Day 13. Renmark

Barefoot Bushman in Renmark

Today was another exploration day. We decided early that we were going to visit "Bredl's Wonder World of Wildlife" here in Renmark. This is the home of the Barefoot Bushman - a very iconic Australian.

Although a small park in comparison to many other wildlife parks, we discovered that this park was to be a very hands on experience, where we ended up close and personal with the famous man himself.

On entering the park, we were greeted by a very young doe that was only a couple of weeks old, and Scarlett instantly fell in love! We then walked outside and straight into a close encounter with a capuchin monkey. After a short walk around the grounds, we watched the animal show given by Rob Bredl himself. The show started with an introduction to the Betong, a beautiful little macropod. Then, Scarlett handled baby leopard tortoises, bearded dragons, reticulated pythons, frogs, the doe and then the capuchin monkeys. What a day. After the show, we hung around and chatted to Rob and his wife for a short time while Scarlett bottle fed the doe. Magic!

It was then lunchtime, and we moved down to the riverfront to enjoy a great 'fish and chips' in the park.

We returned to the caravan park, where Bec left myself and Scarlett to our own devices while she went back into town to do some shopping and have some 'Bec time'. Scarlett and I hired a pedal bike and spent the next hour pedaling around the caravan park and along the river. We then ditched the bike and went for a well deserved swim in the pool.

When Bec returned from her trip into town, Scarlett talked her into 'visiting' the jumping pillow and playground here at Big4 Renmark. A very full day for Scarlett indeed.

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Day 12. Mildura to Renmark

The swan incident

We left Mildura today, and I must say it was a great stop off. Scarlett managed to avoid her school work this morning and played with a little girl she met the afternoon before in the pool. They were catching grass hoppers (they are in plague numbers here at the moment) and frogs. I must admit it was nice not having to entertain her while trying to pack up.

I decided to help get rid of the last vegies I would do a big casserole in the thermal cooker. With a beef and red wine base, I browned off my meat, and threw it into the thermal cooker on the stove to simmer for 20min. I added potatoes, pumpkin, corn, cauli and everything else I could find that needed to be used before going across the border. After 20min simmering it was placed into its thermal housing to finish off the cooking process, not to be revealed until dinner time tonight. This cooker doesn’t require any electricity - the heat from the simmering continues the cooking process throughout the day in its thermal housing.

When Shane opened it up this evening at 6, yummy! The meat was so tender and the vegies cooked perfect.

We stopped at the quarantine control point at the South Australian border at lunchtime with no incidents, the man looked in my fridge and asked me a couple of questions then we were back on our way.

We could see a really large dust storm building on our left, and were glad when we got ahead of it. With the big winds Scarlett was very amused with the tumble weeds rolling down the road, she was continually telling Shane to run them over.

We are staying at the Big 4 in Renmark, and this park although a little more expensive at $42 a night you can see where the money is. We have a lovely grassy, shaded spot right on the river’s edge. The pool is a resort style with a spa and waterfall. They have a lovely kiosk, paddle boats, canoes, and pedal cars. We have booked in for two nights although this could easily be extended.
We did a quick trip into town after set up and a couple of hours of school work, to check out the tourist information centre. There is a really cool lookout, Reptile Park and play ground here, along with a great farmers market on Sat. Plenty to keep us busy for the next couple of days anyway.

We spent the afternoon in the pool playing games and reading on the deck chairs. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in at 5 so it was back to the van to put on a DVD. After dinner we pulled out the brollies and braved the rain to walk up to the kiosk for an ice cream. Scarlett got a slushy, and I had my favourite Monaco bar.

This evening while Shane and Scarlett were watching Avatar, Scarlett saw a black swan out the window and ran out to have a closer look. The thing was really brazen and ran up the embankment straight at her, it must have thought she had some food. Well Scarlett who is a little too brave when it comes to animals turned and ran back so fast she nearly fell over her feet. Shane managed to get her to come back to have another look and the swan took one small step towards her and again she totally crapped herself. I got a great pic, our big brave girl finally met her match.

