night every night and went to bed as the sun came up. Pity I had to run the generator to charge the batteries first thing in the morning!!

Most of the Murray River is a reserve with free camping available at the end of every river access road. A delight for us bush campers. We found many spots with sandy beaches and open sunny areas.

After leaving we continued up the Murray River looking for another suitable camp site. Christies and Betties Beach did not have enough sun for us so we carried on to Barmah State Forest. Later on we found out that the forest was only reopened in late December as it had been purposefully flooded to water the trees. The river is now only a foot below the surrounding grounds. Further down river the water was usually over 3 metres below the ground level. The camp spots are beautiful and we will come back here again to spend a few weeks in the forest, it will become one of our favorite spots. The NSW side equivalent is Picnic Point which has 3 caravan parks along this stretch of river. Hut Lake was a picture with wild horses, a few cows and lots of birds including black swans.

We continued following the river and followed one track up onto a levee bank which we followed for 4 kms. Sandy wasn't impressed as there was no way we could get off it as it was about 2.5m high on both sides and only just wide enough for the car and caravan. I don't know what we would have done if it was somehow blocked.

We ended up camped at Ulupna Beach in the Ulupna Island Reserve where Sandy found these two Koalas on her afternoon walk. If you look closely you can just see the babies chin.

Moved on to Cobram but found the fruit pickers had taken over the river camping so ended up camping at Bourkes Bend. Here I replaced all the bearings on the caravan and repacked the bearings on the car. Swimming was good from the sandy beach but the river is now flowing quite fast and is getting a bit cool.

Yarrawonga and Lake Mulwala, then other smaller towns, Rutherglen and finally stopping at Police Paddocks on the Murray again. I finally caught two Murray Cods just as were ending our river trip. Unfortunately both were a tad undersize at 40cm so they swim free for another day.

Wodonga, Lake Hume and Tallangatta where we camped the night before hugging the lake around the east side looking at the views of long dead redgums in green pastures surrounded by the drier pastures of the hills.

This shot of Lake Hume is taken near the town site Old Tallangatta which had to be moved in the 50's before Lake Hume flooded the area after the dam was built.

Bellbridge, Bethanga, Talgarno and finally camping the night at Burrowye Reserve on the Murray west of Walwa. No shrimp in the river and using plastic lures didn't attract any fish to my line. That finishes our fishing on the Murray. Total of 1 Yellow Belly! Were either not good fisherpersons or "There's no fish in the Murray!"

Leaving the Murray at Corryong we visited the Murray 1 Snowy Hydro Station for a quick tour before travelling on and up into the Kosciuszko National Park. We camped at Clover Flats before climbing higher, mostly in first gear then down again to Tumut Ponds Dam.

Tumut Ponds Dam

Cabramurra

We climbed up to Australia's highest town at 1488m, Cabramurra, but it turned out to be more like a ski lodge than a town. We topped out at 1610m on the way over the ranges and then into first gear again going down the other side. Near Cooma we ascended Mount Gladstone Lookout but the poor Nissan couldn't make it up in first gear so engaging low range we made it to the top for views over the town.

On the last day of the month we dropped into the Bega Cheese Factory for some tasting, filled up with petrol and arrived on the east coast at Tathra where we are now camped.

Not sure about camping for the the next month or two as no generators are allowed in the National Parks. We may have to stay in caravan parks if the skies become cloudy. We'll see. This park at Tathra is only $16 a night but other parks up the coast have prices of up to $50 a night. A bit of a shock after 3 months of free camping in Reserves on over 2000 kms of Murray River from Murray Bridge in SA to Corryong in NSW.

See you next month

Peter and Sandy