So… we kept records of our trip details mainly out of interest but also to help us get an idea of the costs and effort that will be involved in our Grand Tour trip later this year.

Shakedown Trip Towing Log

Details of each towing segment of our Shakedown Trip to Mungo National Park.

Date	Driver	From	To	Leave	Arrive	Elapsed	Start Odo	End Odo	Distance	Break At	Break From	Break To	Duration
2021-03-07	Rob	Royalla	Jugiong	11:57	14:36	02:39	24,869	25,028	159	Yass Service Center	13:20	13:56	00:36
2021-03-08	Rob	Jugiong	Narrandera	09:25	12:20	02:55	25,028	25,243	215
2021-03-11	Rob	Narrandera	Hay	09:30	11:25	01:55	25,333	25,501	168
2021-03-14	Jo	Hay	Balaranald	09:23	11:20	01:57	25,533	25,664	131
2021-03-17	Rob	Balranald	Lake Mungo	09:25	12:40	03:15	25,669	25,818	149	Mungo Visitor Center	12:05	12:35	00:30
2021-03-20	Rob	Lake Mungo	Mildura	10:10	12:00	01:50	25,892	26,005	113
2021-03-27	Rob	Mildura	Robinvale	09:50	11:35	01:45	26,210	26,297	87
2021-03-30	Rob	Robinvale	Lake Boga	09:45	12:45	03:00	26,318	26,469	151	Andrew Peace Wines	09:45	11:06	01:21
2021-04-01	Rob	Lake Boga	Rochester	09:45	12:30	02:45	26,506	26,669	163
2021-04-05	Rob	Rochester	Corowa	09:16	12:50	03:34	26,743	26,944	201
2021-04-08	Rob	Corowa	Craigieburn	08:27	11:46	03:19	26,987	27,255	268
2021-04-09	Rob	Craigieburn	Tarrawingee	14:10	16:40	02:30	27,296	27,519	223
2021-04-10	Rob	Tarrawingee	Royalla	08:35	14:40	06:05	27,519	27,969	450	Gundagai	11:35	12:20	00:45

Total distance travelled	3,100 km
Total distance towed	2,478 km
Average towing distance	191
Towing distance - Rob	2,347 km
Towing distance - Jo	131 km
Total towing duration	34 hours 17 minutes
Average towing duration	2 hour 38 minutes

Shakedown Trip Fuel Log

Details of the fuel stops we made on our Shakedown Trip to Mungo National Park.

Date	Time	Place	Brand	Odo	Price/L	Actual/L	Discount	Quantity	Cost	Distance	Kms/L	L/100Km
2021-03-07		Home		24,869
2021-03-10	12:50	Narrandera	Caltex (Tasco)	25,333	1.339	1.339		85.14	114.00	464	5.45	18.35
2021-03-13	13:50	Hay	Caltex (Tasco)	25,526	1.359	1.359		41.94	57.00	193	4.60	21.73
2021-03-16	14:30	Balranald	Caltex (Tasco)	25,665	1.359	1.359		39	53.00	139	3.56	28.06
2021-03-26	14:35	Mildura	Apco	26.201	1.129	1.129		85.92	97.00	536	6.24	16.03
2021-03-31	14:30	Lake Boga	Metro	26.505	1.297	1.297		61.68	80.00	304	4.93	20.29
2021-04-07	15:31	Corowa	Caltex (Woolworths)	26,984	1.339	1.379	0.04	89.92	124.00	479	5.33	18.77
2021-04-09	09:50	Craigieburn	Caltex	27,275	1.349	1.409	0.06	58.91	79.47	291	4.94	20.24
2021-04-10	11:35	Gundagai	Mobil	27,777	1.379	1.379		89.93	124.01	502	5.58	17.91
2021-04-11	09:47	Calwell	Caltex	27,984	1.339	1.399	0.06	46.47	62.23	207	4.45	22.45

Average Price per Litre (discounted)	1.321
Average Price per Litre (actual)	1.339
Total kms (start to last refuel)	3,115km
Total Fuel Cost	790.71
Cost per km	$0.25
Average Distance per Refuel	346 km
Average kms / L	5.01 km
Average L / 100kms	20.43 L

Shakedown Trip Camping Sites

A list of all the caravan parks and camping sites that we stayed at on our Shakedown trip.

