Crossing the border and feeding German cyclists on the way. 11th August 2014

Monday 11^th August 2014

Blue sky and sunshine – slept in and didn’t’ photograph the sunrise. Turned on the heater in the van – ‘cos we had power and I could! Got up, boiled the jug for tea and let Greg sleep in while I got ready to have a jog around the place. That freezing cold wind had not stopped by morning and it took me a while to warm up.

Discovered the lovely new marina in Mildura complete with snazzy town houses and its own coffee shop – walking tracks everywhere. Many people out walking dogs that, thankfully left me alone. Both people and dogs that is. Went from the new marina into town and took photos of the restaurant we were at the night before. Greg was sure it was where his sister and brother in law spent their honeymoon. Then jogged/ walked up the main drag in search of the tourist information center where I had to find some parking when we went there later that morning with Gibson to steal the library’s free internet. I didn’t get that far before I met some chaps having a chat on a corner, one was a parking inspector so I asked him where the tourist info center was and if there was parking. It was further than I cared running at that stage and yes there was parking. I returned back to camp. I had been gone an hour.

 

A luxury house boat at the marina

Gibson and Lady at Barooga

Quick shower and stuck on a load of washing while we had power and water. Busied myself washing the floor and getting ready for a busy day. Needed to do a shop and so made a list of things to get. Finally when the washing machine finished I was able to hang it out – in the back of the cruiser, over various things in the van – washing on the run is a bummer! Off we went.

Unfortunately the library doesn’t open until 1pm so neither does their free internet – bugger. So Greg borrowed my hot spot – I love it when he wants to borrow my hot spot except that he is talking about the phone. Anyway he decided to get some internet download whatever on his IPad to save me lending him my hot spot – just in case it ran out. (more dirty talk) I assured him my hot spot wouldn’t run out but if he purchased his own he would be able to claim it on tax!

So while I typed this blog like a Uni student needing to hurry an overdue assignment, Greg did some work with the aid of my hotspot. We ordered coffee and some snacks and about an hour later freezing cold as there were big double glass doors that kept opening right near us, we left to find the mall so Greg could find a Telstra shop and get a hot spot of his own – claimable on tax as it was for work. I went to Woolworths to get bits and pieces. But this seems easy  - it wasn’t.

Our tow length is over 11 meters – Lady, Gibson, the lot. So when people say you can get into a mall car park you kind of take it with a grain of salt as what you can drive into you may not be able to drive out of.

Such is the case with most shopping centers. Even if they say ‘Van Parking’ you have to wonder if they really mean it. What size ‘van’ did they base it on? And have they, car park designers ever towed a van?

So it makes sense since I am the runner – to hop out of the car and run around the car park looking for an available place to park our rig  - carrying with me our hand held 2 way radio - so I can give Greg feedback. And don’t tell me how odd that would look – it must look  very strange-  but boy has it saved us grief going down places you can’t turn around or are dead ends.

So it was a good thing I already had an hour of exercise when I did my running survey of Mildura Central. I found that in spite of what the nice man at the tourist information center, that the  entrance he said would be good was fine but there was no parking and we ended up parking on the road – which worked out good as gold but for a really sharp right hand turn to get out of what we got in to. If that makes sense. Anyway the BEST part was that I could do my shopping and wheel the trolley to the caravan. Then put the groceries straight inside, in the fridge and sorted. What a luxury.

Greg paid for his hot spot and was a happy man also.

Off to Renmark – never been there before!

More flat and boring scenery, miles and miles of crops of sorts and we finally can across Renmark.

However, before we got to Renmark and after shopping and departing Mildura, we decided to find a rest stop on the side of the road and make some sandwiches out of fresh bread  - just bought, for lunch. We found a suitable spot - well any spot would do as we were only going to be there long enough to scoff a sanger. We made lunch in the van and took it outside to drop crumbs somewhere that I didn't have to clean. Presently about half a sandwich time along came a cyclist going toward Mildura on a very odd looking bike. Panniers and bags hanging off the bike everywhere, the man riding it did not look at all malnourished but as soon as he got to the stop where we were parked, he parked his bike and  proceeded to our horror to go through the rubbish bins. So I hastily offered to make him a sandwich - poor fella.

He was very grateful. His name was Alex and he is from Germany. He made his bike himself with a bamboo frame and bought it out to Australia where he had been travelling around since March. He had been as far as Alice springs. He told us that a lot of good food was in bins and that Australians are very wasteful. He opened his bag to reveal what he had found in the bins where we were and those before. Bags of oranges, buns, bread, ham (I told him he would be best to chuck that - which he did) Cake - all manner of stuff. He really enjoyed my fresh made salami sandwich and before long he was on his way. I asked him before he left when he was returning home to which he replied that he was travelling the world and may not return to Germany at all. I don't think I could do that, never see my family again. Good luck to him though. Off he road along the road with his bag full of rubbish bin food. Not a lifestyle I lust after for sure!

Alex's German Home made bike - built to last a lifetime (his words)
and imported into Australia.

Alex eating things and Greg doing a bit of navigating on the IPad

Now Renmark is in South Australia and in spite of the quarantine warnings, like they have in Victoria that nobody pays much attention to, these guys are like Tasmania –  abide by rigid rules and they take your fruit off you. I didn’t realize this and had the unfortunate and upsetting experience of the officer going through the car, then the Waco fridge which she found nothing but to have a field day in the van and took all my lovely just bought oranges away. I had tried to eat all of them coming up to the site until Greg was afraid I would be ill – which is rubbish as I can eat fruit in volumes. All my beautiful fresh oranges went to quarantine – and some other things too. I was extremely upset.

We went to Renmark so I could now get some things for dinner. They had a very average IGA but a great tourist information centre with lots of information about the history of the town which made me feel a little less totally pissed off about all my nice fruit being dumped into a hole out the back of the quarantine centre. Won’t do that again. They need to say that the quarantine officer are paid to be total Nazzis and they WILL chuck all your fruit and veg out and leave you with a naked fridge. Mild warning like eat your fruit first are lost on people who travel to Victoria as they never get stopped.

The beautifully restored Renmark Hotel

Decided that we should find some where to camp the night since we had gone ‘all out’ the night before so we needed a free camp. My turn to drive we were pretty tired and it was getting dark. Greg and the magic IPad found on our Wikki camps app a free camp – or donation to the National Parks beside the Muray river at a place called Lyrup Flats. Its scrubby countryside there and there seems to be an old lake – kind of like Lake Mungo which has since dried up and grown over and it must have fed off the Murray when it flooded. It still might. Thankfully we weren’t there to experience any of that! There were several camps off one main dirt road. In true Caz and Greg style, we swapped drivers so Greg was driving and I hopped out of the car at each of the campsites to see whether we could get Gibson firstly down the side road, if there were overhanging trees and then,

Camping right on the river

if we could get out again. Jogging down the track with my trusty 2 way radio. I wondered why I went for a run that morning as I felt like I had been jogging all day!

Found the most magical spot. Parked the van right close almost on top of the river, didn’t have to unhitch, just level and light the fire. A pleasant sunset while watching the birds go home and lots of pelicans – my favorite birds. Greg lit the choofer so I could cook on it but our wood was rubbish and it refused to keep going. It was really cold – and a lazy breeze blew so about 6.30 I decided to cook the dinner in the van and we ate it outside. It was a green curry with a bit too much curry so we weren’t cold for long. I typed this blog with the world’s coldest hands and about 8.30 gave up and we went indoors to bed.