Since leaving Jamestown we headed to Renmark where we stayed for 3 days and then from there to Mildura, again for 3 days.
In Renmark we stayed at Paringa caravan park, a small park about 4 k's from town. There was only about 20 caravan sites but we would rather stay there instead of the Big 4 with about 60 sites.
We have been to Renmark before and really, there is not a lot here for us to do. The tourist attraction?? in Parinya is The Black Stump, the largest of 11 known black stumps in Australia. I must admit I was a bit like you. This is not what I thought a black stump was. The story behind this attraction is really quite interesting. Yes, it really is.
It is not a Stump, it is actually the Root Ball. The root ball came from a 600 year old river red gum and is 8 metres across and weighs 8 tonne. It was found by local Frank Turton who saw that the tree had fallen into the river 56 kms from Renmark during floods and had been towed onto the bank, out of the main river course. To get it to Paringa they initially had to borrow a huge chainsaw from Qld to cut it from the tree before it could then be attached to 12 x 200 litre drums, to aid flotation, and it was then towed by a houseboat down the river. It took them 5 days to tow it to Paringa, where a crane was used to remove it from the river and put it in its current location opposite the Paringa Hotel.
The Murray River separates Renmark from Paringa and they have a huge bridge that spans this section. With the huge amount of houseboats in this area, as well as paddle steamers from years past, the bridge has a large span that is lifted twice a day at 9.30 am and again at 2.30pm to allow the boats to pass under the bridge. The bridge is almost 100 years old and it is great to still see it operating today.
We met up with good friends that afternoon, Tom and Cheryl Storer, also from Hamilton who were staying at another park in Renmark. It is good to see a familiar face after being on the road for 4 weeks. We went out to the Paringa Hotel for dinner that night and it was a really good catch up. The Hotel runs a shuttle bus that they caught from their Caravan Park. It is a great idea and is well used by the caravan park visitors. Our park is directly across the road so we obviously walked.
The following day we all headed out to Banrock Estate, about 45 kms from Renmark. It is a winery and café so of course we had to have coffee. The business is spending huge bucks in an attempt to bring the scrubby area back to its former glory. There are numerous walking trails, with a boardwalk and wetlands area, currently dry, but in a few years it will look great.
That afternoon we headed out to check out the Headings Cliff lookout. This is only about 12 kms from our park and it is a lookout over the Murray River, from quite a decent height. The cliff faces are awesome at this spot and make really good photos. As if on cue, a river houseboat came around the corner and pulled over to the bank not far from where we were. What a life.
We then headed out to check out Lock 5. The Murray River has about 12 Locks spread over a huge distance. For those that don't know, the river is basically dammed off, with a set amount of water released to travel downstream. That causes the river to have 2 different levels so if you have a houseboat, or any boat wishing to go downstream, or upstream, you have to enter the Lock where the water level is then evened out to allow you to continue on your way. A very basic explanation that has probably confused the crap out of you. I can explain it fully if you ask.
The following morning we headed in to the Renmark Hotel for a coffee with Tom and Cheryl. What a great spot that is. You sit out on the balcony watching the houseboats cruising along the river.
In the gardens they have a sculpture of a local Horticulturist David Ruston surrounded by roses. A really good sculpture and very well done.
From Renmark we headed off to Mildura. We are staying right on the Murray, in the Buronga Tourist Park. This is a really cool park, with heaps of powered sites right on the river. We are probably only about 25 metres from the river. There is just heaps of birdlife everywhere, from the colourful Moorhen, to hundreds of seagulls, pelicans, kookaburras and numerous other birds. Just a great spot to camp.
We are also lucky enough to watch numerous paddle steamers and houseboats trundle along the river just in front of us. The paddle steamers actually take off from directly opposite our van site. The pink sky on the first night at sunset was just awesome.
The next morning we headed out to check out Woodies Gem Shop. This place is just on the edge of Mildura and it is a great spot. They have hundreds of different types of gemstones, all at reasonable prices, as well as being set up as a huge jewellers shop. The owner gave a short demonstration into ring making and the polishing of gemstones which was pretty good.
They also have a section set up like a group of interjoining caves. In one section are the gemstones that react to light. When you turn on the black light they become luminescent. Very cool. Also in this section are heaps of different rocks from each of the Australian States, as well as from other parts of the world. Probably my favourite stones are the huge Amethyst geodes, from Brazil. They look fantastic, and have a huge price running into many thousands of dollars.
What would a town be like if it didn't have any murals. This one was on the outside wall of a shopping centre on the way into the Mildura township. Looks pretty good.
We have had a friendly kookaburra visit us every day since we arrived. I have to show you a couple of photos of him as I can't decide which one I like the most.
We have spent nearly 5 weeks travelling around the Eyre Peninsula before finally ending up in Mildura. I think we chose the best time of year to travel this area, as most of the tourists have headed up North. Each area that we visited had something different to offer with no real stand outs. Streaky Bay Islands caravan park was just incredible with new facilities but this one at Buronga is probably its equal, more so due to its great location.
The only down side to the trip was at North Shields Caravan Park where I took a turn in the park a bit tight and scraped the awning along an air conditioning bracket attached to the local servo. No damage to it but a small tear in our awning. What a bummer, but as they say, s??t happens.
Bye for now.
Barry and Deb.
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