25 May 2017 -
Our three nights in Gundagai were great but that was not the main reason for this trip. For those of you who were listening to the story earlier you would recall that we are wanting, well not really wanting, planning ..., anyway I wasn't listening to the story earlier either, to travel the Murray River from source to sea. The source of the Murray is located in the bush a day's hike in and out along a fire trail somewhere between Tom Groggin, Omeo and Thredbo. We, for the sake of convenience, decided that a little upstream from Tom Groggin campground would be our token source of the Murray. At Tom Groggin the Murray is well on its way to being a river but it is more like a stream and far more than a rivulet or even a trickle.
Further on even more excitement was had on this exciting journey - a lookout. Not just any lookout, but a lookout that overlooks the crash site of Australia's first commercial plane crash. Well you can't actually see the site because it is located 23 kilometres away in the mountains behind a ridge that obscures everything. But it is a good place to stop to look at lovely valleys and mountains. Maybe it crashed near the White Gate? Will have to go back and have a look.
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| The crash site - over the hills, behind the clouds and on a ridge that can't be seen. |
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| Julie reading all about what can't be seen. |
Eventually we arrived at Khancoban and, after some early doubts about how it looks from the road, we booked into the town's only caravan park. The new owners are doing it up and with a now completed new amenities block the van park is certainly worth a visit. We jagged a great site with uninterrupted views of Khancoban Dam and the mountains in the distance. Campfires are allowed and fire drums are provided. We visited one of the local hydroelectric power stations and had a great talk to a young lady who just knew everything about all the power stations, water flows, dam levels and electricity production and prices. Travelling back home we (I) collected some firewood and the evening was spent watching the sun set, the smoke rise and the stars come out.
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| Khancoban camp views |
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| Khancoban camp |
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| Our fireplace at Khancoban camp |
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| Scammells Lookout |
Saturday 27 May - today's the day we get to go to the source of the Murray, well as near to it as we are prepared to be bothered trying. At 1 degree in the morning we are up early and quickly back in bed until the mercury reached 2 degrees. Four hours later after a hearty breakfast and a lunch pail filled with homemade salad rolls and a Thermos for coffee, we set off along the Alpine Way towards Jindabyne. The temperature was still 6 degrees at lunchtime. We had travelled this road before in 2013 but we just love it. The Snowy Mountains tower on one side as we snake our way to 1100 metres and down into fog filled valleys below. After an hour we arrive at Tom Groggin campground and follow a dirt track upstream until we come to a crossing across the Murray River that, on balance, wasn't worth crossing given the depth and the rate of flow in the young river. So at this point we took photos of each other, of us together, of us not in the photo and generally celebrated the fact that we had achieved the first part of our planned journey along the mighty Murray.
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| Near the Murray source |
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| Near the Murray source |
I threw a stick in the water and plan to retrieve it when we get to the mouth 2500 klm away.
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| Morning tea at Tom Groggin |
We then turned for home but took every interesting track we could find off the highway, one taking us to Geehi Hut and campground where we could and did cross the Murray from NSW into Victoria and back again.
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| Geehi Hut |
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| Crossing the Murray |
Another track led to Olsens Lookout high in the mountains. Here we had our lunch with hot coffee and soaked in the views and the near perfect weather.
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| Olsen's Lookout |
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| Sunset at Khancoban |
Returning home, I dropped Julie off to start dinner while I went back out again to forage for more firewood. Once dinner was on the go and foraging was completed we settled in around the fire overlooking the views of the dam and mountains beyond. The weather was idyllic with no wind and almost clear skies. The sunset was again beautiful but as soon as it set down went the temperature to 4 degrees.
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| Last night in Khancoban |
The weather is forecast to turn wet and cold tomorrow (4 to 9 degrees) as some cold fronts sweep across Victoria. Rain of up to 50mm is forecast with temperatures dropping to -3 degrees later in the week. Monday will be 0 - 7 degrees! So we are off west tomorrow, driving in the rain towards the oncoming fronts. Storms and hail are forecast for Wodonga which is near where we are planning to stop. Bush camping is not on the agenda until the rain goes in the next 3 - 4 days as the tracks will be too muddy, as will the campsites.
