Tuesday
7th April 2009 Today
we are travelling to Kerang in Northern Victoria to attend the 'ACC
Southern Nomads' Easter Muster to be held at the Ibis Caravan Park.
After the Easter Weekend we will continue on to Halls Gap and the
Grampians National Park for a few days before returning to Adelaide.
We are expecting over 30 vans to turn up for the muster with
a
few of us from Adelaide attending as well , having been invited back in
October 2008 at Tanunda. We
departed Adelaide around 8:45am and travelled via the Freeway
to
Tailem Bend for our first break at the Shell Service station whilst we refuelled
and had a coffee. Then on to the Mallee Highway to
Pinnaroo where we stopped for lunch.
Lunch
was at the local town bakery where we tested a couple of delicious
pies. Then across the border to Victoria
and on to
Ouyen where we arrived around 4pm. We stopped at the Ouyen Caravan Park
for the night and relaxed after our first day's travel.
Distance
travelled : 377kms .
Wednesday 8th April 2009 Our
journey continued to Kerang via the Calder Highway and rural roads as
calculated by 'Marg' our Navman chick. Occasionally we
thought
that we were being sent down a dirt road but 'Marg' looked after us and
we eventually arrived in Kerang and found the Ibis CP where we were
booked in for the Easter break. The town of Kerang is located 25
kilometres inland from the Murray River, between the historic Murray
River border town of Swan Hill
and the agricultural community of Cohuna.
We were shown to our
site by the
CP management and set up for the long weekend. During the day
several other couples arrived and there were introductions and
greetings all around. Around 4:30pm we
all met up for a
happy hour which went on till dinner time when we all went our own way
back to our vans. Distance travelled : 216 kms.
The Kerang -
Koondrook Tram
Koondrook Memorial
Hall
Middle Lake ,
Kerang Wetlands
Ibis Rookery,
Kerang Wetlands
Thursday 9th April 2009 A
quiet day today relaxing with club members . Went
into town
to do some last minute shopping and fuel before the Easter crowd
arrive. Happy hour as usual, a big crowd gathered on the
lawns
next to the camp kitchen. Some more club members arrived
later in
the day, the park is nearly full.
Friday
10th April 2009 Good
Friday and all shops are closed for the holiday. We had
a coffee and hot cross bun morning at the CP camp
kitchen
with
the ACC members. Later we took a drive to Koondrook and
Barham on
the Murray River which is about 25 kms away. All very quiet
in
the towns, most people are already at their destination or stayed home.
Koondrook had some interesting old buildings and a Red Gum
Furniture store but it was closed. The
twin towns of
Koondrook Vic, and Barham NSW is the local commercial centre for the
surrounding farmlands and Red Gum Forestry Industry and is separated by
the Murray River. A charming old single lane bridge joins the
two
towns. Barham is where the 'PS Emmylou' a replicate paddle steamer
was built and launched in Sept 1981. It is now in Echuca as a
tourist attraction with daily cruises up and down the Murray. Grouped
along the Murray Valley Highway are the Kerang Wetlands which
feature over 50 lakes, swamps and lagoons stretching from Lake Boga in
the north and to Kerang in the south. These wetlands are home to
thousands of colourful and graceful water birds. Several of the larger
lakes, including Kangaroo Lake and Lake Charm, are popular with
visitors for water sports, boating and fishing. Gorton Drive, which runs
along the western shore of Kangaroo Lake, is lined with jacaranda trees
and citrus orchards and was named after former Australian Prime
Minister Sir John Gorton who was born in the area. We drove to the Reedy Lake
Ibis Rookery,
about
10 kms north of Kerang. Reedy Lake is considered the world's
largest Ibis Rookery and is home to over 200,000 Ibis each Spring, as
well as other bird species. Two main species of Ibis come
here,
the White Ibis and the Straw-necked Ibis, as well as other species of
water fowl, such as egrets, pelicans, swans, spoonbills and ducks.
There is a large bird hide built by the local rotary club
that
has a powerful telescope permanently set up for the public to use. Late
afternoon saw us back at the CP for a nap before the happy hour.
In the evening we relaxed and watched some TV.
The Redgum Furniture Store, Koondrook
The old Bakery, Koondrook
The Murray River at Barham NSW
The bridge at Barham NSW
Saturday 11th April 2009 Went
for a drive to Murrabit for the Easter Markets. Murrabit is a
very small community and yet manages to provide over 340 stalls at its
monthly Market. Al sorts of things to buy. There
were lots
of people there and parking within the community was a bit hectic to
say the least. You could easily get lost or loose your car
for a
few hours if you loose direction. The main road continues
through
the township and crosses the Murray River about 10kms further on.
Roads to Murrabit lead from Kerang,
Swan Hill, Moulamein
(NSW) and Koondrook. The river looks very low and green at
this
location, possibly because of green/blue algae outbreak. In the evening the park put on a
sausage
sizzle and one of the caravanners put on some entertainment with
singing and guitar playing. We all had a good time listening
to
the music.
Launch site of
'Emmylou' near bridge at Barham
The 'PS Emmylou'
at Echuca in 2007
Sunday 12th April 2009 Bumped
into Lance and Annee
from the Caravanners Forum who do a lot of sign making as a hobby .
Asked him if he could make me a couple of name
signs, 'Alby
& Geraldine' for the van and also fix a large map of 'Australia'
on
the
side of the van so that we can mark our route on it when we travel. No
problems, he
had all the gear with him. It all looks good and the price
was
very reasonable. The rest of the day was spent reading and
relaxing, We don't
do enough of that!! Watched the NRL on TV and then
went to
a BBQ in the evening.
Monday 13th April 2009 This
morning some of the ACC members who have to work tomorrow packed up and
went home. The rest of us went on a bus tour for a couple of
hours hosted by the Kerang Museum being shown around the historic
locations of Kerang. The host and bus driver were both
volunteers from the local museum. They showed us the original
town site and explained the history of the town and the buildings in it.
The tour culminated at the museum where we spent some time
looking through all the photographs and items of historic significance.
We returned to the CP in time for lunch. We drove
into town and had lunch at the Kerang Bakery and then returned to relax
in the afternoon.
