Renmark to Echuca
2nd - 11th August
25763 kms - 26482 kms
Whilst the aboriginal people of the lower Murray tell of a giant turtle carving out the path that formed the river, the people of the upper Murray tell a different story of its creation. Totyerguil - the mighty hunter - was out with his spear one day, when he came across a fish bigger than any he'd ever seen before. He chased it through the countryside, throwing spears at the creature every time he got close. Most of his spears missed, but occasionally one would strike the fish on the back. The fish swam and swam, trying to flee the hunter, thrashing its tail wildly. Totyerguil chased the fish for many days, until eventually it found a deep waterhole in which to hide - out of sight. The fish had won the chase. Totyerguil returned home, and the fish disappeared into the sky, and now lives on as the star Delphinus. The hunter had been chasing Otchout, the Murray River Cod. The spears that hit Otchout's back became the dorsal fin of the fish, and all of its thrashing about had created the curves and cliffs of the Murray River.
The Murray River Cod is Australia's largest freshwater fish. The largest one ever caught weighed in at 113.5 kgs and measured 1.8m in length! This oversized sample I came across in Swan Hill apparently featured in the film 8-ball (don't worry, apparently most people have never heard of it)
My ride along the middle Murray started with a 120 km section of rocky dirt which took me from South Australia to New South Wales and on to Victoria, all within 2 days. Over the next 10 days I would criss cross my way between NSW and VIC, which left me incredibly confused each morning as I woke up wondering which state I was in.
The 120-km dirt section between Renmark and Wentworth
Word of the month: Anabranch - a watercourse that leaves and joins the same river. I learnt that when I camped beside an anabranch of the Darling River, NSW
The confluence of Australia's 2 most famous rivers - the Murray and the Darling. Wentworth
Well thanks, Raisin Joe!
Like a bridge over Murray Waters....
     
 
Understand my confusion?
My first stop in Victoria was a little place called Yelta, where I visited Len and Rae - a couple of cycle tourers that had offered me a warm shower, a home-cooked meal and a comfy bed for the night. There were no problems in finding their bush property, as Len had been working hard at the drawing board preparing signs to point me in the right direction. After a warm welcome and a warm shower, I settled in to their cosy home with a few glasses of white and a delicious roast dinner. They were like surrogate grandparents, filling me up with all sorts of goodies that I'd forgotten even existed - ice cream, fresh fruit, cakes, bacon and eggs... luxury! We had plenty of stories to trade, as the fit couple had pedalled nearly the entire way around the country - they do a section every year and only need to do the Sydney to Townsville leg before completing the lap! Not bad for a few 60-something-year-olds!
Len's custom-designed signs got me in to Yelta safe n sound
Rae and Len, picking some fresh citrus fruit for me to take away
Back in bicycle-friendly Victoria
A Mildura City Council survey of Mildurans found that Mildura is the most liveable, people friendly community in Australia
King's Billabong, Mildura
I left Mildura feeling refreshed, having spent an interesting day there with some interesting locals... and spent the entire next day in the Hattah-Kylkyne National Park, in the Victorian Mallee. I didn't realise how flat the country around me was until I climbed up a lookout tower, and saw it all stretched out before me, to the horizon and beyond in every direction I looked. The view was magic. Mmmm, must be a great spot to watch the sun set, I thought. Or a sunrise. Oohhhh, and how good would it be to sleep up here. The mind only ticked away for a couple of seconds before I decided where I was camping that night... so I set up my tent on top of the platform, cooked my dinner as the sun sank low - and I witnessed one of the greatest sunsets I've ever seen. And then the stars came out. As if the sunset wasn't enough, that sky was also one of the best I've ever seen - I even lost count of the number of shooting stars that dropped out from the heavens... and to top it all off, a sunset in the morning out my tent door to rival the sunset I'd seen the night before. Unforgettable.
