Sunday 20/3/2016 - Clayton Bay to the mouth

25km - 0km

The climax of our trip happens today. We are all pleased to have the lake behind us and only a short run today down to the mouth. It is hard to believe we started this part of our adventure in Albury seven weeks ago and today it will be finished. 

The excitement has us all out of bed early and getting ready to go. Last night we had a very heavy dew and everything is wet. We will have to dry our camping gear tonight. 

We hit the water at the usual 7:30am, push out from between the reeds and meet up with Peter and Denis who once again join us for the days paddle. The morning is a great Autumn day with a cool tail breeze, we wish we had that yesterday. 

A couple of hours of paddling had us passing under the Hindmarsh Island bridge and then pulling into Goolwa for a cuppa. Judy is waiting for us and Kerryn also arrives. We take the opportunity for some victory photos before heading for the lock at the Goolwa barrage.  The barrages have been built on lake Alexandrina to seperate the salt water from the fresh water. 

Once we dropped the 450mm in our last lock we were out onto the Coorong. It is about 5km to the mouth on salt water.  The dredges at the mouth soon appear. These dredges are used to stop the mouth silting up and to ensure tidal flows enter and exit the Coorong. 

As we reach the mouth and see the waves on the other side we all stop for some high fives and to reflect on what we have achieved. A dream has come to fruition. A few tears may have also appeared. 

We pull up on the beach in the mouth to enjoy the special moment and get some more photos. We say goodbye to Peter and Denis who have been constant companions over the last three days, thanks guys it has been very much appreciated. 

Most of us paddle out to the waves to try a little surfing; however, Tony the true salt water paddler in the group, shows us all up be going out through the breakers. I saw his boat three quarters out of the water at one point. 

Tinky finally got his fish, what a relief. We paddled back to the boat ramp to meet Kerryn and Judy and to enjoy some fish and chips. Janice and John soon arrive from Albury. It is hard to pack the boats up and put them on the trailer for the trip home. 

So ends our journey from the mountains to the sea. Seven and a half weeks and lots of memories. Special thanks go your wives for their support during trip and to all those whom we met along the way that either fed or showed friendship to us. 

I am interested in who has been following our adventure via this blog. If you have enjoyed the trip with us then drop me an email at freybie@gmail.com.

We reach the mouth. 

The boys are elated 

Tony shows off

Tinky gets his fish

EOB

Special Edition - The boys and their beards

Some of these will soon be removed. 

Tinky the fisherman

Thomo the captain

Sarg the gorilla 

Tony

EJ, now known as OJ

Mike the blogger. 

Saturday 19/3/2016 - Wellington to Clayton Bay

76km - 25km

Today is the day that we cross lake Alexandrina.  When you talk to boat people about paddling the Murray this topic always comes up, "how are you going to cross the lake". With the help of Peter and Denis we decide that we will go to Pomanda island for a break and then cross the lake to Point Sturt (24km) for lunch and then on to Clayton Bay. 

We wanted an early start to beat the wind so we are up st 5am to pack up and get on the water 6:30am. Light is just appearing on the horizon and the wildlife is waking up. We paddle through Pelicans getting an earl feed and past three trees full of Corellas. Before long we are in the top end of the lake heading toward the island. Thomo and EJ decide to stop for a piddle but did not notice the duck shooters in their hide. They gave them a full frontal. 

A quick stop at the island before heading out into the lake proper. I have never paddled in open water before and thought of paddling into the water filled horizon was daughting. 

All is going well and the water has been quite good, however with 7km to go the wind picks up quickly and the lake turns on the rough waves in an instant. What should have been an easy 7km paddle turned into a 2 hour ordeal. At times I wonder if we are making progress. Eventually we reach Point Sturt for a dry out and lunch. EJ is not feeling well and suspects sea sickness. We were all excited to have made it across the lake. 