From	To	Nights	Place	State	Cost	Per Night	Stay
2021-03-07	2021-03-08	1	Jugiong	NSW	Donation	10.00	Jugiong Campground
2021-03-08	2021-03-11	3	Narrandera	NSW	99.00	33.00	Narrandera Caravan Park
2021-03-11	2021-03-14	3	Hay	NSW	87.00	29.00	Hay Caravan Park
2021-03-14	2021-03-17	3	Balranald	NSW	90.00	30.00	Balranald Caravan Park
2021-03-17	2021-03-20	3	Lake Mungo	NSW	73.80	24.60	Mungo Main Campground
2021-03-20	2021-03-27	7	Mildura	Vic	280.00	40.00	Mildura Riverside Holiday Park
2021-03-27	2021-03-30	3	Robinvale	Vic	102.00	34.00	Robinvale Riverside Caravan Park
2021-03-30	2021-04-01	2	Swan Hill	Vic	74.00	37.00	Lake Boga Caravan Park
2021-04-01	2021-04-05	4	Rochester	Vic	116.00	29.00	Rochester Riverside Caravan Park
2021-04-05	2021-04-08	3	Rutherglen	Vic	136.82	45.61	Rivergum Holiday Park
2021-04-08	2021-04-09	1	Craigieburn	Vic	121.26	121.26	Airport Tourist Village
2021-04-09	2021-04-10	1	Tarrawingee	Vic	Free	Free	The Plough Inn

Total nights	33
Total Accommodation Cost	$1189.88
Average Cost per Night	$36.12

So… our final night has finally arrived. After leaving the Supreme Service Center in Craigieburn (Melbourne) we decided that we would break up the long drive home from Melbourne by having an overnight stay at one of the pubs that offer free overnight camping in exchange for buying a meal at the pub. These pubs can be found on a free subscription website called Country Pub Camping.

Originally we were planning to stay at The Riverina Hotel in Holbrook (where we had stayed once before) but since we thought we wouldn’t get away from Supreme until 3:00pm we decided on staying at The Plough Inn in Tarrawingee.

Tarrawingee

Tarrawingee is a small town (village) of less than 500 people not too far from Wangaratta and Benalla. It was ideal for our purposes because it broke up the drive home to Royalla and wasn’t too far off the highway.

The Plough Inn

The Plough Inn is a lovely country style pub that has a large parking area out front and a very large paddock out the back. Out the back is a small stable and a large beer garden area that adjoins the paddock area where caravans and campers are permitted to stay as long they are self contained.

We were allotted a space beside a tall tree in a beautiful grassy area that was relatively flat and quite level. In front of us was a massive olive tree that was bursting with fruit that were also littering the ground around it.

The olive tree looked about seven metres high with a very thick trunk at the base. I didn’t ask but I hoped that they picked the olives and brined them because they looked plump and juicy.

Inside the pub was the typical front bar where the locals were gathered for a Friday afternoon drink. The great thing about The Plough Inn was that they had a good range of local craft beers on tap. The had an XPA from Beechworth Bridge Road Brewery that we had visited a couple of years ago on a prior trip to Melbourne. The standout beer though was a Weiss beer from the Two Pot Brewing Co. in Yackandandah. It was a crisp, dry beer that was perfect for a warm afternoon after the drive.

The pub bistro was good honest pub food and chock-a-block with a Friday night crowd creating lots of atmosphere. They did muck up my order but that was OK because the food was good, the beer was cold and it was a nice way to spend our last night on the road before returning home

The Drive Home

Since we didn’t have to hitch up the next morning we had a nice bacon and egg breakfast in the van to use up the last of our eggs and get us ready for the last long drive home from Tarrawingee to Royalla.

The drive itself was fairly uneventful as it is pretty much dual lane freeway all the way to Yass and then a simple drive back into Canberra, down the Tuggeranong Parkway and out through Calwell to Royalla.

The only interesting event of the drive occured when when stopped in at the Service Center near The Dog On The Tuckerbox for lunch. We decided to have KFC and Jo was lined up waiting for our order. Rob went to a coffee kiosk close by and sat down at a table. Not long after sitting down two men approached the coffee kiosk and started speaking loudly to the lady serving there. The conversation became louder and then one of the men shouted at the lady calling her a profane name.

The man then picked up a sauce bottle dispenser and shaped up to throw it at the woman. At this point Rob and two other men at two nearby tables jumped up to approach the man who then threw the sauce bottle at the women (failing to hit her).

Rob confronted the man and ordered him to leave the premises immediately and with the assistance of the other two men effectively cornered the sauce thrower giving him no option but to back down and briskly walk towards the exit. One of the other men, at the request of the coffee lady, followed the sauce thrower and took down his number plate and checked that the coffee lady was OK.