Bushwalking in the Red River Gum forest of the Hattah-Kulkyne NP
Lake Hattah
"Canoe tree", Lake Hattah. Aboriginal people would strip chunks of bark off gums to use as canoes
Another canoe tree, Robinvale
Murray River sunset
Robinvale bush camp
Shroomie investigates Boundary Bend
The Murray above the Darling - drizabone
Flying fox action in Tooleybuc
The Ring Tree near Koraleigh - marking the boundary between two aboriginal groups
It was exciting to finally reach Swan Hill, not only cause it was the end of a huge 160-km day, but also cause of the links the town had with the Burke & Wills expedition in the early 1860s. I'd been reading the story of these early explorers over the past few weeks, and had one chapter to go before finishing it. So what better place to plonk myself down than under the Burke & Wills Tree - the largest Moreton Bay Fig in the southern hemisphere, planted by one of the expedition members over 140 years ago!
Old mate, Swan Hill
The Burke & Wills Tree, Swan Hill
Perfect!
Water tower, Swan Hill. Water from the River was pumped by wood-fired steam engine to the top of the tower, then gravity-fed to households and businesses around the town.
About 2 months ago I met a group of caravanners on the side of the road in the Northern Territory, who kindly shared a cup of coffee and some fruit cake with a hungry-looking cyclist. Before pedalling off, they told me if I would be passing through Cohuna, on the Murray River in Victoria, to give them a call and I could pitch my tent in their backyard. Well, within 24 hours of calling Bill, I had arrived at his doorstep - with promises of cold beers, a warm and comfy bed and a hot shower for the night. "Oh and one other thing I should warn you about... I invited a few people round to meet you... hope you don't mind..." Ha ha, I was totally overwhelmed, the entire extended family had rocked up for the occasion - there were parents, grandparents, kids, cousins, son-in-laws, babies, dogs... not even enough chairs for everyone to sit on. They all had a million questions for me, and everyone so keen to speak that I don't think that anyone got to finish a sentence all night. Wonderfully friendly, incredibly hospitable, and absolutely hysterical. It was one of the funnest nights I'd had in a long time... with complete strangers!
The next day I didn't manage to leave until about 4pm, cause my enthusiastic hosts had to take me far and wide to see the sights and meet more locals... they even took me out to the farm (two farms actually) to milk the cows so we could come back and have fresh milk on our breakfast! I left a happy chappy, and promised I'd be back to visit again!
Cohuna farmland
Funny times with funny farmers... in the big Cohuna
MilkByBike
With Bill and Vanessa, my charming hosts in Cohuna
My final dash into Echuca took me along a clay track which ran right alongside the Murray - perhaps the most picturesque ride I've had since I began at the Murray Mouth several weeks ago. I set up camp in a pretty beautiful spot - so close to the river that when I got up in the middle of the night that I nearly fell in the drink - and woke up surrounded by pools of water. Apparently it had poured overnight, and the clay road had turned to absolute slop. It took me twice as long to get to the historical port of Echuca because of the mud - and for the same reason my load was a few kgs heavier. But there was another warm welcome in Echuca - Lutzy, a good mate from Tassie, absolutely "chomping at the bit" (to use his words) to join me for the final dash into Melbourne. The beautiful, mellow ride along the Murray had come to an end. But I was only days away from connecting the final dots of the lap of the continent. Look out Melbourne, here I come!!!
River Track
View from my bedroom window, Torrumbarry bush camp
Torrumbarry bush camp
Wooden cattle grid, River Track (one of many)
Stuck in the mud, River Track
Echuca - final stop along the Murray... next stop: Melbourne!
Day by day...
2nd August: Wentworth Road Bush Camp to Wentworth Road Bush Camp
3rd August: Wentworth Road Bush Camp to Yelta (via Wentworth)
4th August: Yelta to Mildura
5th August: Rest day, Mildura
6th August: Mildura to Hatta-Kulkyne National Park (via Red Cliffs)
7th August: Hatta-Kulkyne NP to Murray River Bush Camp (via Lake Mournpall, Lake Hattah)
8th August: MR Bush Camp to Robinvale (via Wemen, Euston)
9th August: Robinvale to Swan Hill (via Boundary Bend, Piangil, Tooleybuc, Koraleigh, Nyah)
10th August: Swan Hill to Cohuna (via Kerang)
11th August: Cohuna to Torrumbarry Weir Bush Camp
12th August: Torrumbarry Weir Bush Camp to Echuca (via River Track) |
