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Have had ongoing computer plus e-mail hassles. Lost my e-mail address book, so trying to get that updated again.
I note our last part of our travels as relayed to the group ended at Mannup on the lower part of the Murray. We
decided to follow the river as far as it was practical. There are a few bridges across the river, but lots of vehicular
ferry crossings. Due to past experiences with ferries and this vehicle .. the problem is approach and departure angles of
the ramps often causes the tow bar to dig in. This is compounded with the trailer as part of the towing frame even lower.
So the trip was planned with this in mind.
Stayed 5 days at that great spot at Mannup .. travelled to the other side without the trailer .. needed water and
gas. There are 2 ferries operating side by side. Coming back, the tow bar just touched the pavement. Glad we didn't try it
with the trailer. Next overnight stop was Pernong where we stayed in the area right at the ferry crossing.
Made arrangements to pick up mail at Swan Reach .. lots of confusion and ended up getting it about 2 weeks later.
Waiting for this mail plus waiting for Ken Blackwood to return from NZ plus the long drawn out process of getting computer
to work with mobile phone meant we spent quite a bit of time around the Swan Reach, Blanchetown, Waikerie area. Had 3 nights
parked on to of the famous Murray River cliffs near Swan Reach with a great view down over the river. Also, had 2 occasions
to stay under the bridge at Blanchetown. Spent time at Waikerie in the caravan park .. also 2 occasions parked at a nice
spot down on the river near Waikerie. Also, camped at other intermediate spots beside the river.
Finally managed to start east from Waikerie and found a nice spot at Moorook where we stayed 4 nights .. again close
to river bank. A number of other motorhomes were there .. some on their way to the Mount Gambier rally. On to Lyrup as Ken
had arrived back home from NZ. Ken has his houseboat parked on Tony Smiths property (they are both also into motorhoming).
Tony was skipper for 15 years on the large paddlewheel ship Murray Princess .. based at Mannup. Had an into to Tony from Ian,
VK5VJ who we knew in Sarina. Ian was a purser on the same ship for a few years .. small world! Tony Smith is apparently well
known and respected for his knowledge of the river .. wish I had had more time to talk with him.
Ken took us for a trip on his houseboat to Berri and back .. about 2 hours each way. Saw how houseboats dispose of
their black water (sewerage) at a "pump out" station. Motorhome friends, Ron and Val, from near Mackay also arrived the night
before and stayed overnight .. good to catch up with them .. so it was "all go" at Lyrup.
At this stage, I still hadn't got the computer sorted out, so we back tracked to Moorook where I knew we had 240V
power available. Three more days there and finally cracked the correct combination with the software and was back on mobile
e-mail. Someone had commented it's like having a death in the family to be without it .. too true!
Onwards east again to a spot on the river near Renmark .. then to Lock 9 .. here we couldn't get very close to the
Lock or the river as a new lodge has been built blocking access .. remarkable, I thought. Can't really see them doing much
business there as its miles from anywhere and can't see what they have to offer that isn't available on the river in a
hundred or more other spots.
On to Wentworth which is at the junction of the Darling and Murray Rivers .. found a good spot, stayed 2 nights just
downstream from Lock 11 and near a rather crude boat launching ramp. By the way, the locks are numbered going up river from
Lock 1 at Blanchetown.
Headed east again .. found a Woolies in Mildura (there are 2 apparently) .. they have parking 3 bays for big vehicles
that we found .. more or less, by accident. Surprised at the size of Mildura and after shopping went and found a spot for
lunch close to the river.
Along the Sturt Highway to Euston .. another 45 odd degree day forecast, so checked out a couple of caravan parks ..
the next town, Robinvale, was having a boat event on the river (long weekend in Victoria) .. caravan parks full and nothing
else offering .. came back to Robinvale .. caravan park effectively full, so back to a spot near the river we had seen
earlier. It is between the Club and the river and others were obviously staying the night .. which we did .. no problems!
So, from there, followed the river on the VIctoria side to Tooleybuc (on NSW side of river) .. directed to a camp
spot back on the other side of the bridge where we stayed the night. The caravan park in Tooleybuc is the smallest we have
ever seen .. it was fairly full and we figured the caravans must be almost pushed in by hand.
North from there to Balrananld where we collected our mail .. luck was with us this time as our mail had arrived
just a couple of hours earlier. East towards Hay .. camped on Murrumbidgee River just 13km from Hay. The highway runs
parallel to the river and there are many camp spots on the river .. signs indicating them are small, so little warning as
one approaches them .. we were also concerned that we may not be able to turn around in some of them.
Next day into Hay, did some shopping and into the showgrounds where we have stayed 5 days with power, green grass and
flower gardens. Some people bought a horse float and horses in and got into trouble for coming into the "camping" area ..
could't see any signs directing them otherwise! No other motorhomes or caravans though!
A long story this time, more later.
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