Mannum SA 1st August 2026

 Mannum SA 1st August 2026

Took a scenic route from Renmark down through Swan Reach and even used the vehicular ferry at Walkers Flat. Really nice little car collection at Swan Reach. No swans though, they have flown the coup, about 200 years ago.

Swan Reach SA. August 2026

Swan Reach SA. August 2026

Mannum was a surprise, it’s obviously a weekender destination from Adelaide and is teeming with people and kids.

Also as a surprise, was that the van refused to power up when plugged in. Here we go again. Turns out that the 240 vac inlet socket has disintegrated which means that as you push the plug in, it pushed the pins straight back into the housing. Fortunately a Bunnings is only 24km away at Murray Bridge so we have at lease secured a potential replacement. 

OMG but its cold here overnight!

Anyhow, right after a late breakfast, I jumped in and fixed the damned socket. This is the second time I've had to do this due to a rubbish design on the part of Clipsal. Anyhow the new one is an exact replacement fit and they seem to have modified the design somewhat to overcome this problem.

Went to a nothing market and no more to be said about that.

Went into the Info centre which has a museum out the back. You pay a few dollars and they send you through the back. I've done a heaps of these things and it helps pass the time of day, BUT this one was terrific!  Its all about paddle-wheel steamships of course and is really really well done. You even get to ‘steer’ up the Murray in a virtual paddle-wheel steamer.

You even get to wander around the decks of the PW Marion, which dates from 1897.

Fiddled around with the TV antenna all afternoon and achieved zip, except it now can never work until it shut back in properly. Well at least I now have a new cable from the mast head down to the van. No idea now how to get it into the van. Problem for another day

Went up then for a drink and a nibble at the local Bar and Bistro. Sat in front of a faux fire and sipped wine, until hoarded of kiddies arrived for dinner and we thought it better to go back to the van. 

Tomorrow we go on our river cruise. Let’s see how that pans out.

Renmark SA 1st August 2026

 Renmark SA 1st August 2026

Crossed the line and into South Australia. But first, the quarantine, where they come and poke through every nook and cranny looking for fresh fruit and vegetables. Some question about potatoes but it seems washed potatoes are OK, just not allowed to take anything with dirt across the border. 

We were heading for the Riverbend Caravan Park, not to be confused with the Riverside CP, which happens to be right next door. Getting into and out of the Riverbend is not for the faint-hearted, you have to turn hard right at the immediate end of the dodgiest bridge in Australia. It appears to have been a railway bridge which has had a road lane stuck on either side of it. The railway has of corse long disappeared, so you are left with this bridge that is empty in the middle. Drama is when you come out of the van park and turn want to turn right to go into Renmark, some several kilometres away to the west. Now this is a very busy highway, so you pull up from the lower level of the park and wait at the edge of the east bound roadway. You have good vision to the west but its anyones guess what is coming across the bridge from the east. Luckily they have a small slip lane to turn into, but it's hairy enough in a car, let alone with 7 meters of van hanging out the back.

Anyhow the park was great, just a few folk in, no pretences but not rough. Just our style.

Bridge over the Murray. Renmark August 2026

I managed a Parkrun at Renmark, which involves a 5k stroll along the river's edge. Would be pleasant if one wasn't killing oneself trying to stay around the 46 minute mark.

Murray rive, PW Industry. Renmark, SA August 2026

We drove the 15k south to Berri to go to Bunnings, where I bought the signal strength metre for the TV aerial I should have bought in West Wyaling or Woop woop or wherever I was when I had it in my hands recently.  Anyhow, great idea was able to tune the TV aerial and get a great picture straight up; looks like FWAW viewing on Sunday will be OK.

Midura Vic 30th July 2026

 Midura Vic 30th July 2026

The only reason we are in Mildura is to have the degustation dinner at Stefano's two-hatted restaurant. Our last visit was 15 years ago! We ended up in I what I personally thought was a horrible van park, some way out of town. The clever people have put in these round ensuite buildings, so six vans can back up to them and form the spokes of a big circle. Only trouble is that the place just isn't big enough for the vans and the result is that they are all squashed in and living each other's pockets. We were 'lucky' in that we had a normal powered site but as the van wouldn't fit backed in we ended up parked longways. 

Anyway back to Stefano's. You hype yourself up to expect a brilliant meal by a first class chef using only the very best of fresh available local products. To be frank, I thought it was a bit plain really. The first and dessert courses were really nice, but the second, which was pasta (orrechi - ears) and broccoli was not particularly nice , the third totally forgettable and the main, well the main was roast chicken. I could have had that at the local RSL....  I elected to have a raft of wines chosen by the sommelier and one of them, a Cabernet Sauvignon was brilliant, the others not so much. To cap it off you would like a coffee of course, but you just have to understand that they don't do cappuccino, long black, macchiato or affogato. Perhaps it was beneath their standards, perhaps it was too much trouble... Great way to make a dollar though, few drips of brown sludge in a tiny cup and call it espresso. Or maybe I'm just not sophisticated enough for them.

