Wentworth NSW

Molly set up for the day with her devoted slave

It was great having our vehicle back today so we set out early on a cold morning travelling 30klm from Mildura to Wentworth. We discovered the orange groves across the river in NSW on the way and also passed through sultana country which reminded us of the huge dried fruit industry in this area.

House boat heaven on the Murray River

Wentworth is a lovely old town on the junction of the Murray and Darling rivers and a part of the Murray Darling Basin. We wandered around the town and then explored Lock 10, the old cemetery and saw where the Murray and the Darling come together.

 

Snoozing in the winter sun at Lock 10

My dear husband said
 "Sturt was wise to stop here because the lock and the
 public toilets are here"

Lock 10

Mum Dad and the kids...very cute

"Our Little Son"

 

The Murray and the Darling become one

We spent some time at the Wentworth Gaol and although interesting because of the history the sense of misery there was palpable.

 

 

Part of the exercise yard of the mens prison

 

 

Wentworth Prison main gate

We saw the Paddle Steamer Ruby docked alongside a park and playground on the outskirts of town before heading back to Mildura

PS Ruby

My encounter with David Jones known as "Possum" a reclusive man
who lived in the bush along the river until he was 81 years old

 

Mildura Vic

We drove into Mildura and saw massive vineyards everywhere, when we were here when the kids were little I remember lots of orange groves but haven't seen any of those yet.

There are a lot of caravan parks here, many of them really large with lots of facilities. We opted for a smaller one, out of town a little bit. Good decision, Sun City CP is very nice and run by an almost retired couple who seem to care about what happens here. There are a few permanent people living here, they are friendly and are happy to chat with travellers.

Sunday in Mildura during winter was quiet except almost every restaurant and cafe seemed to be overflowing with happy people having brunch. We wandered around the mostly empty streets just getting our bearings and seeing what was happening in town.

Langtree Mall

A quiet spot in the middle of Deakin Avenue

We wanted a picnic spot for lunch so followed the Murray River westward and found lots of places and lots of history. We discovered the Chaffey Trail, the earliest cemetery of the area and the old Mildura Homestead. We enjoyed our leisurely walk in the sunshine watching the paddle steamers and houseboats slowly pass by.

Paddle Steamer Melbourne

It's hard for us to imagine what the early settler women went through

Lonely graves beside the river

Magnificent River Gums line the Murray

Mildura Homestead

Left from a bygone era

Old family home

 

Embracing  the culture of Aboriginal past can be very confronting.

Sad stories and beautiful artifacts

  

It took 2 days but the car and transmission is finally sorted
 

OUCH!

 

Lake Tyrrell and beyond Vic

We stopped in Sea Lake which was very quiet, had a wander through the main street then went to the now famous Lake Tyrrell. Unfortunately the viewing platform didn't really do it justice . It was very beautiful although only a little pink on the day and the surface choppy because of the wind so no cloud reflections to be seen. The lake gets its name from the Aboriginal word Tyrille meaning sky and the reflection of a starry night would be a spectacular sight. We only saw a tiny portion of the 51,500 acres of Victoria largest salt lake.

 

Photo not good but it was really beautiful

 

Had a quick break at Ouyen which is one of the largest wheat growing areas in Australia, saw the HUGE Mallee Stump, hundreds of years old and dragged from the scrub by pioneers clearing the land for farming.

The trip between Ouyen and Mildura left me feeling disgusted...The roads and Mallee Scrub littered with so much garbage and rubbish I could hardly believe it. We stopped to put fruit in the bins before the quarantine area, there are picnic tables and rubbish bins there...rubbish still all over the place, even a dirty nappy (nicely wrapped up) about 10 metres from the bin. I wonder what goes through peoples heads when they throw stuff from cars or just discard rubbish in the bush. This is the worst I've ever seen...shame shame shame...rant over!

Wycheproof Vic

Lazy morning and late exit from park took us to Wycheproof for morning tea (YES we did need it! By then, we'd travelled for almost an hour)

 

Wycheproof is an interesting little town that has a very wide main street with a railway line running straight through the middle of it. The line was originally installed to carry grain and wool to market and is still used for grain today.

The main street is Broadway named by a visiting American who said the street was as wide as Broadway in NYC.

 

Pedestrians...watch out!

 

 

We couldn't work out exactly what this was or why it was in such a prominent position in the main street. I thought perhaps a forgotten graveyard of unsold sculptures or a welders folly.


 

Charlton Vic

We stayed overnight at Charlton in northern Victoria in the council owned caravan park.

Very basic and although clean I have decided that I don't like “basic” Please don't judge!

 

I think I can see some blue sky in this one

             Local craft person has provided some colourful additions to the caravan park

The Avoca River

Had a few smiles when looking at the local attractions....A BIG FISH

and wonder why there would be a huge ocean fish displayed prominently over the river.

We tried but have no answer, photo great though and Trev did say he was glad that they were not in the rivers and creeks.

 

 

Wedderburn Vic

Confident our lights on the caravan were functioning correctly we headed north stopping at Wedderburn in the rain. The area was first established around 1836 and was a large part of gold rush history in 1852.

Wheat, wool, grain, eucalyptus oil and pistachio nuts are produce in the district

Lunch break was at Jacka Park in this sleepy little village and another claim to fame is Albert Jacka a soldier in WW1 who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery. We heard of his story when Anthony performed in the musical Jacka VC as a part of the centennial commemoration of the war.

A beautiful memorial to Albert Jacka and many many others

 

A tribute to the family in Jacka Park

 

On the road again

Finally after battling another virus we decided to just go...

Heading for Broken Hill in NSW but it turns out that may take longer than expected.
The day we had planned to leave was warm and sunny, we packed and planned to be away by about 10, however that was not to be because we had problems with our lights.
A kind man from the RACV was helpful  and was able to connect brakes and blinkers to the van so we left about 1.30 and headed for Marong with the hope of sorting the problem in Bendigo.
On the way warning light for the transmission started to show intermittently so we knew that needed sorting as well.

Fast forward to Bendigo...Pouring with rain so we knew from the beginning the day would not be an easy or comfortable time.



Q: What do you do when its raining?
A: Get wet of course



Great way to start a holiday

 

Poor wet puppy



Heading north through Inglewood where Trev saw a shop called "Old & Interesting"
His comment.."A lot like me really!"
Gotta love that man xox

We got through the day and have continued to Charlton where we are at the caravan park beside the Avoca River.