With the incident finished Rob and the other men re-took their seats and everything pretty much went back to normal as though nothing had happened. Center staff then proceeded to talk to the coffee lady and make sure that everything was under control. Quite a bizarre incident to finish our trip.

Trip over… we’re now very much looking forward to our Grand Tour – Big Trip later this year when we head off around Australia proper…

So… an overnight detour down to Craigieburn, northern industrial area of Melbourne, where the Supreme Caravan Factory, Dealership and Service Center are located.

Warranty Repairs

I don’t think that any caravan in history has come off the production line and not suffered some issues. Our van is not different and prior to this trip (as well as during) we had a number of warranty issues pop up. Given that a couple of the fixes could only be done by Supreme and the fact that we were in Victoria for the second half of the trip we organised to drop into the Supreme Dealership and Service Center to get our issues sorted.

We were booked into the Supreme Service Center at 3:00pm on Thursday, 8th April. So a three and a half hour drive from Corowa down to Craigieburn. We were met by our Supreme Service technician Daniel, who was a really nice young bloke who carefully went through all of the warranty items on our list and assured us that they would be complete by 3:00pm the next day. We handed over the van keys and headed off to the nights accommodation.

The following day we were called at 1:00pm and told that the van was ready, two hours ahead of schedule. Happy days! Daniel once again took us through all of the repairs and made sure that we were totally satisfied with the work that was done. He also answered a number of questions we had regarding other aspects of the van.

We are incredibly happy that we chose a Supreme caravan and cannot fault their service and support post sale. If these are the worst problems we have then we are lucky van owners…

Interior Water Leak

When we first picked up our van in February 2019, we discovered after a heavy rainfall that water was leaking into the front right-hand cupboard. We subsequently discovered that there were a couple of holes in the silicon seal on that side of the van. This was fixed at the van’s first service by our local service center (Capital Caravan Service Center). That fixed the initial leak but we later discovered when towing through some heavy rain that water was still getting in. Our local service guy, and Supreme, said that it was likely getting under the horizontal joins in the panels at the front of the van. Silicon was run along horizontal joins and hopefully that is the end of the internal water leaks.

Table Leg

When we originally picked up the van we noticed that the table leg was square unlike the display van we had viewed, which was round. We discovered that this was a different leg to the one originally specified on the plan and was probably an automatic upgrade.

Unfortunately… the square leg only allowed the table top to move up/down, left/right and backwards/forwards. It did not allow the table top to swivel. This made it awkward getting in and out of the seating.

Given that our floor plan originally specified a Nuovo-Mapa (brand) table leg, Supreme gladly swapped it over and now the table top swivels as well. The original leg looked a bit more stylish but being able to swivel the table top makes the sitting area so much easier to use and comfortable to sit in.

Overhead Locker Strut

On one of our weekends away one of the struts in the overhead lockers above the table had come loose and the plastic edge strip deformed. Rob had tried unsuccessfully to repair it previously but the deformed plastic strip kept pulling the screw out when pressure was applied.

Supreme replaced the plastic strip and strengthened the point where the screw held the strut in place. Looking new again after the repair.

Water Level Indicator

After a couple of weekends away we noticed that the water level indicators for the two fresh water tanks were not working. It was originally thought that the sensors needed adjusting. Supreme discovered that the battery in the indicator was flat and that there was a short circuit in the indicator. This was fixed, battery replaced and the indicator is now working perfectly.

Radio Blue Tooth Connection

The van is fitted with a radio/DVD player that can also connect to our phones via Bluetooth to play music, make phone calls etc. The radio itself was working fine but the Bluetooth connection was failing.

Supreme noted that there was a known fault with this brand and installed a new replacement unit, which is now connecting without any problems.

Water Hose Line Leak

As noted in our post about Corowa… The day before we headed down to Supreme, serendipitously, we discovered water leaking down one of the tires. It turned out that the water line had come loose from its anchor point above the tire and had been blasted by road debris coming off the tire to the point that it was punctured and water was constantly dripping out of it. The timing for this to occur could not have been better.

Supreme cut out the punctured hose and replaced it with new hose, including a filter, and reattached it to the underfloor. The hose is still exposed above the tire but we will monitor it during our next few trips and if it looks like it is still being damaged then we may have a piece of checker plate installed over it.

Airport Tourist Village

Whilst the van was being repaired, we stayed overnight at the Airport Tourist Village in Attwood. No photos… but we can say that it is good value for money if you’re going to Melbourne Airport or the Craigieburn area.