Over lunch the sun comes out and waves ease off. A good afternoon paddle is ahead. Just as we return to our boats and turn the corner another rain squall hits and again the lake turns on the waves. This continues for an hour before things settle again. 

We have been lucky to have had Peter and Denis in their yacht as riding behind them helped to smooth the water and their navigation was appreciated. 

It is close to 5pm when we get to Clayton Bay and find a caravan park to book into. We are cold, tired, and hungry. How good does a hot shower feel?  Today has been the second longest day of the trip, and definitely the hardest.  That is saying something as I thought yesterday was hard. 

We have a great dinner at the local cafe before heading to bed. We all feel like we are still in the boat with our heads swaying in the waves, I hope that goes away with sleep. 

A cracking morning to start the day

Heading out into the lake

Looking back to where we came from at Point Sturt

EJ was a bit hungry at dinner. 

Friday 18/3/2016 - Murray Bridge to Wellington

109km - 75km

Last night it rained on and off and a big wind developed. The wind kept us awake in the early part of the morning. Judy and Noel greet us with breakfast. It is really good to have hot egg and bacon rolls, tea and coffee on such a cold and windy morning. Thanks again. 

We wheel our boats back to the boat ramp pack them up and get ready for a difficult paddle. Thick cockpit covers, wind jackets and life jackets are the order of the day. At least we will be warm in the boats, that is until I step on the boat ramp slime and gracefully slide down and into the water. Starting wet was not ideal. 

We head to the marina to meet Peter and Denis, who will be escorting us in Peter's yacht for the next three days through lake Alexandrina. Both are very experienced in boating, the Murray, and the lake. It is great to have them with us. 

The first part of the trip to Tailem Bend goes well as we either have the wind behind us or we can get protection from the willow lined banks. We stop for lunch at a road house before heading to Wellington. 

A change in river direction now has us heading into a very strong wind. At times we are not moving, but persistence pays dividends as we finally make it to Wellington. The final 12kms have been the worst of the trip and took us all afternoon.  Strong wind with gusts over 60km/h and significant waves. 

Peter has organised for us to stay on the lawn at the local hotel.  To do this we need to lift all the boats onto a jetty. They should be comfortable there tonight. Dinner at the hotel and off to bed to prepare for our journey across the lake. The weather will play a big part on how far we get tomorrow. 

Our camp at Wellington with Peter's boat in the back. 

Thursday 17/3/3016 - Younghusband to Murray Bridge

167km - 109km

An interrupted nights sleep for must due to the local visitors and the humidity. We are up a bit earlier for a nice breakfast on the beach. The sunrise is again magnificent with colours changing on the clouds from deep red to orange and yellows. This will be one of the last sunrises that we will see on the river. The sun finally cracks the horizon as we saddle up at 7:20am. 

The morning is still a bit humid and with a light northerly breeze behind us it is quite warm on the water. Our first objective is morning tea at Mannum. The river is now very wide and Thomo measured it at 440m wide. 

We pass more shack towns before we get to Mannum at 9:30am. This town is another jewel and I will be back in the future for a good look and to dig into the history of the area a bit more. The bakery is a cracker and we again fill up on pies and flavoured milk.

Back on to the water again for our next objective of Murray Bridge. We are now coming out of cliff country and more agriculture is evident. Some areas are still very dry and baron.  Each side of the river now has swamps and back waters. We stop at Mypolonga for lunch on the ski beach. 

The wind has increased and there are rain storms about. It is now very humid. We are lucky that the wind is behind us for about 80% of the time as this makes for a fast afternoon. We get to Murray Bridge at 4:30pm and look for the caravan park. 

Judy, Judy and Noel are there to greet us. It is good to see some familiar faces. Even better was that Judy and Noel have organised a BBQ dinner for us all. Thanks alot guys, it went down a treat. 

It is raining a bit tonight so the tent is all closed up and quite hot. There are also two guys opposite drinking and trying to sort their lives out. Oh joy. 