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| Neils Reserve on the Murray River, |
Well the weatherman was right once again. At 4 degrees we woke up to a rainy morning. Fortunately I had packed everything away in the car last night and just left the awning halfway folded out. Overnight rain had partly flooded the campground with large puddles everywhere. We set off at 9.30 am. The temperature was a balmy 10 degrees by then and the showers persisted all day. A visit to Corryong allowed us to visit a great cafe that Julie remembered from our last time here in 2013 where we had brunch. After fuelling up we joined the Murray River Road and headed along the Murray River until we hit the Hume Dam. The dam was built to collect water from the winter rains and then release it in the dry summer so the Murray always has water flowing in it. The huge dam fluctuates from 18% at the end of summer to 100% in as little as eight weeks.
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| Autumn leaves |
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| Crossing the Hume Dam in a storm |
It was on the Hume Dam that we settled in for the night to wait out the cold rainy day. A number of storms fortunately missed us although we did get a couple of heavy showers.
Our journey continues west along the Murray, because if we went east we would end up at the source again. We set our sights on a great van park on the outskirts of Tocumwal. The back roads we followed skirted Yarrawonga and crossed the Murray a few times.
Often we had know idea whether we were in NSW or Victoria. More showers were forecast so we set up in Tocumwal for a couple of of nights under tall river gums with views of the water. The showers did arrive on the second day and stayed for most of the day.
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| Tocumwal camp |
A visit to the Tourist Information Centre revealed that the town had the largest airport in the southern hemisphere during WWII. When the Japanese bombed Darwin, Tocumwal became the centre for the US and Allied Forces air forces. In just five weeks after the bombings, farms had been taken over and the first airstrip - which is still there today - was finished. Within 18 weeks all four runways were completed.
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| The Blowhole |
The friendly local Tourist Information lady told us about the Blowhole about 12klm out of town, so we paid it a visit. Bulging out of a flat landscape is a granite mound. In the mound is a small nondescript pond, more like a big puddle that might have filled after rains. However all is not as it seems. The Blowhole is connected underground to the Murray River several kilometres away. Even more astounding is that when the Murray is full the Blowhole empties, when the Murray is dry the Blowhole is full. Several years ago a young aboriginal boy dove down into the Blowhole to have a look. He didn't resurface but a few weeks later his body washed up on the shores of the Murray! Spooky hey?
There are a number of free campsites on the river around Tocumwal so we drove around in the showery weather to have a look at them. Take away the rain and the muddy tracks to access them the sites would be great.
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| Murray freecamp |
But we had rain and mud so we were happy with our camp at Bushlands on the Murray, particularly as we had the place to ourselves on the first day. In October 2016 the whole park, as was the whole Murray, was flooded. Our camp was 1.5 metres underwater. The park has recovered well and the new owners have grand plans to enhance it.
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| Julie showing Bella how good she can march |
The park owner's dog, Bella, is a two year old Labradoodle and for some reason she took a shine to us. She followed us on our walks and just loved playing fetch. She lost her ball in the long grass so we donated a tennis ball we had and for hours she played fetch to the point we each had sore right legs from kicking the ball for Bella to get. It was hard to say goodbye to her when we left but the long westward journey to the Murray mouth beckoned.
Under stunning clear skies and light winds we headed off at 9.30am with the temperature just 6 degrees. Again the backroads we took followed the Murray where we had a great morning tea stop at Barmah and lunch on the shores of Lake Boga.
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| Barmah - morning tea spot |
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| Lake Boga from inside van |
We stayed the night at one of our favourite van parks in Robinvale. Usually it is very busy but this time of year all those that clog this place in summer are in northern Australia clogging up places there. We jagged a beautiful site on the banks of the Murray with no neighbours either side for 50 metres and spent what was left of a beautiful day watching the sun go down while kookaburras stared down at us from gum trees above and a platypus looked up at us as it swam past in the river below. A pretty special spot.
