Today we wandered through Rennie, Savernake (where my mum grew up) through Coleambally (for Craig) to Junee. The country looks amazing.
Back to Canberra tomorrow evening. Saturday morning Deloraine!! What an adventure. Now reality settles in.
Thanks for following us.
Cheers
Mary and John

Opposite our site was a date palm. I am wondering about how these all appeared in little country towns after WW1. Anyway on the way to the bin I looked up under the fronds and after calmly walking back to the van for my camera I found this very cute couple.

Dad ( Red rumped Parrot) of course was looking like a million dollars and sat around posing for me WHILE------

Mum was head down and bum up literally building the nest by tearing out the space with her beak.  Feathers ready to line it! I am sure they will make beautiful babies.

I promise this will be the last bird blog but how could you not love these little guys!!

This little Apostle Bird took a fancy to Pa's slippers. Sad that old people take their slippers with them camping. It is bloody freezing here in Junee tonight, and I have mine on too!!

This little bloke decided after exploring Pa's slippers he might move in with us!

Sadly he checked us out and decided we didn't cut it!

When I was growing up this bank of the lake on the Mulwala side was just weeds and reeds. Now it is  luxury row. These houses start from one million dollars.

When I was a child there were gardens beds at intervals up the Main Street with date palms in the middle of them. I remember when I was about ten my dad and all the other men who had trucks or brute strength removed all but these to make way for cars. Progress!!

I have loved sitting on the bank of my river just feeling at home. Below is the view from our site.

This is my lake where we all learned to swim and ski as kids. I am allowed to call it mine as my dad helped clear all the trees out to create the lake before it was filled.

Lake Mulwala was the result of the building of a weir. We were chatting to another Garden-Nome ( Craig and I have created this group to replace the Grey Nomads) and when I said I was born in Yarra he asked me if the weir was here when I was a kid !!!!!!!!! I did not hit him.

We drove through Barmah on our way to Yarrawonga but short of having morning tea on the river there, once again all river tracks were under water.

It is great to be back once more where I was born and we spent yesterday exploring all the new developments along the banks of Lake Mulwala. It is amazing. The population is 6,000 but during the Summer it explodes to 50,000.

We will explore some more today.
Cheers
Mary and John

What a difference a H makes!



It was around about now that Toughie and I had a navigation brain fart!

Toughie quit all together and I lost the plot.

I still think it is the Vic Govts fault for calling two towns so close together Barham and Barmah.

We were headed to the latter to try and get into the Choke or Narrows of the Murray.

BUT of course we ended up in Barham - the only consolation was that John found an Engine Museum he had to drag himself away from. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

After dark we ended up in Mathoura on the river. The lady warned us not to back up too far or we would end up in the river. Next morning we could see why. There was a three foot drop to the water.

We really enjoyed two days here but were unable to use any other roads into the river because of the flooding. We will look forward to coming back in non flood time.



There is an amazing two storey bird hide on the Moira Wetlands that are part of the largest remaining River Red Gum forest.

Yanga National Park, like everywhere else, was flooded but we were able to visit the Station Homestead. What an amazing place. When it was in full swing as a sheep station there were over one hundred people on the pay roll. Two families made a living from fishing the lakes.

Life here would have been demanding but you also get the feeling that there was a stream of visitors and a great social life.

I can imagine evenings on this verandah overlooking the lake.

They are in the process of restoring the gardens.

When we made it to Belranald this little Court House caught our imagination. It has always had to be entered via the footbridge. It is set up as a Museum now, complete with dressed dummies sitting up in the Court.

Sorry to disappear like that. We camped wild as often as we could on the Murray and then couldn't hook up at Mathoura.



We dragged out our drive out of Menindee through Kinchega National Park by constantly stopping. Most of the roads were closed but we had been there before so were pleased just to be able to cross it back to the Silver City Highway.

This is Lake Menindee itself. All the lakes are full to capacity and the overflows into the annabranch of the Darling releasing amazing amounts of water as below.



Can I help it if there were lots of birds there!
We were amazed to find a massive organic irrigation property called Tandou just below the Park.

 This is the very full Annabranch of the Darling. They were getting ready for more water but were confident they had prepared well for it.The system seems to be very well managed.



This photo is not even focussed but don't you want to be this little guy paddling off home after another busy day on the lake!

Tomorrow we head out through Kinchega National Park and that is it for dirt roads.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Cheers

Mary and John

I reckon this little cormorant is telling the Pelican "Back off big boy. This is our turf!"



We had to stop for these Native Hens as we were leaving the boat trip. The stopping tally is now roos, emu, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, swallows, horses, wild pigs, native hens, bustards and occasionally humans. 





The green-ness after dry dust is hard to take in.



Last year the Night Herons were very shy and hid. This year there are so many other birds around they are out there with the rest of them.



Today we went out onto the water with a local guide. The number of birds was stunning even compared to last year. The water system here has more documented species than anywhere else in Australia and you really need to live here as it is all seasonal. Very tempting!!

Don't you love the Naval Officers all standing in a line on the pillars saluting!

It doesn't matter which way you turn the camera there are birds.

Menindee is just amazing.
This is our fourth visit and we have seen it in absolute drought through to bursting with water and life as it is this trip. They are waiting for the next mini flood to arrive.
It has taken till now for me to understand the system on lakes and its relationship with the Darling and ultimately the Murray.
But the birds this year win hands down. Forget the water.
We camped at Copi Hollow again out of habit but why not when it looks like the following:-

As we were camped within feet of the lake I was really suprised to discover as we sat by the fire into the night that Pelicans feed well after dark. The sense of peace here is beyond words.

As we left Broken Hill John and I decided it is a bit of a gem with some great things to see. We have been there twice now for several days and have found new treasures each time.
My favourite this trip was the Migrant Museum at the Railway Museum. While John wandered around the trains and machinery I read walls full of the actual words from conversations with the very early migrants.
I loved little things like the Italian child who could not quite believe boxed Craft Cheddar Cheese and white bread that aussie kids thought was the real deal! As an elderly person he said, "Thank God we taught them about food and how to cook." I so agree.

This bit is a John blog:- when we pulled up for a coffee half way between BH and Mendindee John looked up to find some amazing electrical attachments grown into the gum tree we parked under. Could only happen to John!!

After a walk around we found the remains of a building that had been bulldozed further back. As it was on a creek bed perhaps at some point there was a pub here. It reminded us of the street sign hung on the tree in the main street of Tibooburra. Use what you have in the outback.