Sunrise from the boat. 

The wide flat river in the morning. 

Last of the cliff country and the storms starting to form. 

Wednesday 16/3/2016 - Kroehns Landing to Younghusband

220km - 167km

A nice cool night was great for sleeping. Tinky broke out the port cask so the guys went to sleep like babies. EJ slept on a pontoon in the river and was lucky that we did not set him adrift. We had our first real dew for the trip so the tents are a bit wet to pack up. 

A beautiful day today reminds us that Autumn is here; cool morning, little breeze, and warming during the day. Much better than the summer blast we endured for three weeks. 

Away at 7:30am on calm water. The river now is much wider and more of what I had expected at this end. We continue to pass small villages of shacks and in between some more magnificent cliff faces which seem to be getting higher. It is like paddling through a gouged out landscape. 

After a few hours we pass Walker Flat and then the 200km sign, another milestone. We then pass Scrubby Flat and Purnong before stopping at Bowhill for lunch at the general store. Like yesterday a number of us are feeling tired by lunch so a good flavoured milk and hamburger lunch goes down well. 

Back to the boats for a run down the river to Lake Carlet and Younghusband. We hit Younghusband at 4:30pm and ready for a camping spot. We find the caravan park is at the top of the hill so that is out of the question. We settle for a nice no camping area on the town beach.  The locals are accommodating and there is no need to have our own music as that is being provided for us by some young locals. Could be a long night. 

It is hard to find campsites in this part of the river because of the extensive shack towns and private property along the banks.  Victoria has public land along 95% of the river and that is a real bonus for river users. 

Passing one of the many cliff faces

Passing one of the shack towns

Tuesday 15/3/2016 - Blanchtown to Kroehns Landing

274km - 220km

A cool and breezy morning as we get up at 6:30. We pack the boats and wheel them out of the caravan park to the river. We have an appointment with the lock at 8am. 

On the water and off to the lock. Bad news, the lock has an electrical problem and the lock master is waiting for the electrician. We elect to walk around the lock, a bit disappointing for the last lock. After 45 minutes of pulling kayaks up and down hills we are back on the water.

Our aim today is to do 53km as we need to get to Murray Bridge on Thursday. The  southerly wind is still blowing as we spend two hours banging into it. There is no respite from the wind as in other parts of the river as there are no bends and we are heading south. 

At 11am the wind eases and we have a lovely clear day for paddling. We pass the Murray Princess, a big passenger boat. The wake behind the Murray Princess was huge, I hope she passes us going in the other direction. 

We stop for lunch at Swan Reach. A lovely little town that makes Blanchtown look even worse than we thought it was. A hamburger and milk at the local cafe and the owner throughs in some free chips. We must be looking tired.  Another place to come back to for a visit. 

We are now in shack country and they appear everywhere on the river banks. It is quite a culture which has built up on the river. Most of the shacks are nice houses on the river bank that are used for holiday homes. We are also in cliff country and we have been following them all day. One set of cliffs was a nesting point for cockatoos and there are thousands of birds. 

By mid afternoon we are at The Big Bend, a magnificent cliff face. EJ tries the coolness in a cut away section under the cliff. 

The afternoon is getting away and it is 6:15pm when we hit our target for the day. A quick camp set up, dinner, a bath and off to bed. In the middle of this we did enjoy another nice sunset. 

The Murray Princess

The Big Bend

Monday 14/3/2016 - Blanchtown

Rest day 274km

A cool night allows us to sleep in. It is EJ's birthday so we all wish him a happy day. The normal rest day activity takes place: Thomo goes for a run, we have egg and bacon rolls for breakfast, the washing gets done, boats are reorganised, food for the next part of the trip is sorted, eat more, drink more, sleep, read and chat. 