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| views from our Robinvale campsite |
I was keen to stay another night but we had already explored this area in detail previously and we are keen to get to the end of the Murray and start heading north to areas we haven't been. So after waking up to just 1.6 degrees in the morning under clear blues skies we packed up and set sail towards Waikerie in South Australia.
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| Breakfast at 1.6 degrees at Robinvale |
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| Morning sunrise |
We looked at a couple of camp spots before then but were not impressed so Waikerie it is for tonight. The forecast tomorrow is for -3 degrees and "severe heavy frost". Our little heater will be on overtime tonight.
Well the forecast was right. I woke up at around 4am and turned the heater on to stop the caravan freezing up inside. Fortunately the water hose didn't freeze so we had running water in the morning. Frost covered the ground and the overnight dew was frozen to both the top and underside of the awning.
Fog also greeted us so, for the first time in a while, we had breakfast inside with our toes huddled around the heater. The day ended up being stunning. The fog burned off and we set off with the temperature at 3 degrees at 9am.
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| Fog covering the Murray River |
A beautiful roadside stop high on the cliffs of the Murray called Pelican Point provided us with a spectacular location for morning tea. Finally the sun had some warmth in it, there was no breeze to provide wind chill and the sky was a crisp cloudless winter blue. Coffee was enjoyed as we drank in the panoramic view from the lookout.
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| Pelican Point |
Reluctantly we set off further east to Murray Bridge where there is a bridge over the Murray then we turned south to our planned camp at Clayton Bay on Lake Alexandrina where the Murray River finally empties into the sea.
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| Murray Bridge bridge .... bridge |
The caravan park at Clayton Bay has recently been taken over by a young couple with their three young children. Danny booked us in and half an hour later after an interesting chat we set up right on the shores of the lake. Danny and his family set off around Australia indefinitely after spending three years converting a Pioneer touring bus into the most incredible travelling bus we have seen. They made it from Adelaide to Clayton Bay (about an hours drive) and ended up buying the lease to this van park we are staying at. In six months they have turned the run down park into a great park with many plans for improvements on the books.
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| Clayton Bay walk along Lake Alexandra |
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| Nice photo hey |
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| Ready for drinkies |
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| Sunset out front of our camp -Clayton Bay |
3 June 2017 - another stunning day greeted us as we opened our caravan door with the temperature at 1.2 degrees. Bravely we ate breakfast outside while we waited for the early morning sun to rise over the trees. Overnight frost was still on the grass when we set off to Goolwa some 40 minutes away. A beach access allows 4WD's to drive the beach towards the mouth of the Murray River. After dropping our tyre pressures we drove the beach for around 20 minutes and there it was - the mouth of the Murray. A large group of seals frolliced in the waters waving their flippers in celebration of us arriving.
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| At mouth of Murray looking for the stick |
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| Beach drive to Murray mouth |
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| Where the Murray enters the sea |
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| Seals happy to see us |
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| No stick |
Photos were taken and feet were wet in the Murray waters that had flowed 2508 kilometres to greet us. We were either too early or too late, I looked hard, waited for ages but eventually I realized that I would never see the stick I threw in the Murray at Tom Groggin a few weeks earlier. Such a disappointment.
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| Mouth of the Murray from Hindmarsh Island |
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| Last night at Clayton Bay |
Well we achieved one of our goals for this trip so tomorrow we start heading north past Adelaide to start exploring central South Australia. We could have taken a lot longer but we had done a lot of the river before and we are keen to get into areas we have not been to.
So this is a good place to end this Post.
We hope you enjoy it.
Farewell once again from the Grey Gonads.
JeffnJulie
3 June 2017
Further on even more excitement was had on this exciting journey - a lookout. Not just any lookout, but a lookout that overlooks the crash site of Australia's first commercial plane crash. Well you can't actually see the site because it is located 23 kilometres away in the mountains behind a ridge that obscures everything. But it is a good place to stop to look at lovely valleys and mountains. Maybe it crashed near the White Gate? Will have to go back and have a look.
Well the forecast was right. I woke up at around 4am and turned the heater on to stop the caravan freezing up inside. Fortunately the water hose didn't freeze so we had running water in the morning. Frost covered the ground and the overnight dew was frozen to both the top and underside of the awning. 
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