Day 7 Mirrool to the Murray near Echuca
Clear skies with a pretty sunrise to start the day
Seeing as the dump point was so readily accessible here, we decided to empty our tank
Farewell fabulous Mirrool - what a find
Back on to the Newell Highway, heading south
Roadworks, but very little activity, after all it is Sunday. Looks like the road is being widened
Interesting town names that I had never heard of before, that we will be passing through
Good road
Water in Mirrool creek
The main highway by-passes all the little towns so we turned in here to check out Ardlethan
Amazing town name boards
Cute London pub in the town !!!!
Town had historical items of interest on display
It’s main claim to fame is the Kelpie. It is the Home of the Kelpie
Back out on the main highway - flocks of Galahs feeding off seed that had obviously been dropped in the road from a grain carrying truck, seeing as this is a grain growing area.
Next town with an interesting name
Quick check in this town. Not much to see
Then back out on the Newell highway south again
More roadworks
Passing another of many grain silos that we have seen on this part of our trip
Tree lined entry into Narrandera
Blown away by this water tower art
There was a viewing area with information boards,
Telling the story…
and the history
and of interest - how the artists created it
The original old water tower
Historic building in town in Narrandera
Main Canal in town
Bill rescued this snake from the middle of the road
Unfortunately where Bill went to park in the shade was a bit of a swamp. We got a bit stuck so getting out ended up with a bit of mud being thrown up onto the van!!!!
And muddy wheels
We checked out this Charles Sturt memorial
and the 250th anniversary of the town
The main reason we stopped here was to go on the wetlands trail
Back on our journey south
Good road, but with the occasional areas patched up due to lots of potholes
Flat countryside
Lots of emus in the long grass
Next town Jerilderie
Crossing the Billabong creek - plenty of water in there
We parked in town and walked across to the only place open to buy food for lunch. They had this mural up on the wall. Refreshing as the focus in this town is Ned Kelly
There is a Ned Kelly trail through the town with snippets of information about him
and a large info board about his raid at Jerilderie…
The bakery is quite famous for its food and promotion of the Ned Kelly story but unfortunately it was closed today
We walked down to the local park to sit and eat our lunch, taking in the scenes along the way
We sat and had our lunch looking out onto the lagoon
Checked out this steel windmill - one of a kind as the story below tells…
An artistically built timber shelter overlooking Jerilderie Lake at Luke Park
Not sure why Jerilderie was chosen to have this tank??!!
Not far now
Past more Canola growing!!!!!
Onto the Barmah Picola rd
Getting closer
Travelling beside the Murray
Back into New South Wales again as going over the Murray again. The border between the 2 states is the Murray river which twists and turns. With every bridge over the Murray you change states!!!
Finally we reach the turn off where we have decided to stay
We asked the owner of the Mirrool pub for a recommendation of where to stay, he suggested this place. There were so many options that we couldn’t decide anyway, so this made it easy for us. Great suggestion as it turned out.
The road in
I had rung earlier in the day to ask if there was room for us to camp. Meghan told us that there was plenty of space, and she sure was right - lots of riverfrontage camp sites. By the time we arrived - just after 5, they had shut up shop but were just out the front and were hanging around because they had taken my name and were expecting us. They were so welcoming. Explained the campground, told us we could go where we liked and to come back in the morning to settle up.
What a view
Perfect spot to pull up
Seeing as the dump point was so readily accessible here, we decided to empty our tank
Farewell fabulous Mirrool - what a find
Back on to the Newell Highway, heading south
Roadworks, but very little activity, after all it is Sunday. Looks like the road is being widened
Interesting town names that I had never heard of before, that we will be passing through
Good road
Water in Mirrool creek
The main highway by-passes all the little towns so we turned in here to check out Ardlethan
Amazing town name boards
Cute London pub in the town !!!!
Town had historical items of interest on display
It’s main claim to fame is the Kelpie. It is the Home of the Kelpie
Back out on the main highway - flocks of Galahs feeding off seed that had obviously been dropped in the road from a grain carrying truck, seeing as this is a grain growing area.
Next town with an interesting name
Quick check in this town. Not much to see
Then back out on the Newell highway south again
More roadworks
Passing another of many grain silos that we have seen on this part of our trip
Tree lined entry into Narrandera
Blown away by this water tower art
There was a viewing area with information boards,
Telling the story…
and the history
and of interest - how the artists created it
The original old water tower
Historic building in town in Narrandera
Main Canal in town
Bill rescued this snake from the middle of the road
Unfortunately where Bill went to park in the shade was a bit of a swamp. We got a bit stuck so getting out ended up with a bit of mud being thrown up onto the van!!!!
And muddy wheels
We checked out this Charles Sturt memorial
and the 250th anniversary of the town
The main reason we stopped here was to go on the wetlands trail
pretty flora
Not much wildlife
Several bird hides around the lagoon
Bill managing to get some good closeups of the flowers
This bridge has gates that can be closed off if needed
More information about the area and its wildlife
View across the lagoon
Another bird hide
Hard to believe that the water came up this high. Of course this years height isn’t in there
A bridge the other side of the lagoon - a panel bridge as described on the info Information about the work done in the area to maintain its health
The line of concrete as described by the info board
More info this time about the bird life
Bill entering another bird hide
Inside that bird hide
View across to the Charles Sturt memorial. I took this photo because I noticed the row of old communication posts and wondering about the significance of them being there
On the road again
Crossing the flowing Murrumbidgee river
We were about to take this turn when we spotted the old rail line
So of course had to go and check it out
and climb onto it!!!