I take a tour of the town, which did not take long. Blanchtown is a disappointment after the other Riverland towns. There is not much here. I am glad I over catered at Renmark as I could buy very little food here, the hamburger for lunch was good though. The history boards about the locks and paddle steamers are interesting and the hundreds of pelicans below the weir wall are also a pleasure to watch as they wait for fish to come over. 

Another dinner at the pub to fuel up for tomorrow and again it is a cool night so a good sleep ahead. I really look forward to the 8:30 bed times. 

Tomorrow morning we go through lock 1 which will bring us to 1m above sea level. Not much fall in the last 274kms. 

Sunday 13/3/2016 - Morgan to Blanchtown

319km - 274km

Up again for a 7:30 start. It is a shame we have to leave Morgan as it is a lovely place; however, we need to push on to Blanchtown. It is cool and cloudy and we feel a bit cool. This is great weather for paddling and wearing the life jacket that is a must in SA. 

As we leave we pass the 319km sign. This must be the only odd number km sign on the river. We enjoy a slow paddle past holiday homes on each side of the river. We stop and talk to a couple of owners and they call these houses "shacks" as most are holiday homes. Many of these homes are worth more than our house. They also have the customary Malibu, or similar, parked outside. 

We keep passing the string of "shacks" for 15km before they run out. After this the cliffs start again and continue to appear until Blanchtown. 

As we get closer to Blanchtown the boat and jet ski traffic increases again. We enjoy a wash ride on a house boat for a while and Tony scores another beer whilst chatting to the driver. 

We spot a beautiful boat on the side of the river and upon investigation find that it is the Kingfisher which belongs to Greg, a friend of Peter Thomas whom we will be using to cross lake Alexandrina. After a chat with Greg we head into Blanchtown to organise the caravan park. 

Blanchtown is surrounded by large cliffs up and down the river. Once you get up on the hills you get a great view.

Greg brings the Kingfisher down to give us a ride. It puts all the Malibus to shame. The boat hull is an ocean racing yacht and it is powered by two diesel Volvo engines. A great ride. Greg drops us at Blanchtown for dinner at the hotel. 

The Kingfisher. 

Saturday 12/3/2016 - 6 Blokes Landing to Morgan

359km - 319km

A glorious sunrise as we pack up camp and get ready for the run into Morgan.  The day is humid again and the temperature on the water quickly heats up. 

We pass more great cliff scenery as we paddle to Cadell. Cadell is situated back from the river so we did not see much. It is a long weekend so there are many more campers on the banks and activity on the river. 

Between Cadell and Morgan it is full of speed boats and jet skis which is making the paddling hard with all the waves. Just before Morgan we turn a left hand corner which is known as "The Great Corner" or "The Northwest Corner" and this starts our journey south to the sea. 

Morgan is surprisingly busy and there are people and boats everywhere. These towns are so close to Adelaide that the caravan parks are booked out every weekend. We are staying at a caravan park on the banks of the river. What a great feeling a shower is and what a pity that people don't recognise that we go to bed at sunset. 

Morgan is a great old town, built to swap cargo between rail and paddle steamer. There are many stone buildings and you can still see many of the relics from the days gone by.  We had a good meal at the hotel, hope it gives me more energy tomorrow than I had today. 😔

Sunrise. 

Another of those cliff lined reaches

Friday 11/3/2016 - near Waikerie to 6 Blokes Landing

406km - 359km

We all had a fantastic sleep last night in perfect sleeping conditions, at long last. 

Back to being up at first light. Another great sunrise that spreads reflections on the cliff we camped opposite. The morning paddle down cliff lined straights, or reaches as they call then in SA, is equally as spectacular. The water is like glass and the reflection of the cliffs gave a feeling of never ending scenery. 

Although the scenery on the paddle to Waikerie is spectacular, we struggle with energy to make the journey. The sun still has quite a bit of bite and with no breeze it is getting very hot on the water. We know we are getting closer as the house numbers increase. We round a bend to see the Waikerie ferry and foreshore. A great sight. We stop on the well groomed foreshore for an early lunch. 