Day 11. Mildura

Gaol house 'rock'

This is our third and last day in Mildura, and we are only now just starting to unwind. Unfortunately it was a hot one (about 38 deg C), and we certainly felt it, so we had to relax more than once today in the pool while sipping a nice Mudgee white port!

We tried to visit Orange World but it was closed, so we took pictures out the front and then moved onto Wentworth. This is where the junction/merger of the Murray and Darling Rivers occurs; the river is 4mtrs above the normal height at the moment in flood, so it’s a pretty spectacular sight. Unfortunately the lookout was also closed due to the flooding. We had a look – as best we could, and then moved on down river to check out Lock and Weir No 10.

As we had a little time on our hands, we stopped in at the Old Wentworth Gaol. It’s the oldest standing gaol in Australia. Reputedly the notorious bushranger ‘Captain Starlight’ spent some time here. Shane was very interested, as his family history dictates ‘Captain Starlight’ robbed an ancestor of his for a pair of leather boots he was wearing. Wonder if this was one of the crimes he was in here for???

The day was really warming up so we headed back to the caravan for the air conditioner and lunch. After lunch we made our way across the other side of Mildura to check out ‘Woodies Gem shop’, which was surprisingly very interesting. We played in the playground, explored Aladdin’s cave which was filled with gem displays, checked out how jewellery is made, and watched rocks being cut open and polished. Scarlett was rewarded with a Crystal gem, as she was on her best behaviour, and loves to collect rocks! She was in her prime today.

We returned to the van and jumped straight in the pool where we spent most of the afternoon. It was great just to relax, talk and play for a change. We even chatted to other holiday makers, some escaping for a few days, to others who are also travelling around Australian like us. This park is very quite at the moment, it is only about a quarter full, just nice.

Tomorrow….ditch the fruit and veg as we are bound for South Australia!

Day 10. Mildura

Cruisin' the Murray

A beautiful fresh morning greeted us in Mildura. Bec and Scarlett didn't wake up from their slumber till 8:30am, what a sleep in! We ended up having a relaxing breakfast outside the van watching all the other 'grey nomads' heading back out onto the open road, while we enjoyed our morning cuppa listening to a chorus of native bird calls.

It was then straight into another 'challenging' school lesson with Scarlett, before exploring what Mildura had to offer. After a visit to the local Information centre, we headed down to the wharf district for a walk along the Murray River. Then it was over the road to a local park where Scarlett played on the 'monkey bars'. We came across a police awareness campaign in the park, and ended up with a free lunch of sausages on bread for nix! Sweet!

We voted on what we would do next, and it was unanimous - we were off to cruise the waters of the Murray River on the P.S Melbourne, an original paddle steamer that does morning and afternoon cruises every day. We were lucky enough to find the Murray 'up' an extra 4 meters, so we bypassed the river locks and cruised down a section that's not normally able to be accessed by the paddle steamers.

We saw some lovley properties lining the shores, and some amazing bird life - the Whistling Kites had a huge nest in a majestic river gum, and we were lucky enough to see them swooping down to catch fish right beside the paddle steamer. It was a very relaxing afternoon, sitting back and enjoying an ice cold drink, while savouring the sites of peaceful river life.

We soon returned back to the van, and Bec started dinner. I think maybe we should of researched our trip a little better, as when we were in Finley Bec decided to buy a 5kg bag of Potatoes. Today we found out that just over the South Australian border is a quarantine check point where no fruit or veg is allowed to pass. As we will be crossing into SA on Firday, you guessed it, we are eating fruit and veg now until it is seeping out our pores! Bec decided that 'Shepard's Pie' would be on the menu for dinner tonight. Little did I know the 'pie would be 2/3rds Potato, and 1/3rd mince? Mmmmmmm.............

After dinner Bec and Scarlett went for a swim in the Big4's park swimming pool. When they left is was very warm, but by the time they returneded the weather had cooled down some what and they were both freezing! :-)

Bec was going to finish the night relaxing with a hot cuppa and watch the new series of "Farmer Wants a Wife", but we just discovered that the only channel we can't get is WIN (9) and guess what channel "Farmer Wants a Wife" is on?? You guessed it!

