Mildura

1 – 4 September 2018

We faced another big drive, but broke it up with a lunch stop at Birdcage Reserve Rest Area, near Darlingon Point, complete with toilets and picnic tables. From there we drove through Hay, and stopped at The Junction Rest Area where we ate our remaining fruit before entering the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone which protects the Riverland from the dreaded Queensland Fruit Fly. In all seriousness, an infestation can destroy an industry so all travellers should be aware of, respect and comply with, quarantine arrangements.

We decided to book an ensuite site in Mildura, so did that online along the way, scoring a “3 night special” price. It’s nice to have a little luxury, especially in the colder weather. We arrived late in the afternoon and set up our camp before going down for a short walk along the river.

Our walk to the river.

On Sunday morning we set off for the markets in Red Cliffs, about 25 minutes away. These markets are held each month and spread all around the park, and two main shopping streets. There were fruit and vegetables, preserves, local olives, oils and lots of crafty things. On the way back to our temporary home we stopped to purchase a new GPS. The “crazy woman” had finally succumbed to what we thought of as a type of dementia (started off bright then faded very quickly each day) and we had needed to resort to old fashioned paper maps and the gps directions on the phone. We found a very nice salesperson who didn’t try to upsell us to the latest model with features we didn’t need or want, and so we came away with the “bright young thing”. We hoped she would live up to her name.

After lunch we headed off for a walk at Kings Billabong, a popular spot with lots of walking tracks and a bird hide on the water. We were a bit disappointed as there wasn’t much birdlife around, and the quickly dropping temperature of the late afternoon had us heading home. This is a very nice spot, but spoiled somewhat by the number of younger drivers speeding along the tracks with little regard for other visitors.

On Monday morning we set off for another birdwatching spot – Etiwanda Wetlands. This is quite close to town and is a series of ponds which captures, cleans and stabilises stormwater and road runoff. The well signposted walking tracks meander around the ponds and made for a very pleasant morning walk. From there it was into town for morning tea and then some shopping. After lunch back at camp, we set off back into town to buy some more warm clothes – night time temperatures hovering in the low single digits were proving a challenge. We then drove down to the riverfront park, and went for a very long walk back towards Lock 11. There are lots of picnic spots and a couple of cafes in the very well maintained parklands.

'Cirrosis of the river' Not sure about the spelling but a good name for a boat.

Lock 11. The last time we were here it was on a paddle steamer.

After another very cold night, we packed up and set off to cross the border into South Australia.