It consists mostly of various relocatable style cabins (that you find in caravan parks), however we stayed in a brick apartment that had a king bed in a separate bedroom, large living area with large television, good-size kitchenette and bathroom (shower was a little squeezy though). The apartment was very clean and the air-conditioning was good.

For $121/night we can thoroughly recommend this as a good place to stay for a reasonable price in Melbourne if you’re happy to be on the northern outskirts. It is also walking distance from a cluster of cafes and supermarket.

The only downside was the people in the neighbouring apartment were quite loud and carried on until around 3:30am. Jo slept through it all but Rob had a very restless night’s sleep. Not the Village’s fault though.

This was the penultimate night of our ShakedownTrip so after picking up our van, which Supreme had given a complimentary wash, including glossing the tires as well, we felt as though we were driving away with our new van again. Very happy customers.

Off to The Plough Inn in Tarrawingee for the last night of our ShakedownTrip before heading home.

So… after our Easter layover in Rochester we towed on to Corowa, which is on the NSW side of the Murray but only about 10km from the Rutherglen wine district in Victoria.

About 30km from Corowa we passed through Yarrawonga, on the Victorian side, over a long bridge spanning the Yarrawonga Weir, that creates Lake Mulwala, to the town of Mulwala on the NSW side. Lake Mulwala is a man-made lake on the Murray River.

Neither of us had heard of these places and were a bit gob-smacked as we approached the bridge. It was quite reminiscent of Pambula/Merimbula or Forster/Tuncurry except that it was a freshwater lake but had the same sort of seaside township feel to it. We made a mental note to come back and explore it at another time (not school holidays).

Corowa

Corowa, despite being a NSW border town, still has that Victorian river town feel to it… perhaps due to the statue of AFL players outside the Football ground by the river. Corowa is renowned as the ‘birthplace of Federation’ due to a number of important conferences held there in the years leading up to Federation. The story of Federation is told at the Corowa Federation Museum, which is a mixture of the story of Federation and historical/vintage artifacts, machinery, devices and appliances.

It’s another quaint border town with lots of federation era architecture and public areas. The Murray River passes by it with two bridge crossings and quite a few river front camping and picnic areas as well as boat ramps for fishing and skiing.

Rivergum Holiday Park

Rivergum Holiday Park is located on the northern edge of Corowa and backs onto a reserve area by the Murray River. It is a large caravan/cabin park with spacious van sites, lots of cabins and quite a lot of permanent van sites that appear to be private getaways for fishing and skiing.

The park had emptied out from Easter when we arrived and we were allocated to a nice large grassy site with a concrete slab; an easy reverse beside the slab but we did have to break out the levelling ramp for the first time just to get the van sitting flat (so water drains properly and the bed is flat).

The amenities at this park were very clean (as they had also been at every other park on this trip) and nice and close to our site, which is good for people like us with ‘pensioner bladders’. The only downside to this park was the constant bombardment by mozzies… The reserve behind the park had a couple of billabongs that were very probably mosquito breeding grounds. It meant that we didn’t spend much time outside under the awning but that’s OK because the temperatures were in the 30’s so it was nice to laze about in the van’s air conditioning for a change.

Corowa Whisky & Chocolate

One of the main attractions in Corowa is the Corowa Whisky & Chocolate factory that has been established in the old Corowa Flour Mill. It is a magnificent building and the refurbishment is sympathetic to the past with a rustic contemporary feel and lots of wood.

We had a look around the chocolate shop, which we learned is affiliated to the Junee Chocolate Factory that we visited a few months earlier on a weekend away.

After the chocolate shop Rob tasted six of the Corowa whisky’s made on site. They were all distinctive in their own way with one being quite peaty and reminiscent of peaty Scotch Whiskey’s Rob had tried in Northern Scotland many years ago. The tasting room was quite something with mood lighting, barrels for tables, high shelves of the product and a skylight around thirty feet high in the tallest part of the building.

After tasting we had lunch in the cafe, which also boasted some magnificent ceilings with with exposed beams and light fixtures made from old barrels. It was a nice place to spend the morning, taste some whisky and relax with some good food in great surroundings.

Corowa Federation Museum

Corowa is known as the ‘birthplace of Federation’. The Corowa Federation Museum is an interesting place that tells the story od Federation and Corowa’s place in the important conferences held there in the lead-up to Federation and formation of the colonies into Australia. One of the first things Rob noticed in the museum was a copy of Peter Fitzsimon’s “Fromelles & Pozieres“. We often listen to Peter Fitzsimons books on audible when we’re travelling (currently listening to “Breaker Morant“) so this was a little coincidental.

