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.