Day 9. Hay to Mildura

Into Sunraysia Country

We did a morning of school work today. Yes I should mention the ‘school work’. Scarlett is doing Kindergarten this year via Sydney Distance Education. We do 2 to 3 hours a day of maths, writing, reading, art, and music. It's been a bit of a struggle so far, we get a pack every two weeks with two weeks work in it. Scarlett has a very limited attention span at her age, and I have not much of an idea what I’m doing. To say it’s a challenge is an understatement!

We try to knock the school work over first thing in the morning when she is fresh. Unfortunately this then means we leave later in the morning to site see, then after the drive onto the next night’s accommodation, and set up it’s usually then a late dinner. It’s not perfect, but we are discussing other options.

We visited the Shear Outback centre in Hay this morning. We were disappointed to find that they weren’t sheering today due to everyone being on holidays :-( This centre is dedicated to Australia’s shearing pioneers, and they have some really great interactive displays including a sheep yard maze. Our shearers are by far the best in the world, and have pioneered most of the techniques seen today.

We had a lovely picnic in the Hay Park. Scarlett loved feeding the baby ducklings in the dam, and played on all the play equipment. In the centre of town is an authentic Cobb & Co stage coach (The Sunbeam) behind a glass display. Shane was over the moon to see this as he collects’ Cobb & Co stage coaches, and is a huge fan. Unfortunately there is some works going on with the path out the front, and there is six foot fencing around the display making it impossible to get a good photo.

I sat in the back seat with Scarlett on the way here today and watched “Gone with the Wind” in the head rest DVD player. It certainly made the time go quicker. It was a 4 hour drive, and I drove the last hour to give Shane a rest. We are staying at a Big 4 caravan park tonight. We joined the Big 4 club for $50 (2yr membership), and got an on the spot discount, it only cost $25.75 a night and we got a free ensuite. I will certainly be taking advantage of that tomorrow and washing my hair. The ensuite in van is adequate and I love it, but it’s a little cosy.

We plan on taking a couple of days out from travelling and spend some time in Mildura to do some site seeing and organising. Shane needs to give the Pajero and van a good clean as we must have hit just about every dragonfly between here and Hay today, and I need to better organise the school week, and better prepare where we plan on going etc, as due to the flood down this way, we are presently doing everything on the fly. Mmmmm….

Day 8. Finley to Hay

Hit the Hay 'Flood' Plains...

After a yummy breakfast, Scarlett helped Andrew round up the sheep and 'drove' them on the quad bike from one paddock to another, before jumping in the tractor and ploughing the field ready for a new season crop to be sown.

Bec packed the caravan and then finally had her first ride on the quad bike to check the Alpaca's before we said our farewells to Liane and Andrew, who have been the perfect hosts during our 'mini' farm stay. They will both be sorely missed, and Scarlett is already asking us "When are we going back?" Thank you both very much for an unforgetable country experience!

We stopped in Deniliquin for a quick bite and a walk around town, and Scarlett asked to get her photo taken with 'the cool ute over there'. No problems! She was talking about the Deni Ute Muster Mosaic Ute that is now on permanent display in a local park.

Due to the flooding down south in Victoria, we decided to head north up to Hay and try and cross into South Australia from up there. The Cobb Highway has only just been re-opened (due to the flooding), and it still has a fair amount of water over the road. We stopped and checked out the "Long Paddock" at "The Black Swamp" which we discovered only fills with water every twenty or thirty years (which is how we found it). The birdlife alone was an amazing site! Here, we also read the folk story about the two Drovers and the Headless Horseman.

I think the Hay Plains needs to be re-named the Hay 'Flood' Plains, as we were very surprised how much water is still over the road and in the fields. Scarlett wanted us to stop in the middle of the highway so she could go for a swim, but unfortunately there was nowhere to pull over. It would of made an amazing photo!

Tonight we are staying in the Hay Caravan Park (Top Tourist Park), as the free camping sites we were planning at staying at are all closed due to recent flooding. never mind, as the powered site we have only cost $28 and its very close to the town centre. As a bonus, it's just down the road from the Shearing Hall of Fame - where we plan to visit tomorrow.