Stafano's Roast Chicken. Ok so it had a fancy sauce and raw vegetables.
Still, not to the standard I was expecting. Stefano's Mildura Vic July 2026

Coffee? Stefano's Mildura Vic July 2026

Swan Hill Vic, 29th July 2026

 Swan Hill Vic, 29th July 2026

Parked up at the Big 4 Riverside caravan park, Backed in right up to the edge of the river. The wind is fairly howling across the park and it freezing cold. Judy thought she might sit out in the sunshine and read a book, but apart from being too windy and too cold, 10,000 ducks came demanding a feed. We are staying two days, and I feel definitely like I cold do with the break after 4 days on the run. 

There is something odd about this place and it turns out we have been here before, in 2015 and parked in almost exactly the same spot! The ducks almost exactly the same as well!

Here's a view out of my back window, now that I've cleaned it....

Murray River. Swan Hill Vic July 2026

We are right next to the Heritage Village which we've been to at least 3 times and despite e them having align show tonight out across the river we've decided to forego the pleasure this time.

However, back alongtheu road about 15km there is a little place called Lake Boga, a 3.5 x 3 km wide body of water approximately 4 metres deep. Major Mitchell, didn't know when he marched up to it in 1836 that it would be perfect for landing flying boats on. The RAAF and QANTAS did however, and a Flying Boat repair centre was established there for the duration of WWII. It's billed as the Home of the Catalina, and quite rightly as they have one inside, but the base serviced all comers. if you could land it on water, it came here to be fixed.

Home of the Catalina. Lake Boga Vic July 2026

Home of the Catalina. Lake Boga Vic July 2026

Jerilderie NSW 27 July 2026

 Jerilderie NSW 27 July 2026

Passed through Deniliquin and then Narrandera on our way to Jerilderie. Stopped at Narrandera for a coffee and took the opportunity to have a look at the Tiger Moth aeroplane. They are commemoration their involvement in WWII as they were one of the flying schools set up to train thousands of pilots and navigators for service overseas.

Tiger Moth. Narrandera NSW July 2026

Jerilderie is a tiny town with a nice enough caravan park. Drove to petrol station. Drove back. Fixed TV aerial, well temporarily anyway. Went to a really nice restaurant for dinner at the Colony Inn Hotel. The restaurant is attached to the hotels, but quite separate except for a single door. 

Nothing much else. There is however, an army Leopard tank parked in the main street....

Leopard Tank. Jerilderie NSW July 2026

 West Wyalong NSW 26 July 2026

West Wyalong NSW July 2026

Journeyed south from Gilgandra, stopping at Peak Hill to have a look through the old shop on the corner that happens to have the town’s collection of historic records. Apart from a hand made collection of notes and names and photos, they have this awesome set of Town Rates Ledgers from 1911. Absolutely fascinating to read down the columns looking at the names. You are struck straight away by the names that appear to own most of the district. You cant help but wonder what happened to those mini-empires. I am reliably informed that my great-grandmother lived in the Peak Hill area, unfortunately we don't have the time to sit and read through the whole collection.

Passed by / through Dubbo, which looks like its finally getting a Newel Highway bypass. Then on and on towards Parkes, which surprisingly, does have a brand new bypass complete with Golden Arches. Just a bit short on signage to tell you its there, or how to get in and park a caravan.

Finally arrived in West Wyalong, which neither of us can remember having been through before. Its claim to fame was gold mining, “largest amount extracted in the colony”, pretty impressive at 400,000 ounces. The odd thing is, that unlike Bendigo, Ballarat and Bathurst, there are no grand pubic building, not even government ones. The town you drive through seems almost like it is in its original state form many days gone by. You half expect a horse and carriage to come clip-clopping along Main St! 

Replica true Blue mine poppet head.
West Wyalong NSW July 2026

Couldn’t help going into the Paragon for some lunch. What old NSW town doesn't have a Paragon café? PS: Café is high-brow speak for milk-bar.

Paragon Café, West Wyalong NSW July 2026

Down in the park they have a DC3 up on stands. You don't realise how small these work-horses of Australian Aviation were. This one was originally flown by the RAF in 1943 and then the RAN before being decommissioned and sold in 1977.

Douglas DC3. West Wyalong NSW July 2026

Gilgandra NSW 25 July 2026

 Gilgandra NSW 15 July 2026

Fairly easy run down from Moree. Stopped at Coonabarabran for a sandwich in the park.

Made it into the van park early enough, went into town to the one (1) open shop that sold coffee, a ‘greasy spoon’, but decked out in a car motif so not all bad. Grabbed some food at the only other shop open, the IGA, and headed back to the van via the Info centre and the cemetery. Pleased to report all the Mortimers are still in their allotted places.

The van battery indicates that it’s charged but with the temperature sensor plugged in it wont run the load and seems to go awry with it plugged in. I suspect that the ‘new’ battery is kaput, thanks in no small way to my mistreatment of it. Turned the battery charger back into Power Supply mode and we’ll just leave it like that. Right back where we started at Day 1.