Fine,
sunny and very warm
Cycle 24k
We left at 8:25am, five minutes earlier than our scheduled ETD. We considered
waiting another five minutes for any new riders to appear, but immediately
dismissed the idea! We rode back towards the Murray River to check out the
timings and costs for the lunch cruise. Once that was sorted we continued on
the river towards the Chaffey Homestead. The Chaffey brothers are credited with
enabling the survival of Mildura due to their extensive knowledge of irrigation
and the best use of the river water. They were Canadians and were strongly
encourage to move to Mildura in order to assist the people to not only survive,
but prosper. They obviously did a fantastic job, as the area is still looking
very lush. We could only go so far as the rest of the area had been closed off
for maintenance due to recent flooding. In Sep last year (2016!) the river rose
due to upstream deluges and peaked in Nov. The evidence is still there - in
fences, on roads, and water lines on trees in the river. We turned back and
stopped at Lock 11 which was being used - a drop of 3.5m which is quite
significant. The Murray has a series of Locks and Weirs, and the weir at Lock
11 is a removable one; it is removed when the water level gets too high (to
avoid damage) and when it needs repairs. It keeps the level of water about 3.5m
higher for about 50km upstream.
We then retreated to the coffee shop for a well-earned coffee and muesli/nut
bar. It was then time to board the "Rothbury", an ex-coal driven
paddle steamer. Today, she is still a paddle driven vessel, only driven by a
powerful Diesel engine. We went upriver as far as the Gol Gol Pub where we were
off loaded, complete with a voucher allowing us a 10% discount. The food was
well overpriced (great tourist trap) but we ate; we all had the burgers with
chips that cost us $32/couple!! We boarded the boat back to the terminal at 2:15pm
and were docked at 3pm. We took a short ride around the newly established
marina area, complete with some very fancy homes, and then back to the van park
via the city, stopping off at the Information Centre on the way.
Greg went to Bunnings while Wendy read her book. The Fischers retreated to
their van and turned on the aircon. Pre-dinner drinks were had at the Walker's
pad, with dinner about 7:30pm. The Walkers then decided to turn their aircon on
as it was still 35 degC in the van at 8:30pm!! Teeth, shower and bed followed.
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