The museum contains a large collection of vintage, war and pre-war items as well as the story of Federation. From washing machines and vacuum cleaners, shearing equipment, medical devices to drays and timber jinkers. IT is a somewhat eclectic collection and anyone of our vintage will see a number of familiar items that were commonplace in our parents and grandparents houses as we grew up. One standout for me was a “Flytox” pump style fly sprayer that my Grandmother would carpet bomb us as soon as a blowie entered the kitchen.

The museum is a little bit tired and could use some updating but is well worth visiting when in Corowa. It’s only $5 which supports the museum going forward.

Lake Moodemere Estate

There are a gazillion wineries in the Rutherford region and we were a bit ‘wined and whiskyed’ out so we only chose to visit one, which was Lake Moodemere Estate. This turned out to be a great choice.

Lake Moodemere Estate is a family owned winery (for seven generations) that is a working farm and vineyard. They’re wines are all made from their own grapes (no imports) and cover a good range of reds and whites.

We booked previously for lunch and so turned up a little earlier to do a tasting. After a few whites, a Rosé, and a ‘Shiraz & Cinsaut’, the owner/winemaker picked us in one and  remarked, “I think you’re after something with more body? People our age are generally looking for something with a bit more depth. Am I right?” He was right. Their Estate Shiraz was very good. Special mentions also go to their Sparkling Shiraz, which was very nice. The standout for us though, believe it or not, was the Rosé. So much so that we bought a few to take home.

Lunch was essentially ‘fine dining in a casual and relaxed outdoor setting’ on a terrace behind the homestead building overlooking Lake Moodemere.

We opted to have a three course lunch with matched estate wines ($95/head). Each course was served with a 100ml pour of an Estate wine chosen especially to pair with the meal chosen.  For entrée Rob chose the cured salmon (paired with a chardonnay) and Jo chose the kangaroo tail (paired with the Rosé). In hindsight I think we both enjoyed the entrées the most.

For main Rob chose the Wagyu (paired with the Estate Shiraz) and Jo the Duck Breast (paired with Shiraz & Cinsaut). Both were superb and we were surprised how well the Shiraz cut through the fattiness of the Wagyu. Dessert for Rob was the Mille Feuille with an outstanding, but not too sweet Tara Muscat, and for Jo was a chocolate tart paired with the Grand Muscat… both superb).

Whilst the meal was fine dining, the atmosphere was most casual with Cosmo, the border collie, and Bailey, a Labrador cross, and the cutest (name unknown) Labrador puppy wandering from table to table trying to out cute each other for a sneaky chip, which they were not supposed to be allowed.

Prior to entering the Estate we took a short drive down to Lake Moodemere itself and drove along the foreshore. We were surprised to find a Rowing Club in the middle of nowhere, which would have looked completely out of place had it not been for the lake itself.

Minor Van Damage

After we returned from Lake Moodemere Rob had to attend to the more mundane duty of emptying the toilet cassette. Since the park’s dump point was out of action he had to drive into the Corowa public dump point near the football oval.

Upon returning and replacing the cassette back into the van he noticed a trickle of water running down one of the van tires. Closer inspection revealed that the water line above the tire had been punctured and abraded, which probably occurred on the drive to Lake Mungo or on a long stretch of graded roadworks leaving Lake Boga.

Now if there was ever a perfect time for this to occur it was now because the following day we were driving down to the Supreme Dealership at Craigieburn to have some minor warranty repairs done. We couldn’t have time this one better.

So…We were originally going to stay in Echuca for Easter but couldn’t get a booking anywhere. Rochester is a small town 25km south of Echuca on the Campaspe River so booked in there for four nights…

So… another easy tow from Robinvale southeast past the Andrew Peace Winery, at Piangil, through Swan Hill and on to Lake Boga.

Somewhere between Robinvale and Andrew Peace Winery a pair of feral cats decided to dash out of the scrub across the road in front of us. One made it across and the other left it too late and is no more. It’s never pleasant to run over over an animal but the death was instant and, being a feral cat, I’m not feeling any remorse about it…

Andrew Peace Winery

We bought two Andrew Peace ‘Masterpeace’ Pinot Grigios and one Shiraz on special back in Balranald. We were so impressed with them that we resolved to stop in at his winery, which is on the way from Robinvale to Swan Hill and Lake Boga. The winery has a cellar door and features a public BBQ area that also has some antique machinery beside it.