For me it brought back memories of the Pathfinder camporee we had on the river outside Waikerie 13 years ago. For all of us it meant a trip to the Waikerie Bakery (Thomo loved this name) for the standard flavoured milk and pies with softies and cakes for later in the day. 

Waikerie was another well maintained and welcoming town. Back on the water at 12 and off to lock 2. A hot afternoon, some of us feeling stronger after the food stop, others not. Our aim is to get to the lock before the 4:30 close. We did this easily and once again with Thomo's pre-arrival phone calls to the lock master we pass through quickly. 

Our height above sea level after leaving the last lock was 6m. We just dropped 3m in this lock. Hard to believe that we are only 3m above see level.  I will need to check that one out. 

Shortly after leaving the lock we pull up at 6 Bloke Landing. We though this was appropriate and it is a good campsite anyway. The water is still quite clear and very good to swim in, so we do. The hottest part of the day is very late in the afternoon so a swim or three helps cool things down. 

Below the 400 to go. The end feels like just around the corner. Milestones passed in the last two days:

1. Passing 2000km from Bringenbrong bridge 

2. Passing 1800km from Albury

3. Completing 5 Murray Marathons with only 1 to go

Sunrise at our camping spot. 

Some of the cliffs we passed today. You never get sick of them. 

Thursday 10/3/2016 - Moorook to near Waikerie

454km - 406km

An exciting night was had by all. Apart from the patches of rain the sprinklers coming on. These were big pop-up sprinklers which we did not see. Tinky received the biggest soaking as one of the sprinklers was next to his tent and he did not have a fly on. Smart thinking saw the boats quickly moved to help protect the tents from the high pressure water. This however, resulted in load drumming for one and a half hours. Two lessons to learn: if the grass is green it needs water; read the signs about where not to camp. 

Up at about 7 for a late departure. The weather has rolled in with some steady rain. The boys enjoy a bacon and egg roll and coffee before we leave. On the water at 8:40 and it is still raining. What a pleasure to be paddling in the cool rain. 

We head for lock 3 and we need to be there before 11:30 (lock master's lunch break). We are making reasonable time and pass through Kingston on Murray before getting to the lock at 11. This part of the paddle is very pretty with a lot of small lakes and back water creating great bird habitat. The pelicans love this back water so we see lots of them.  

Another quick run through the lock, however this was a big drop and we are now only 6m above sea level. We still need to paddle 430km to loose the 6m. 

A quick lunch was had to save time, and then the cliffs started, bigger and more solid than what we have seen before. The cliffs have continued all afternoon. We spend time looking at the cliffs and the many holes in them.

By 4:30 we pull up on a sand bank opposite some large cliffs. Cannot get better than this. 

We all head to bed early hoping to catch up on some missed sleep last night. 

Some of the cliffs

Some of the holes being used by birds

Evening at our camp site. 

Wednesday 9/3/2016 - Sawmill Bend to Moorook

507km - 454km

A very hot and humid night meant we did not get a lot of sleep. Part of the problem was that the temperature of the ground felt like it stayed at 40 for a long time, but  making the bed and tent feel like a sauna. The temperature was not to bad when we had to get up at 6:30. 

Another lovely sunrise with red reflections on the clouds which have been hanging around. The humidity is certainly up a lot and although the temperature is much lower than the 40+ degrees of the last 3 weeks it still feels hot. The clouds are taking the sting of the sun away, another welcome relief. 

The water flow is better than we expected and by mid morning we arrive in Loxton. Very nice town that has been well set up for visitors. A quick trip to the bakery for morning tea, or early lunch   

After leaving Loxton the head wind that we had coming into town has turned into a tail wind going out of town. Our travelling direction has again turned NE after our short SE stint from Renmark. 

