YEAH WHO'S THE TURKEY NOW!

Yeah who's the turkey now!

MERBEIN, MILDURA AND WENTWORTH

So  we head across the border into Victoria towards Mildura which is quite a big town in Northern Victoria, a little too big for us so we aimed for a nice little town about 10 minutes north called Merbien.  There we found a terrific little spot on the Murray which was called Merbein Common.  Our first encounter with Merbein Common was with this fury little creature that decided it was imperative to get his twin brother out of the nasty little box that every car seems to carry around on them!  He pecked as soon as we got there...

He pecked throughout the afternoon....

He pecked until dusk....

And he pecked first thing the next morning and on and on....

So we thought it was best that we be kind and save this little fella from getting brain damage and decided to move to another camp spot just a stone throw from this spot but far enough that he couldn't see us.  We thought it funny some days later there were a couple of back packers camped at the same spot and our little friend was at it again.  They said he did it from when they arrived until they left and came back again!  Sorry to say I think he now has a small headache but that is nothing compared to being cooped up in a little box on the side of the car for the rest of your life!


This was the view from our new camp spot

Some of the beauty the Murray presents!

and more

We were sitting having a nice cup of "Aero Press" coffee when this guy came rowing up the river.  We saw the name on the boat which was a web address

http://www.carpeyediem.com/

 and decided to look it up and found an interesting story....

Carp Eye Diem is a rowing challenge Dan O'Cker has set himself. He will attempt to row the entire navigatable length of the Murray river, from the Hume dam to Goolwa (2226km) in a boat he has built. Each night he will camp on the river bank, all the while keeping his followers and supporters updated via social media. All money raised will go directly to the microfinancing charity Kiva.

Dan is a University of Adelaide student, studying media. Skills and concepts learnt over his three years of study will be utilised to create an engaging and entertaining voyage. Dan previously studied Photo Imaging at Tafe SA and continues to develop his photography skills shooting events for the Faculty of Arts at the University of Adelaide, for Spruce Quality Decks, and as a pastime. When not studying or photographing, Dan works as a demolition labourer. Dans other pastimes include surfing, kite-surfing, snowboarding, and annoying his partners dog with a UAV.

The boat used is a Chester Yawl, originally by Chesapeake Light Craft, from Denman Marine. It was chosen for its ease of construction, size, speed, and style. Additionally a sliding seat unit will be installed to increase speed and endurance.

It is estimated the journey could take up to two months. All funds raised will be donated to the microfinancing charity Kiva. Kiva microfinances entrepreneurs around the world. You can keep up to date on the voyage or contact Dan via facebook, and donate via GoFundMe.

We decided to take a afternoon drive to a place called Wentworth where the Darling River converges and becomes the Murray.

The picture below shows the two rivers converging

There are a series of locks on the length of the Murray which I am sure has been the topic of political debate on many occasion especially in times of drought.

 Water is permitted to flow down the river

Some clever gardener came up with the idea that they could use the roof's of a couple of houses in the background and plant shrubs in a pattern that would make them look like houses!  Pretty cool eh!

We head back down to take a look at Mildura and where I found myself in one of the most heavenly places on earth!

BUNNINGS

Thank you Mildura my day is complete!

 Well almost complete!

Not before Karen made the best fruit cake on the PLANET!!

For those who would like to try it you won't be disappointed by this very simple recipe.  And I say simple because this is off the top of my head.

*Soak 1kg of mixed dry fruit in 600ml of dry ginger ale and leave overnight
*The next day mix 2 cups of self raising flour to the fruit/dry ginger ale
*Place in baking tray and put in oven at 150 degrees for 90 mins

 and 

VOILA!!

foot note maybe check with Karen first before making that I have it right!  :)

Ah what a lovely couple on the lookout at the Blandowski lookout at the Merbein Winery in Merbein

 Now that's a lotta wine!

and with that temptation out of reach it was time to hit the road...

OFF TO RENMARK AND PLUSHES BEND

On our trip from Mannum to Renmark we found this sign that has some interesting facts on the Murray River.  I was interested to note the Murray is the third largest river in the world!

The view from our office during coffee break

 Beautiful Renmark

Oooooo who's that?

Plushes Bend is where we stayed which is a nice camp site just out of Renmark

Some friends we met up with just having fun

Ummm well sort of!!

Some friends of ours decided to drop around for a bit of a jamboree, oh what fun we did have!