After the obligatory wine tasting we ended up purchasing a mixed dozen of our choosing, to be couriered home, plus two whites and two reds for the van. Whilst walking back to car we had a hurried discussion and decided to go back in and order a second dozen to be couriered home as well. Each dozen cost $100 and included a complimentary Moscato.

The ‘Masterpeace’ label is an easy drinking range of whites and reds that aren’t overly complex but are perfectly suited to lazy afternoons/evenings with or without food. Andrew Peace is our new favourite wine maker.

Lake Boga

After Andrew Peace Winery we headed on through Swan Hill for another 14km to Lake Boga, which during World War 2 became an inland flying boat base for the maintenance and repair of amphibious aircraft like the Catalina.

The town itself is a small ‘strip’ style town that is surrounded by agricultural holdings like most towns along the Murray corridor. The lake is the central feature of the town and is a mecca for fishing, skiing and sailing. It is relatively shallow and is also a water storage for the area. The level rises and falls with use and is kept topped up by pumping water in from the Murray river.

Lake Boga Caravan Park

The Lake Boga Caravan Park is perfectly located along the shore of the lake and yet another perfect place to pull up, set up on the water’s edge and soak in the view. especially with a ‘Masterpeace’ Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. The atmosphere in the park is very relaxed and the amenities are fairly new looking and spotless.

Not too many campers were in while we there but I expect that it will be bursting over the Easter long weekend. The weather was perfect for our two night stay with warm days, cool nights and perfect sunsets and moon rises.

At dusk the fish start rising with some jumping fully out of the water. The lake has four species of fish, being Murray Cod, Yellow Belly, Red Fin and, unfortunately, Carp. If you can’t relax here then you’re beyond help or already dead.

Flying Boat Museum

The Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum is on the shores of Lake Boga and where the original No. 1 Flying Boat Repair & Service Depot was located during World War 2. The museum is housed in a large metal shed and also has the original communications bunker on the site underground. Entry to the museum is $15/adult and is well worth the price of admission, which includes a 23 minute video that is very professionally done in a small room with vintage theatre seats that were salvaged from a theatre some years ago.

The centrepiece of the museum is a complete PBY5 Catalina Flying Boat (above) that stands proud amongst the other exhibits of machinery, models, clothes and memorabilia. The Catalina is quite majestic in the way that pelicans look cumbersome on the ground but absolutely magnificent in the air and on water. Other exhibits include a jeep, caterpillar tractor, various restored engines; including a Rolls Royce V12 Merlin engine (the type used in Spitfires).

The communications bunker is equally interesting giving a glimpse into the life of the officers and staff that manned the radios sending and receiving secret information day and night. The exhibits include all manner of period equipment including a small telephone exchange switchboard (similar to the ones the Rob’s Mum operated in her younger days).

Swan Hill

Swan Hill is only 14km from Lake Boga and is a relatively large town with a long shopping strip shopping centre near the river and railway lines. We dropped in for lunch just to have a poke around and take a break from relaxing by Lake Boga.

Swan Hill has a ‘big Murray Cod’ in one of the parks, which despite being a bit kitschy is actually well built and decorated although it looks a bit lonely with nothing else other than a carpark around it… There is also re-creation pioneer settlement attraction by the river but we weren’t feeling particularly touristy that day so we passed it by in favour of returning to Lake Boga for an afternoon of ‘doing nothing’ by the lake.

…

Back at Lake Boga the afternoon’s camping excitement consisted of a young lady who was camped near us with a jet ski losing her keys to jet ski. Presumably she dropped them in the water but even though they were on a floating lanyard they were nowhere to be found. She handled it well but must have been very disappointed with her lovely little SeaDoo sitting in the water and no way to start it.

A leisurely pack up the next morning and off the Rochester…

So…just a short trip, less than one hundred kilometres, from Mildura to Robinvale. Really enjoyed a simple tow on the bitumen after the trip to and from Lake Mungo on the corrugations and dirt. We waved to Trentham Estate as we went past; such a beautiful spot.

Robinvale

What an absolute little gem is Robinvale. Coming in from the NSW side of the Murray, you turn left after you come off the bridge to enter Robinvale Riverside Caravan Park. Robinvale is one of the smaller border-towns (on the Vic. side) and is paired with Euston, 4km away, on the NSW side.

It’s another agricultural  irrigation town surrounded by vineyards, which appear to be growing table grapes. The Murray river flows along the northern edge of the town and is a magnificent stretch of river, about 100m wide with a very gentle current that becomes mirror-like at night in the still Autumn air.

