Through Victoria to home

Travelled: 632km through Victoria via Pinnarro SA, Whycheproof Vic to home sweet home.

Well unfortunately we found ourselves once again close to the border and Victoria is in lockdown #5 (we are not confident that it’s only for 5 days). The weather is wet, windy and cold which has sapped our enthusiasm for caravanning and further explores of the area. We have some work beckoning us at home that needs to be done …. So with mixed feelings - sad that our journey is over, but excited to get home - we make the decision to drive through Victoria to our home. The sun makes an appearance early trying to break through the persistent clouds.

We stop at the Pinnaroo bakery to nourish us through the day.. a breakfast pie with a very tasty vanilla slice (devoured later). The SA/Victoria border is practically nonexistent ie Victoria doesn’t care who comes in from SA…but SA will never let you go back.

We drive past some beautiful farming land and a few classic country towns.

We take some drive by photos of some Silo Art.

About half way we stop in Whycheproof for a cuppa and the vanilla slice and take a couple of photos.

We then drive all the way home… after travelling 12,660 km over 80 days along with some great memories to sustain us until we can escape again…

Murray River SA

Travelled: Thursday-128km via Morgan to Waikerie bush camp on the Murray River, Friday-218km via Loxton to Lameroo RV park. 

After a windy and rainy night and our morning coffee, we were off on the road to Morgan, a historic port town on the ‘Great Elbow’ of the Murray River. We parked next to the old Railway Station. The first train came in 1878 and the last one was in 1969. At its height 6 trains a day would come here.

A little further down river we came to the remains of the wharf built in 1912. This used to be the hub of life during the towns golden days. By 1912 it was 168m long, being used to load timber’s with its 5 water hydraulic cranes. Gangs of up to 50 men worked 24 hour shifts to unload paddle steamers laden with wool, wheat and other goods onto the train bound to Port Adelaide.

There were many building reflecting the towns’ heyday with 2 pubs still in operation, evidence that it is now surviving as a holiday destination, offering houseboat hire etc. The ferry terminus dates back to the 1850’s when passengers would have to winch themselves across the river. Lucky for us we didn’t need to exert so much effort and we’re able to just drive on with Traky to get to the otherside.

A little further in we approached Waikerie but stopped just out of town, finding a spot on the shore of the river near Potross Landing. We decided to enjoy the sunny afternoon here (even though it was a bit windy) watching the pelicans and shags.

We hear that Victoria is back into lockdown…so do we linger once again along the border…(bad timing once again) and hope it’s only for 5 days, as we had planned to stop in a couple of places on our way home. Or do we race through? Again the weather turned nasty in the evening but we managed to drive out along the sandy track in the morning. Having eaten all our fruit and veggies (due to entering a fruit fly zone), we did a restock at the supermarket in town and then ventured to the foreshore park to use their BBQ for an eggs and bacon breakfast.

Just out of town we stopped to admire the Silo Art.

We drive around Lake Bonney but decide not to say here as the wind howls over the water creating waves you could nearly surf on …We notice the council workers picking up dead fish from the shore and learn they had died due to the water temperature being too cold for them….

The northern side is a bit calmer…

On our way to Berri we remark on how irrigation can change arid land to productive land, with citrus and almonds plantations along with plenty of vineyards.

We continue on to Loxton where we park on the bank of the river.

After a cuppa we venture further on

and discover the Tree of Knowledge that shows the different flood levels the area has endured over the years.

The weather continues to be unpredictable and so we decide to keep heading south to Lameroo which is primarily a small service town for the surroundings rural areas growing grain and sheep.

As we walk through town we noticed a sign that this was also the birth place of Julie Anthony a famous singer. 

Burra SA

Travelled: 128km via Terowie, Burra to Worlds End Reserve (Burra Gorge) bush camp, South Australia 

After a wet and windy night we awoke to relatively clear skies. We drove around the back streets of Peterborough admiring some of the stone/brick buildings before driving 24km to Terowie.

This once thriving railway township is now a near ghost town where, in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur made his famous ‘I shall return’ speech.

There are still a few buildings that reflect its vibrancy and importance.

This good looking guy was enjoying the freedom of the morning sun…

We then continued on to Burra, a historic copper mining town. It also calls itself the Merino capital of the World.

We have been here twice before so this time we were contented to just a brief visit. We had a look at the Monster Mine Site, which was once the largest in Australia, producing a total of 50,000 tons of copper.

It is a lovely town to visit with plenty of historical buildings reflecting its yesteryears.

After a walk around we decided to drive a further 25km south to Burra Gorge, now named as Worlds End Reserve. Having fond memories of our previous visit, we were not disappointed. We found a spot in the sun, a heap of firewood left behind and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon, if not a bit blowy.

On our walk we admired the different shaped red gums.

We then managed a bbq steak dinner and a bit of star watching around the fire before the heavens opened to give us a bit of a drenching.