Johnno on the right is an established bush poet and gave us a rendition of number of his pieces. One was about the last man off Gallipoli which just about brought us to tears.  He showed me a letter he received from John Laws about his work.  Impressed! 

Shows you why there are a number of trees that have fallen over into the Murray.  Over time the roots get washed by the high waters and eventually they can't handle the weight of the tree.

So Renmark is very close to the border of South Australia and Victoria so we decided it was time to throw some more fruit and vegies away and cross the border.  Interestingly on this sign I found a bumper sticker that said 'Folding is more sustainable than scrunching'.  Quite glad after all this time to know the sustainable way to wipe my bum. Phew! ;) 

And with that we hit the road!

MANNUM

After our well earned R & R at Murray Bridge we decide to head to a nice little town in Mannum about 30kms North of Murray Bridge.  Here we came across our first contact with the many barge crossings of the Murray River.  These are in place of bridge crossings and are free of charge and every barge operator says hello and goodbye to every user with a big smile :) 24 hours a day.  Now that's a lot of smiles :0) :0)  They can transport cars, caravans and the biggest of trucks.

The operators have a control room at both ends of the barge.

After traveling for the considerable 30 km journey from Wrights Bridge we thought it only fitting that we support the local economy and wet the whistle at the local establishment.  This pub was the Pretoria Hotel and in 1954 was flooded as well as many other businesses and houses in the big flood.

And we were so happy to be in Mannum, Karen and I decided to renew our vowels on the banks of the Murray.  ...Or was that in the Bank of Murray?  Oh well in any case as I have always been not so quick on the uptake she decided to spell it out for me.....
A, E, I, O, you, I DO.

Anyway the Minister wasn't available for comment and in fact didn't show up at all, so the reception was a fairly small affair, just the two of us and a blow in from the other side of the river...

...and needless to say the chef's specialty on this most special of occasions was...

Duck Le'Orange

The Murray River is home to a number of paddle steamers and the Marion which was built in 1897 was restored and recommissioned in 1994 and is the last operational heritage, steam driven, wood fired overnight passenger carrying, side paddle steamer in the world! and that's a mouthful to remember!

Another paddle boat on the Murray at Mannum was the Murray Princess. I thought after renewing our vows it might be a good idea to whisk Karen away for a weekend on this beautiful paddle boat....

...but at the end of the day why pay good money when you already have a luxury river craft at your fingertips and let's face it folks there is real satisfaction in rowing the length and breadth of the Murray and building your wife's muscles at the same time.  Thanks S.S. Dolphin! Kids block your ears.... romance is still alive!

S.S. Dolphin

But kids don't forget that if your going to operate expensive luxury equipment like this, never be under the influence of alcohol and always wear your life jackets.

...and as the sun sets on another South Australian All Aussie Adventure...

it was time to hit the road.

WE HIT SOME LUCK IN MURRAY BRIDGE

After setting ourselves a considerable task of getting some kms under our belts we decided to head down through the towns of Pt Wakefield and a lovely little town of Gawler to settle down for a couple of days of well deserved R&R in the beautiful town of Murray Bridge.  This bridge was the first road bridge constructed over the lower Murray River in 1879.

As with many of the rural towns in South Australia the towns are quite meticulously cared for 

During one of our adventures in the town of Murray Bridge we came across Josh and Paul who were having an adventure of their own.  They decided to sail their custom built sail raft as far as they could on their holidays.  They explained that the vessel was a little hard to navigate and apart from getting rather sun burnt they spent a fair bit of their sailing time stuck in marsh reeds.  By the time we came along they had come to the end of their adventure and had dismantled the mast.

And you just wouldn't believe our luck just after we met these intrepid adventurers we met a fine upstanding fellow by the name of Spike Smith who said if we were quick we could take purchase of this little steam train beauty!  A mere $52,500 was all that it set us back so we decided to trade the 4WD and caravan in on it cause it seemed a deal just too good to be true!

Spike told us that with just a little TLC she would be up and running in no time!  How excited we both were!

After having a little trouble with the starter motor I decided to contact Spike and find out if there was any chance we would be able to opt out of the contract and as luck was again on our side he mentioned he was happy to oblige.  He said there was only one condition and that was we take possession of his latest 'houseboat' for an additional $15,000.  After considering this was a deal we couldn't turn down we called into the Bank and are now the owners of our first house boat!

Spike advertised it as absolute luxury

And after our maiden voyage ending up on the bottom of the Murray we thought it probably best it was time to hit the road