Robinvale Riverside Caravan Park

We both agreed that this is the best stay of the trip so far. When we arrived they could not find our booking but fortunately there were plenty of spare powered sites on the river’s edge and we think we ended up snaffling one of the better sites towards one end that had a number of empty sites either side allowing us to stretch out in comfort,

The view from our site was glorious and uninterrupted with a set of steps behind the van down into the river. It was a perfect spot to relax and completely de-stress. We both agreed that we could have spent more time here and have locked that thought away for a future time when we come back.

The weather was perfect, around 26°C each day with clear blue skies and cooler nights. The Murray was just too inviting and I took a swim both days. The water was cool and took a few minutes to acclimatise to but once submerged was refreshing and revitalising. Swimming in a beautiful river beats swimming in any pool any time.

The Murray put a show on for us each night with the full moon rising over the river painting it in hues of mauve and purple instead of the green/brown during the day. Then as darkness sets in it becomes a silvery set of silhouettes and shadows as the moon reflects in the mirror-like water.

Wild ducks populate the banks and the ever-present corellas perform their raucous opera for free. Photos, unfortunately, do not do full justice to the scenery when you’re standing directly before it.

Riverside Walk

As with most of the river towns, Robinvale has a river walk that starts outside the caravan park and follows the river bank. We followed the bank for a few kilometres, past a string of moored houseboats to the edge of town. From there we opted to turn back towards the town down a country lane that had a small vineyard with massive bunches of table grapes that looked ready for picking and were very tempting; but we resisted out of respect for the owners.

Once back in town we followed the grassy strips back into the main street passing some natty little public tables and seats that were private little booths. You could imagine a pair of spies from a Frederick Forsythe novel hunched over in them swapping secret information with each other.

Town Centre

There’s a few quirky shops in town. We stopped in at the Op Shop so Jo could grab a few more books (two for $2, so we paid $5 and still felt guilty). Then over to the bakery for a coffee and half an apple pie each. The pie was quite tangy and obviously baked on premises and the coffee was well above average. The staff were a mixture of Muslim and Islander folk. There appears to be a large Islander (Tongan) community around Robinvale, which we think provides the labour force for fruit picking. On the Sunday morning the Islanders were out on force at the local churches, most of them dressed in their ceremonial dress.

We made a couple of trips to the local Ritchies IGA supermarket. The big supermarkets are absent from these smaller towns and this is where IGA shows the way… The Robinvale IGA had everything you could want and then some. It was also very evident that they catered well to the local community as evidenced by the half pig’s heads ($7.95) and lamb flaps (a cheaper fatty cut of meat) in the meat section. I believe that the Islander community is very fond of these parts of the animal (and why not if you slow braise them).

Euston for Dinner

We’ve had an informal policy of having a club/pub meal on the evening before we leave for the next town. This allows us to pack up the van and not have any cooking mess to deal with before we leave the next day.

At the caravan park we met another couple (Kevin & Lucy) who were Supreme owners like us (and have owned five Supreme’s over the years. They have attended a number of Supreme Musters (gatherings of Supreme caravan owners) and also organise other events. Kevin & Lucy were a lovely pair and also a wealth of information to us, with tips and tricks for our ongoing travels.They also suggested we try the Euston Pub Royal Hotel/Terrace 31 bistro for dinner.

It was a new’ish little pub full of locals having a beer and a yarn after work. The Terrace 31 bistro was a bit quiet (read empty) when we got there but had a few diners by the time we left. The bistro was all brick and had a number of four-seat booths, enclosed by walls on three sides. Very comfortable and very private.

It was usual pub fare. Jo had Salt’n’Pepper Calamari, which was generous, tender and served with a very fresh salad. I had a beef schnitzel with gravy, chips and vege’s. This was good, honest pub food… well cooked and reasonably priced. The beer was cold and Jo’s Pinot Grigio was quite a nice drop.

After dinner we had a quick drive around the town noticing that the Euston Club also operates a ‘self contained’ (no power/water) caravan park behind the club on the banks of the river as well as their being a Euston caravan park. Another nice little town making a living from agriculture along the Murray.

Preparing to Leave

Sad to say that upon returning to our van after dinner, there was an ambulance at one of the vans across from ours with a camper down on the ground being attended to. It looked like it may have been a heart attack. Everything looked under control and nobody appeared overly distressed so we tried not to be nosy and kept our distance. We noted that, sadly, this is probably not too uncommon a sight with many of the caravan park campers being grey nomads a few years older than us. Just one more reason to get out and do our travelling while we’re still relatively young and healthy.

