April 5, 2019 – photographyperthwa

Plushs Bend to Mildura Friday 5th April, 2019

After a wonderful camping experience came a very difficult day. On the drive we had a warm and gusty side wind, combined with dust storms that got worse as we got closer to Mildura. Although it wasn’t a really long drive we felt battered by the time we arrived.

We had our lunch parked in the shade under a bridge and the wind coming off the river helped to make it more comfortable than it would otherwise have been.

We needed some groceries and found our way to a supermarket thanks to Google Maps. We decided to stay at a caravan park for night as we felt we needed the comfort. That’s when the next thing happened, a tap in the bathroom was on when Stephen attached the hose and switched on the water. We only realised what had happened when water started coming out from under the slide out.

We mopped up and washed all the towels we had used on the floor.

It’s still over 30 at the moment, cooler weather is still a couple of days away. We are on track to reach Canberra by Sunday 14th. Hopefully.

We left the gas on this morning and drove quite a distance before realising. That is the third thing.

Burra to Plushs Bend near Renmark Thursday4th March, 2019

In the morning we parked the van in a parking area next to the caravan park and went to the local IGA for some small items and fresh fruit. We enjoyed walking in the attractive small town we remembered from four years ago.

Burra crossing footbridge (1 of 1).jpg — crossing the footbridge to do some shopping

Burra Visitor Centre (1 of 1).jpg — there are many beautiful old buildings in Burra

Burra what plant is this? (1 of 1).jpg — seen in a community garden in Burra. We don’t know what it is.

After Burra we continued our drive through dry countryside.

journey dry countryside (1 of 1).jpg — outside of Burra

Morgan car ferry (1 of 1).jpg — car ferry at Morgan where we stopped for morning tea. The ferry runs on cables. This was our first view of the Murray River

view at lunchtime (1 of 1).jpg — this was our view at lunchtime. The green down below is the Murray River

Plushs Bend close to river (1 of 1).jpg — we secured this spot on the river at Plushs Bend thanks to our next door neighbour. As we nosed down the track he called us over and said that the place next to him would soon be vacant. So, here we are.

Plushs Bend afternoon (1 of 1).jpg — view of the river in the afternoon. We see lots of birdlife here, including lots of pelicans

It was warm in the van, so we set ourselves up outside and ended up having our dinner outside and staying to watch the stars come out. We had a little citronella candle between us, but it probably wouldn’t have worked against lots of mozzies, we can only assume there were none.

We sat outside to watch the sun come up this morning (dawn is quite late here) and only came in once the sun became too bright to be comfortable.

There is a range of birdlife here.

Plushs Bend our neighbour (1 of 1).jpg — walking by where we were sitting in our chairs

Plushs Bend morning (1 of 1) — before it got too bright to sit outside

Our neighbours on the other side ran a generator for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. There are quite a few vans around the place, but no one got nasty and told them off, we all just accepted it. After sunset it was switched off and peace returned.

We’ve been fortunate in the weather here, warm enough to sit outside, no wind, and sunny. This is why we love road trips, enjoying scenery as we drive, sometimes having beautiful campsites, and a different experience every day. And sometimes friendly fellow travellers.

I’m inside writing this blog with a coffee made from hand ground beans, with bird calls and the occasional pelican swimming by. We have the river view on one side and attractive trees on the other.

Day: April 5, 2019

Kimba to Canberra: Day 15

Kimba to Canberra: Day 14