We stop for a quick chat with two guys maintaining one of the many salinity measuring stations we have seen in the river. What a great job this would be. These stations regularly measure salinity, water flow, and water temperature and transmit the information back to a central point.  

We head for Moorook which, to our surprise, has a public camping area on the river bank, a take-away shop, and a "club". Another lovely town that has made visitors welcome. 

Tony and I go to the club for dinner and spend time chatting to some locals. One guy was pretty happy with the $10m almond crop he had just finished harvesting. 

It has now started to spit and tonight is a cooler night so I am sure we will all catch up on some sleep. 

A wild orchid, I think. These are growing on a very dry beach. 

One of the long wide straights from today. We are seeing more of these. This one is called the Seven Mile Straight. 

Tuesday 8/3/2016 - Renmark to Sawmill Bend

564km - 507km

Yes, it was another hot night. Up at 6:30 and it is already quite warm and much more humid. Packed up and we all meet at the river to say our good-byes to Kez and Judy. We have our first lock appointment at 8am just 2km down stream. 

We passed quickly through lock 5 and headed on to lock 4. We held good speed today so there must have been a bit of flow in the river/lake. The good tail wind was also very welcome. 

We get to Berri for lunch. When out of the boats we realise how hot it is and how much cooler it is on the water, still hot but not quite as bad. 

An hour later we are at lock 4. A quick exercise and the lock master tells us that the flow will be better below the lock. He is right and we tour off down the river looking for a camp spot. there are groins in the river to dodge and we soon find a camp spot on a beach. 

The evening is warm, but the storm clouds take the sting of the sun away. We get a few drops of rain, but storms seam to bypass us.

Forecast is for a cooler (less than 40) day tomorrow. Looking forward to that. 

Monday 7/3/2016 - Renmark

Rest day - 564km

After a long night of rain spats, big trucks going over the Paringa bridge, possum fights and hot breezes the sun is telling me that it is time to get out of bed. Another easy day ahead. 

After breakfast with EJ I headed across the bridge for a walk to Paringa as my hips are tight from the paddling. At 10 we have a phone interview with the Border Mail for an article that will be on the web. This goes longer than we thought due to the in depth and probing questions and answers. Watch out for it. 

We have a planning meeting for the coming week and we discover that next weekend is a long weekend in SA so it will be a busy time on the river, unfortunately. 

Off to town via the Thomas taxi, thanks Kez.  A nice lunch and then the shopping for food for the week ahead. This is getting easier; however, when I packed it all in my boat I found I was getting more and more spare food. How does that happen?

We looked for Chooka the Chicken Man, but he had moved on. I found he has a couple of DVDs and you can check him out on YouTube.

A nice afternoon in the 40 degree heat next to the river before finishing getting the boat organised. Kez cooked a great lamb roast for dinner which we all enjoyed. 

Time for bed and the lid is off the tent for maximum breeze penetration. I hope it does not rain again as I have packed the fly away. Time to dream of paddling again  as there should be some interesting scenery again this week as we go through the Riverland. 

Sunday 6/3/2016 - Renmark

Rest day - 564km

It was good to be in Renmark a day early as we now have two rest days here. It is very hot again, as we go above 40 again. The heat is really difficult to manage. 

The day starts with meeting a Thai massage lady whilst wash my breakfast dishes. Within 5 minutes I was on the table and she had hands, elbows and knees going into all the sore parts of my back, arms, shoulders, legs, and bum. A very delightful hour that straightened me out. 

Kerryn and Judy arrived early afternoon with gifts for all. A bit like Christmas. For most it was more food, but for me it was a new mattress.  How good does that feel after sleeping on a broken one for a few nights. Janice also sent some chocolate which is well received. EJ finally got a camp chair that is not broken and he can sit on without falling off. 

The washing is now done, it dried in about three minutes. A swim is the next priority and continues to be for the rest of the day. It is very nice being wet, cool and on a nice grass lawn next to the river. Even a sleep is in order. 