A hearty BBQ dinner of Andrew and Liane's home grown lamb chops, while enjoying an amazing outback sunset finished the day on a perfect note....

Day 7. Finley

Finally! Here comes the sun

Finally the rain stopped, a beautiful sunny day. With a little wind it was a great day to catch up on the washing. We were supposed to leave today but with the driveway still boggy and poor Shane needing to get some caravan modification jobs done, it was decided to be “free loaders” for one last day. Shane was able to complete all the jobs that needed doing, and with the help of Andrew and his welding skills, one or two extra little things were sorted out. I am also waiting on a package from the Distance Education people that should hopefully arrive tomorrow.

Allison and Scarlett had a lovely morning catching grass hoppers, and feeding the new baby Alpaca. Andrew took them both on their daily quad bike ride around the farm checking on all the animals, and they both even got a ride in the tractor today as Andrew and Nick ploughed up the soft soil for a new crop.

The girls watched some movies and I did some house work, a nice relaxing day. I took a heap of photos of the farm for Andrew today - a kind of a snapshot in time for his records. It is amazing how quick things dried out with this little bit of wind.

Sara and Nick came over to pick up Allison, and stayed for dinner. Shane and I got take-away Chinese for everyone to say thank you to everyone for their very, very generous hospitality.

The Farm House

Day 6. Finley

A baby is born!

A very exciting day today, a new baby male Alpaca (Cria) was born. Andrew rounded the little fella up first thing this morning and moved him and mum out of the rain, and into the shed. He was only an hour old and Shane and I both got a nurse, it was very special indeed. He is so cute, we just went and checked on him again this evening and he is suckling like a champion, he’s now even more cute all dry and fluffy.

Another day spent mostly inside with the bad weather. Scarlett had a lovely day though with Allison (Sara and Nick’s little girl) coming over this morning for a play date. Four movies and two bags of pop corn later and it’s now turned into a sleep over. Shane and I even got to watch a movie today, with the kids playing so happily together.

With the rain unrelenting, both girls pestered Andrew so much he finally gave in and took them both for a ride on the quad bike. Lucky it was just before bath time, because they both came back soaked to the bone, but with huge smiles from ear to ear.

This evening’s dinner was home grown roast lamb, it was sooooo good. Nick and Sara came over and I had a lovely time getting my little person fix with their toddler Emily.

We all consulted the maps again today trying to decide where to move onto next, with the flooding our options are very limited. I was so keen to head into Echuca, but it seems to be a bit wet and flooded at the moment. I am struggling to find somewhere that isn’t.

Day 5. Finley

Rain rain go away, the farms can't cope with another day!

A good night’s sleep finally. The air conditioner in our room at Andrew and Liane’s is heaven. It’s so quiet and efficient you can leave it on all night. We awoke to rain again today, but that didn’t stop Scarlett and Andrew hitting the quad bike early. Off to feed the baby Alpaca’s and their mothers, then some fun riding over the rice banks and along the channel. Scarlett has no fear!

A hearty brekkie (thanks to Andrew making me porridge), and a few more cuppa’s and the rain did ease enough for me to get out and take a couple of photo’s. Most of the excitement was centred on the Alpaca pen. I was asked by Scarlett to explain why the male Alpaca was sitting on the female!!! I told the truth (Andrew couldn’t get past “They’re having a cuddle”) and I explained they were making a baby, to a reply “But she already has a baby”. I left it there….

We spent a very quiet day today, watching the devastation on TV up north, and discussing the amazing amount of rain crossing the country now and over the next few days on the weather channel. We were supposed to head down into VIC on Sunday, but with the way the weather is playing havoc down there a better option now being throw around, is to head up to Broken Hill to check out the wild flowers instead.

Shane finished our insurance paperwork today, a massive job that’s probably for nothing. We also put in an application for the Premiers flood relief payment, which is again probably for nothing. One win we should have though, is our application for the RAAF welfare grant. At least they will consider us in our unique situation and not just in black and white. We have a good chance of getting some assistance here, not a lot of money, but some is better than nothing.

