We drove on to Yarrawonga and had lunch by Lake Mulwala - a very popular spot - then headed for our next destination, Barmah National Park, right on the Murray River border. Unfortunately it is not well signposted, and seems to go by a number of different names, and we had to use our instincts to get us there. On arrival in the park, there was no obvious park information, and although we knew you could camp there, there was no information available (that we could see).
We drove down to a camping area and had a look around, but decided not to stay. The area was huge and quite crowded - a legacy of the long weekend - and was serviced by only two long drop toilets, without toilet paper or water. I guess you get what you pay for. With the number of people, and noisy water craft there was little chance of any birdwatching so we decided to drive on through the park to the next town. What a silly thing to do! The crazy woman (my GPS) indicated this would take 2 hours, but we pressed on regardless. After a while of seemingly getting nowhere, we stopped and asked a chap at another (smaller) camping spot. Local, fortunately, he informed us the road through to our alternate destination had been closed, so back to Barmah we went. Perhaps some park signage, or printed maps such as are available at other National Parks, would have been helpful.
We pressed on through Barmah, heading for Moama/Echuca - another big mistake. Echuca - Moama are twin towns right on the Murray River - Moama in NSW and Echuca in Victoria. Because of the long weekend, all the caravan parks were full. We tried a couple of motels and eventually a very obliging lady at one called the local booking service and found us a room in Echuca. She even phoned through to the motel for us to secure the room. By this time we were exhausted and really appreciated the service.
The Settlement Motor Inn turned out to be clean and comfortable, if a little noisy. Right next door is a very well maintained laundromat so I took advantage and did a load of washing before making a late start on Monday morning, headed for a return visit to Little Desert Nature Lodge, near Nhill.
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