(It later turned out that the gent had not suffered a heart attack but had walked into the annex strut of his camper van, smacking his head causing him to fall down and fracture his hip. Still not good but probably better than a heart attack…)

On a positive note… the Murray put on yet another magnificent evening display on our last night. Very hard to move on from a place like this that calms your mind, soothes your soul and nourishes your spirit…

So.. back to civilisation after three wonderful days in Mungo National Park. The road from Mungo Main Campsite to Mildura was very similar to the road from Balranald; red dirt, corrugations, lumpy white hard-top and finally some bitumen. I would say that the road to Mildura was a bit rougher than from Balranald but the Cruiser and the Van handled everything perfectly. This time we put some padding between the sliding doors and their tracks so that they didn’t bounce out and that pretty much did the trick.

Before we left home Aldi were having one of their caravan and camping specials weeks. We picked up one of their thermal cookers, similar to the ‘Ecopot‘ but much cheaper. The thermal cooker is basically a big thermos that acts like a Crock Pot slow cooker by sealing in heat after having cooked the food to boiling point on a the stove.

We christened the thermal cooker with ‘Chicken Paprikash’ based on the simple but incredibly flavourful Hungarian dish introduced to us by close friends. The results were excellent and we’re looking forward to other slow braise recipes in the future. You can also make yoghurt in it, which we will try at some point in time.

So… we set off from Balranald, a bit sad to leave such a comfortable camp site. Before we left though we stocked up on some meat from the Balranald Butcher, beers and cider, water, nibbles and wine. The bottle-shop was selling a local wine label ( ‘Masterpeace’) by a wine-maker named Andrew Peace located in Piangil, Victoria.

Without jumping ahead too much, the Pinot Grigio ($15) was very pleasant and the 2019 Shiraz ($19) was most unexpected and thoroughly enjoyed with two of the best porterhouse steaks we have ever had (from the Balranald Butcher Shop) and the last of our home-grown vege’s cooked beautifully on the BabyQ.

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We left Hay after a slightly cooler night and headed off along the Hay Plain to Balranald. Jo took the wheel for the first time this trip. Plenty of trucks on the road and Jo managed to overtake a horse float on the way out of town.

The Hay Plain is a long flat expanse of big sky and emptiness, except for the agricultural holdings and the odd mob of emus. It’s hard to imagine what Burke & Wills and Charles Sturt must have thought when faced with all of this ‘barrenness’ in front of them.

Balranald

Balranald is smaller again than Hay but looks prosperous enough even though we arrived on a Sunday and most of the shops were shut.

The town has scattered around it a number of sculptures depicting the Southern Bell Frog, which is an endangered species found along the Murrumbidgee Corridor.

Balranald Caravan Park

Balranald Caravan Park is situated right on the banks of the Murrumbidgee as you come across the bridge (from Hay). It’s quite spacious and very well kept. We chose a grassed drive-through site with some of the thickest, lushest grass I have ever walked on. No levelling of the van was required and setup was quick and hassle-free. From the park it is an easy walk into town and passes a suspension bridge that re-crosses the river to a loop walk.

On the day we arrived we met Chris & Jill, owners of a Supreme Territory, who were keen to have a look at our Supreme Executive and gave us a heap of excellent tips and advice based on their experience.

It was quite chilly when we woke up on he first morning but it was nice to snuggle under the doona for a change instead of lying on top of the sheets all night in the heat. Jo was in good spirits after a good night’s sleep.

River Walk

As with Narrandera and Hay, Balranald also has a beautiful river walk along the banks of the Murrumbidgee. Balranald‘s river walk is characterised by starting with a suspension bridge located just outside the caravan park. Once across the bridge you can walk through the magnificent river gums and make your way back to the traffic bridge to re-cross the river and head back to the caravan park or keep going into town for a coffee.

The corellas assemble in the thousands near the caravan park and create an almighty racket that continues on throughout the day.

Home Improvements

Since our next stop will be Mungo National Park we took the opportunity to try out an idea for a quick privacy sun shade on the awning. Instead of going to the bother of setting up one (or two) or the annex walls… we created some loops of cord inserted through thin plastic tubing that allows us to suspend a cheap plastic tarp from the annex in a similar but quicker way than the annex wall. All it needs is the home-made loops, a few tent pegs and a few bungy cords and ‘instant privacy/shade’. Very happy