Day 5 – Wangaratta to Narrandera Showgrounds

It rained overnight and the caravan park was cold and foggy when we got up. Condensation inside the van was an unexpected issue and we had to wipe down all the cold surfaces including windows, metal hatch frames, etc. Non-stop drizzle and rain didn’t help the situation at all.

As we weren’t planning to travel too far today, we packed up and got off to a leisurely start around 10.00 am. First destination for the day was Yarrawonga, as last time we were up this way we accidentally ended up bypassing the town. Today we stopped for coffee on the banks of Lake Mulwalla several kilometres before town. The fog on the water, at 11.30 am mind you, and the eerie silence at the water’s edge, really had to be experienced to be believed.

Fog on the Water at Lake Mullwala

Fog on the Water at Lake Mullwala

After coffee we headed on over the river to Mulwalla through the huge iron structure of the old bridge. It would seem that the bridge may be under threat as there were many signs etc campaigning to “save the bridge”.

Bridge at Mullwala

At this point we experienced a navigation melt-down when the GPS decided to take us on a totally unexpected route to our next destination. We bypassed places we wanted and expected to go and ended up on what was possibly a very direct route but narrow local roads not on our maps and through boring, flat grain growing country. We went through Rennie and once we arrived at Urana we found ourselves again and using our map book we headed directly to Morundah on the Newell Highway. We stopped at Morundah for a late lunch and a quick walk around town between sun showers. It is a small but quite interesting town with some very clever local art.

Street Sculpture at Urana

Racehorse “Toolbox” Sculpture at Morundah

Interesting Sculpture at Morundah

Once back on the Newell we headed straight for Narrandera Show grounds where we were greeted by the elderly caretaker on a mobility scooter. After handing over $15 for a powered site for the night he made sure that we had the best site possible and everything that we needed. You really do meet some lovely people on the road. The best part about Narrandera was that the sun finally came out for us and we were able to open up the van for a short time to air it and allow it to dry. We also had a walk around the place before closing up and turning the heater on for a comfortable evening.

Setting Up at Narrandera Showgrounds