We then thought that we would head down the road opposite to try to get a view of the old bridge over the river. We had tried to get to it from the other side but the road had been closed due to flooding. Pleased to get to see it through here
We did try to see across to it from the end of the road but the lady that lives in this end house came out and abused us!!!! No doubt she was sick of people trying to get access through her property. Not that we had any intentions of going beyond her gate
Good views across to the rail line from the road
Not much wildlife
Several bird hides around the lagoon
Bill managing to get some good closeups of the flowers
This bridge has gates that can be closed off if needed
More information about the area and its wildlife
View across the lagoon
Another bird hide
Hard to believe that the water came up this high. Of course this years height isn’t in there
A bridge the other side of the lagoon - a panel bridge as described on the info Information about the work done in the area to maintain its health
The line of concrete as described by the info board
More info this time about the bird life
Bill entering another bird hide
Inside that bird hide
View across to the Charles Sturt memorial. I took this photo because I noticed the row of old communication posts and wondering about the significance of them being there
On the road again
Crossing the flowing Murrumbidgee river
We were about to take this turn when we spotted the old rail line
So of course had to go and check it out
and climb onto it!!!
We then thought that we would head down the road opposite to try to get a view of the old bridge over the river. We had tried to get to it from the other side but the road had been closed due to flooding. Pleased to get to see it through here
We did try to see across to it from the end of the road but the lady that lives in this end house came out and abused us!!!! No doubt she was sick of people trying to get access through her property. Not that we had any intentions of going beyond her gate
Good views across to the rail line from the road
Back on our journey south
Good road, but with the occasional areas patched up due to lots of potholes
Flat countryside
Lots of emus in the long grass
Next town Jerilderie
Crossing the Billabong creek - plenty of water in there
We parked in town and walked across to the only place open to buy food for lunch. They had this mural up on the wall. Refreshing as the focus in this town is Ned Kelly
There is a Ned Kelly trail through the town with snippets of information about him
and a large info board about his raid at Jerilderie…
The bakery is quite famous for its food and promotion of the Ned Kelly story but unfortunately it was closed today
We walked down to the local park to sit and eat our lunch, taking in the scenes along the way
We sat and had our lunch looking out onto the lagoon
Checked out this steel windmill - one of a kind as the story below tells…
An artistically built timber shelter overlooking Jerilderie Lake at Luke Park
Not sure why Jerilderie was chosen to have this tank??!!
Walking back to the car found this mural on the side wall of the bakery
and finally found the bread tin Ned Kelly at the back of the bakery
Spotted this Ned in the back of an old car on an old truck, next to where we were parked
On the Newell south again
Another small town along the way
and another
Wikicamps highlighted this historic bridge in Tocumwal
So we decided to check it out
It is still in use
Spanning the Murray
Which was flowing quite fast
As we drove back on to the highway and over the road bridge we got a reasonable view across to the bridge where you could see the centre structure that can be lifted for boats to go through
In a blink we were suddenly in Victoria
With the road going along beside the Murray
Obviously lots of flooding here, noted by this flooded road and sign for entry into a submerged park
More Canola growing
A strawberry farm - we didn’t stop at, keen to get to our destination as time was marching on
At this point we turned off the Newell onto a minor road
and finally found the bread tin Ned Kelly at the back of the bakery
Spotted this Ned in the back of an old car on an old truck, next to where we were parked
On the Newell south again
Another small town along the way
and another
Wikicamps highlighted this historic bridge in Tocumwal
So we decided to check it out
It is still in use
Spanning the Murray
Which was flowing quite fast
As we drove back on to the highway and over the road bridge we got a reasonable view across to the bridge where you could see the centre structure that can be lifted for boats to go through
In a blink we were suddenly in Victoria
With the road going along beside the Murray
Obviously lots of flooding here, noted by this flooded road and sign for entry into a submerged park
More Canola growing
A strawberry farm - we didn’t stop at, keen to get to our destination as time was marching on
At this point we turned off the Newell onto a minor road
Onto the Goulburn Valley Highway
Then the Murray Valley highway
Not far now
Past more Canola growing!!!!!
Onto the Barmah Picola rd
Getting closer
Travelling beside the Murray
Back into New South Wales again as going over the Murray again. The border between the 2 states is the Murray river which twists and turns. With every bridge over the Murray you change states!!!
Finally we reach the turn off where we have decided to stay
We asked the owner of the Mirrool pub for a recommendation of where to stay, he suggested this place. There were so many options that we couldn’t decide anyway, so this made it easy for us. Great suggestion as it turned out.
The road in
I had rung earlier in the day to ask if there was room for us to camp. Meghan told us that there was plenty of space, and she sure was right - lots of riverfrontage camp sites. By the time we arrived - just after 5, they had shut up shop but were just out the front and were hanging around because they had taken my name and were expecting us. They were so welcoming. Explained the campground, told us we could go where we liked and to come back in the morning to settle up.
What a view
Perfect spot to pull up
They had given us a map of the property so that we could work out where to go
Where we have ended up is on a spot just before the designated Kingfisher camp site
Perfect spot to sit with a drink and watch the sun set
Our Hema Map tracking showing the full route that we travelled today
Our Hema tracking route from the beginning of the day in more detail
This map shows the end of the journey in more detail
Ended another great day with a lamb rump and veggie meal that we cooked up on our burners and had with a few glasses of Cab Sav. Closed up inside the van with the heater on, to enjoy as it had started to get quite chilly
Where we have ended up is on a spot just before the designated Kingfisher camp site
Perfect spot to sit with a drink and watch the sun set
Our Hema Map tracking showing the full route that we travelled today
Our Hema tracking route from the beginning of the day in more detail
This map shows the end of the journey in more detail
Ended another great day with a lamb rump and veggie meal that we cooked up on our burners and had with a few glasses of Cab Sav. Closed up inside the van with the heater on, to enjoy as it had started to get quite chilly
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