Sarg finally gets the KFC he has been dreaming about for the last couple of days and settles down to watch the V8s. 

We split up for dinner, Thomo and Kerryn go to the Renmark Hotel, whilst the rest of us return to the Paringa Hotel. 

With a few storms about it is now hot and humid. Let's see how we manage to sleep tonight. Not even the kangaroos and possums are out tonight. 

It was a pleasure not to be in the boat today. Whoops, rain falling, I have to put the fly on. Job done, the rain on my back feels cool, but now the breeze can't get in. Will need to see if it is any more than a few drops otherwise the fly will have to come off again. 

EJ's new chair

Saturday 5/3/2016 - Murtho to Renmark

598km - 564km

Interesting fact: Murtho is the furthest north we go in our journey and is equivalent to Sydney in latitude. From here we head south and then north again  but still in a westerly direction before the big bend to go south. 

A small sleep-in today as we have changed time zones and we are a bit jet lagged. A short paddle to Renmark awaits. We reluctantly leave our lovely camp spot, say good-bye to the neighbors and head for the crooked straight. This straight is 6km long and runs along the red cliffs. A nice way to start the day. 

We are again on flat wide water with very little interest except for the red cliffs every once in a while. As we get closer to Renmark the houseboat and waterski traffic builds up. We finally get to the port of Renmark in the early afternoon and pull up at the rowing wharf. We carry the boats to dry land and then split up to go and enjoy lunch in an air conditioned shop. It is now over 40 again. We did not want to leave the boats alone because of the characters hanging around. A few guys had just pulled their tinny up onthe wharf as well and were banging the crap out of it with hammers and sticks. They were trying to make it go faster by straightening the bottom out and changing the motor. All the motor and fuel connection work was done with the aid of cigarettes so I stayed well clear and spoke to them from a distance. They made the change, thought about putting a big rock in the front to hold it down and then took off, the old motor being left on the wharf. 

After the standard noshup we head to Paringa and our camp ground. On the way we pass Chooka and his craft. We hope to catch up to the chook man again this weekend. His boat is an icon of Australiana. 

The afternoon was relaxing but very hot. A few of us headed to the Paringa hotel for dinner. They had a bus to pick us up, airconditioning, drinks and food. Is this heaven? I guess some people think so. 

After dinner we gather in Sarg's air-conditioned hut. We learnt about smoots from Tony. Check it out, it is an interesting measurement. Our diary will include the length of our trip in mega-smoots.  I am a little over a smoot tall. 

The Crooked Straight

A paddle steamer in Renmark 

The river from our camp ground in Paringa. 

Friday 4/3/2016 - Murray Sunset NP to Murtho

657km - 598km

A hot start to the night with a few spits of rain early in the morning. I don't like that feeling of fine spray hitting you as the drops come through the fly mesh. You always think is it rain or a possum having a leak. So up I got to put the fly on for precaution. 

A nice morning and on the river again at sunrise. Today we hit South Australia. First stop is the NSW and SA boarder on the right side of the river and then after another couple of hours we hit the Vic and SA boarder on the left side of the river. The Victorian surveyor got it wrong and stole land from SA. Despite attempts to fix it over the years, it still remains. 

We have been looking forward to the customs house shop for days. The old customs house is now used as a private residence and to run a house boat business. They have s small store so we had morning tea of ice cream, bags of chips, and soft drink. It went down quick.  We also replenished our water supplies as we were down to river water.  

Whilst at the customs house we run into a couple of paddlers who are doing the boarder to sea over a number of long weekends. We will see these guys a bit over the next two days. They contacted us last weekend via the blog. 

Next stop is lock 6. This is very welcome as the current we had yesterday disappeared early today and we are again on a lake. After the lock we get a current back for a while. We pass through some very arid country and the pleasure we have today is again in the red cliffs we bump into.  It looks like the cliffs are all part of one long fault line and the cliffs are formed when the river bumps into the fault and can't get past.  It is now very hot and again it must be well above 40.