We drove into Finley Township this afternoon to meet up with Sara, Nick and the girls at the local pool. Even though it was raining, it was still a lovely relief from the humidity. Andrew and Liane joined us all for a lovely BBQ back at Sara and Nick’s, and the girls had a great time playing together. Scarlett has really enjoyed having another little girl to play with.

We just hid the Pajero in the machinery shed as there is some nasty weather about to hit tonight. Scarlett has totally flaked and I have just finished my last cuppa….good night!

Day 4. Wagga Wagga to Finley

On the farm.

We left Aunt Jean's early this morning and made our way accross the beautiful riverina plains to Finley. We are off to stay with very good friends of ours Andrew and Liane Hateley who have a 563 acre sheep and cropping farm.

Before the dust had settled from our arrival and Scarlett even got into the house, Andrew had her in work boots and whisked her away on the quad bike. They were rounding up sheep that needed to be treated for fly strike, it's not a very nice job, but necessary. We all watched Andrew with the electric and manual sheers in awe, Scarlett was hard at work sweeping up the wool. It was really hot and dusty and the flys could have carried us all away, but we loved every minute of it.

Next Scarlett was off feeding the chooks our lunch scraps and nursing the new one week old baby alpaca. She loves everything about the animals and the farm and I'm asked quite regulary "When will we be getting a farm mum?"  It looks like fun and games but it's not an easy life here, after years of suffering drought, now there has been so much rain the crops have been rurined.

A country of vast extremes lately seems an understatement.

Day 3. Wagga Wagga

A lesson in family history...

After another very hot night, and very little sleep, we woke to a wet morning in Wagga Wagga. Not to be deterred, we packed some wet weather clothes, brollies, some water and headed off to Humula for a history lesson that opened my eyes.

First, it was a quick stop at the Humula cemetery where great aunt Jean gave a full run down on the relatives buried in this out of the way spot. The rabbits are running (or should that be hopping) rampart! I never realised I was related to almost everyone who just happens to be buried here from the same town! Very interesting.... Scarlett however had a great time picking wild flowers, fixing up damaged headstones and replacing flowers in their rightful places. I'm sure the locals would be very proud of her.



Next it was a drive through the Humula township, where I discovered a silhouette of me (when I served in the Navy) has been erected at the local Memorial Hall. Other silhouettes of serving family members from all the services have also been placed in the front garden of the Humula Memorial hall. I was very humbled.....

Next it was a visit to "Opossum Plains" and "Shockeroo Station". Here was the pioneering birthplace of the Cheney family in Australia. It was great to actually visit and see what remains of these original homesteads. To hear their stories from Jean, made us realise how lucky the Cheney family is to have this amazing women and family historian.

We then visited the Cheney family cemetery on Shockeroo station, and spent some time reflecting on the hardships of our pioneering families. It was a moving moment visiting 'the' last resting place of the first Cheney father and mother in Australia. The field is very neglected, and I almost lost Scarlett in the tall grass. I felt a deep connection with this land and hope to return again one day.

Day 2. Gundagai to Wagga Wagga

There's a track winding back...

We woke to the morning chorus of country Australia, after a very hot night in Gundagai.

I 'escaped' down the back paddock with Scarlett to explore a creek running through the property, while Bec had the task of preparing Scarlett's lessons for her first day of school!

The day was heating up fast, so we weren't gone for that long, but in that time we spied rabbits in the long grass, and gave the cattle a feed of hay - which Scarlett loved!

On returning to the house, it was straight into day 1 of school for Scarlett. Bec had the weeks English lessons ready to go, and it took Scarlett about 3.5 hours to finish her lessons. A big first day of learning - not just for Scarlett, but for mum and dad as well.

After finishing todays lessons, we packed the Pajero and Van and bid farewell to Joe and Glady - but promised to return as Scarlett loved being out on the farm!

We hit the road for a short trip across to Wagga Wagga to visit great Aunty Jean, but by the time we arrived the temperature was already nudging 42 degrees!

We had the van set up in record time, and the first thing Bec had going was the Air Conditioner. It certainly received its first big work out today!

Tomorrow, Jean has promised to give us a personal tour of all the historic sites of Humula - the birthplace of the Cheney family in Australia. I can't wait!