On to Dareton (NSW)

Saturday, the 6th

I moved on in the morning & made my way to Morgan, a town on the Murray River about 120km west of Renmark. Of course I came "the back way" through Port Wakefield, Balaklava, Saddlewoth & Eudunda.

More grain & sheep but with the rolling hills came the vineyards & the olive trees. Not many, but a few were dotted along the way. There was rain/showers on the way & I probably ended up in Morgan more by chance than anything else. There are 400 Scouts here having a Jamboree but they move on tomorrow. I'll probably stay another day & have a look around the place.

In years gone by (1850's onwards) the river port here was the busiest inland port & was an integral part of SA's history. Gangs of up to 50 men worked continuous 24 hour shifts, while 6 trains a day were dispatched to Port Adelaide & long queues of paddle steamers & barges laden with wool, wheat & other goods to be unloaded were a common sight. (I plagiarised that last bit!) There is a vehicular ferry here & from what I see it runs 24hrs. Who said there was no water in the Murray? There's plenty here. We won't go down that path!

Sunday, the 7th

What an interesting place. The old buildings, the remnants of bygone rail & wharf activities plus the numerous House Boats on the river with a rental company just upstream with plenty for rent, make an interesting contrast. Other house boats are tied up outside houses that front the river. Many people were water skiing on the river & the place was full of visitors enjoying the laid back surroundings.

There are a number of locks on the river & they allow more water in some areas than in others. On the outskirts of Morgan there is a pumping station & they pump water to Whyalla. Apparently the water is pumped to a place near Burra & from there it is gravity fed to Whyalla. There are a couple of vehicular ferries that operate locally across the Murray & would you believe, FREE! On my way to Overland Corner I'll make use of the ferry.

Monday, the 8th

I found out that a 6RAR dog handler who I met in Perth lived in Morgan so I went to visit him before I moved on. Alas he was out looking for Yabbies however I had a cuppa & a chat with his wife. Outside the local RSL Hall I also met an ex 3RAR fellow who was in SVN at the same time as yours truly.

I crossed the Murray on the ferry & visited Cadel & then Waikerie, another ferry ride & on to The Historic Overland Corner Hotel but sadly it is closed on Monday so I moved on. Outside Cadel there were plenty of grapes growing along with Oranges. This growth pattern was similar for the next 50 or so km's. Names like Wolf Blass, Oxford Landing & Angrove appeared outside vineyards. Other small crops were growing in some areas along with Almonds, Olives, Mandarins, Peaches etc. More grain crops were splattered on the way & particularly past Renmark as I headed east.

At Waikerie the "Murray River Queen" was moored along with a few more house boats. The MRQ is used for functions & local cruises along this section of the Murray. Waikerie is a pretty town & was a hive of activity with the delivery of the recently picked fruit. Names like Sunland & Nappys which we see on out fruit were prominent on storage sheds. Unleaded fuel here was $1.079/litre.

Being disappointed on missing the Overland Corner Hotel I pushed on to a caravan park beside Lake Cullulleraine. Obviously this is a quiet holiday spot as there is little local infrastructure, only a garage & a few houses. There are 2 parks here & both appear to have little patronage at the moment. We are about 60km west of Mildura so we're in Victoria & another time change has taken place.

It is obvious that I'm back on major highway systems as there are plenty of semis on the go.

Today would have been about the best day, weather wise, I've had since leaving home. Just glorious, but I would still prefer to be at Port Gibbon.

Tuesday, the 9th

It's overcast today with showers forecast but I only have a short distance to travel.

I passed through Mildura but I'll only be 20km away so I'll come back & have a good look later.

I arrived at the Damon Reed Veteran's Retreat in Dareton (NSW) & set up camp before a storm hit. Not too bad mainly wind with rain & a little bit of thunder. This is a restful spot with just a caretaker (a couple) & another couple from WA, just more people for TJ to bark at & someone else to question Cassie's parentage!

Damon Reed was originally from Mildura & was killed in SVN in May 1967 & this establishment is in his memory. The property is about on about 10 acres & has been operational for 3 years. This year they will have had just on 200 vets pass through here in their caravan/motor home etc.

Wednesday, the 10th

A domestic day. Clean the van, do the washing, recharge the batteries, pat the desperates etc. How will they survive back in Thomas Street in 14 days time? Is the street ready for their return? TJ has become about half feral (maybe 3/4) & Cassie, well, some might say she is a complete feral, but we don't necessarily agree.

Today is a fine clear day with a gentle breeze, just the day to laze about.

Thursday, the 11th

Here are my costs after 129 days on the road:

Rodeo 4x4 dual cab, 17'Golf '84 poptop - me & 2 desperates
Total Km 19,091 - last fill 18,820km - 3112.39 litres - $5080.26 - $1.632/litre av
Total km without van - 4773km

Food/beverages/dog food - $24.45/day - budget $20/day
Sundries - $7.40/day - budget $20/day

Caravan parks & donation "parks" - 91 nights @ $20.08/night (budget for the whole trip was 75 nights @ $25/night), so more nights than anticipated

Other costs:
Vehicle service - $270
Mobile Phone - $60/month av
Internet - $59/month

Friday, the 12th

It's raining. A lazy day to had by all, reading, watching a video & dogs are curled up on the couch. Broken Hill, 260km to the north, had nearly 2" overnight & there is water over the road between here & there & north of Broken Hill the roads are cut. They expect rain all day with heavy rain late this arvo or tonight. At least we got a walk in early while it was only light drops!

There has been a break in the weather this arvo so off to Wentworth we went. It's only 12 km up the road & I must admit I did not do enough homework on this region & I've forgotten what I was taught in Social Studies at school. As I drove into Wentworth I crossed the Darling River (plenty of water in it, I observed) & then the sign says "Built where the 2 rivers meet". 2 rivers? The Murray & the Darling, dummy! There is more water, more house boats, more river cruises, more water skiers & more water sports. I always had this belief (or was led to believe) that there was no water in the Darling (as us Qlders took it all before it got to NSW) when it met the Murray & that there was no water in the Murray as it made its way into SA. I don't have my camera so I'll be back to take photographs.

The old Wentworth Goal is now a Historic Site & visitors are allowed. Actually I found Wentworth to be an interesting place.

There are more orchards, more grapes, some small wineries, more "cellar door sales", more dried fruits i.e. sultanas etc to be found locally & hence the name Sunraysia. I'll stay another day to have a closer look at the region.

Saturday, the 13th

Rain & wind prevail, so another lazy day but got my shopping up to date & at night we went to the local Community Club for dinner. I've made a management decision to move on to Moama on Monday as the weather appears to be much improved by then.

Sunday, the 14th

It's still overcast but the wind has abated slightly so I took a drive up through Wentworth & did a circle back to Dareton through Mildura. The circle took us from NSW to Vic & back to NSW. Took photos of the place where the Murray & Darling meet & then on to a weir & lock just downstream from this point. Our next bridge over the Murray was a single lane bridge governed by traffic lights. Actually a number of the bridges over the Murray are small to a degree & often with a part that can be raised to allow boats through.

More house boats, fruit, small crops, vineyards, wineries etc abound through this whole trip. Hardy's Wines, Lindeman Wines to name a couple of the more recognisable wine companies have wineries in this area.

Outside of the townships the "farms" are normally 5 acre blocks & have a 20 gigalitre (spelling?) water licence & big companies buy these blocks to get the water licence. But as we are told regularly, there is no water in the Murray!!!!!!!!!!!!!