We go past a few milestones, at 619 we have paddled 1800km since Bringenbrong and at 598km we are 1600km from Albury. 

We stop late in the afternoon at a great sand bar opposite one of those red cliffs. The water is cool and quite clear. It is like heaven after last night's campsite.  The best we have had so far. 

After swimming, chatting to the houseboat renters and eating we hit the hay.  

Sunrise on the water. You never get sick of it. 

Some of the red cliffs we see on the way. 

Our campsite on the beach opposite the cliffs. 

Thursday 3/2/2016 - Lock 8 to Murray Sunset NP

727km - 657km

The night finally cooled down to allow us to sleep. A good breeze also helped in the tents. My air bed had a malfunction and now has a big bubble in it. Something else to sort out in Renmark. 

An early morning gets us on the water before sunrise again. We are keen to knock out the 30km to lock 7 where we were promised better flow by the lock master at lock 8. More of the same scenery on these river lakes except that we are now seeing more emus. They have been running off when they see us, but today they are more content to stay near the water as we float past. 

We hit the lock at 11am and make the small decent. Directly following the lock there is the junction of the Rufus river which flows from lake Victoria. The lake is fed from the Murray before lock 9. The flow did increase and for the first time in a week we felt like we were on a river again. 

This part of the river has groins which are timber fences used to keep the water to the deeper channels around corners and were used in paddle steamer days. The groins are now decaying but do still remain a navigation challenge. Follow the signs and all is ok. 

We all enjoy the extra flow, corners and the need to work your way down the river. The sandbars are back and all is good. After lunch we start to see big long hills and as we get closer we see that they are bare red dirt cliffs and hills. We are now in desert country and does it show. The cliffs at Devil's Elbow are remarkable with the colours and layers in the decaying walls. 

It is again very hot this afternoon and it must once again be over 40. We struggle to find a camp spot and once again find a spot late in the day that we can't swim at. A big day with 70km knocked over. 

Another hot night with little breeze. I am in my tent with sweat dripping, I hope it will finish soon. 

Devil's Elbow 

Typical river scene in this area

This s guy came down for a drink as I was taking the last picture. We say just a few meters away waiting for me to leave. 

Wednesday 2/3/2016 - Frenchman's Creek to Lock 8

778km - 727km

Happy anniversary Janice. 😘

Up early and ready to go at sunrise. It is interesting to see the colours that the sky goes through before, and then at sunrise. We hit the water just as the brilliant red bounces off the clouds, this part of the sunrise is the most spectacular but only lasts for a couple of minutes. 

A nice, but warm morning as we paddle toward lock 9. After an hour we get to the lock and before long we are having a chat with the lock master as he pulls the plug out of the bath tub. The sign on the lock shows river levels during the various floods and how far under water the lock goes. Today they are letting through about 2 megalitres off water, during the 1956 flood 350 megalitres a day were going past this point. 

We leave the lock for a day similar to yesterday. Not much is changing at the moment. Our aim is to get to lock 8 before it closes at 4pm. The day is very hot and gets above 40 again. Looks like it will stay hot until the weekend. We tick over the kilometres and by 3pm we reach lock 8.  Another quick decent as we again chat to the lock master. We met his sister at the caravan park in Mildura. Not much is happening on the river, we see 5 people all day, 3 of them work at the locks. We are their first customers for 3 days. 

We paddle a bit further before pulling up on a rare sand bar for the night. The afternoon and evening is very hot. We spend our time sitting in the river, sleeping in the shade or purifying water. It seems like days before the sun sinks behind the trees to give us some relief.   

Tinky throughs the line in again. This time he is successful and pulls in a big one. Unfortunately it is an old turtle. 

Looks like another hot night before we do it all again tomorrow. 

Sunrise

Just another old paddle steamer parked at lock 8.