This morning we were woken early by the sound of kookaburras and cockatoos, and the sound of raindrops on the roof of the caravan. It was going to be a good day! After breakfast and then packing up in light rain, we left Echuca at 9.30 – we were not going to get caught up in the school drop off traffic!
It was raining more solidly by the time that we arrived at Cohuna so we decided to stop for a coffee and re-assess our plans. We were stunned at the lack of water in the lake. It was so inviting in 2006, but now, I think that the photos say it all. The landscape throughout the region is very dry. We experienced steady rain for the rest of the day today but several days of solid rain is needed in this region to have any beneficial impact.
Cohuna Lake in June 2006
Cohuna Lake in May 2013
Cohuna Lake in May 2013
Cohuna Lake in May 2013
After a quick coffee in the van we headed further north west up the Murray Valley highway. Just before Kerang we came across a quarantine stop. Ann quickly juiced some lemons and stored the juice in the freezer, and we ate the last of our mandarins. All refuse was carefully placed in the yellow quarantine bins.
About 8 -9 kms past Kerang, we could see lots of flashing lights in the now heavy rain. When we got closer we could see that a small white car appeared to have lost control on the bend and rolled and landed 5-6 metres off the road. The police and ambulance were in attendance.
We continued in the rain through Lake Boga and Swan Hill and stopped in Nyah to re-fuel and purchase a couple of hot country pies for lunch. We moved from the service centre to a nice new rest stop further up the road in Nyah. It was raining heavily so we set up in the van where we could relax, warm and dry and enjoy our lovely pies and coffee. The joys of being self-contained!
Lunch in the van out of the rain
We then continued further up the highway to Robinvale where we had planned to spend the night but it was only 3 pm and all available campsites were near water . We decided to keep going and had another quick stop Mallee Fowl Rest area between Euston and Gol Gol. At that point we decided to proceed to our favourite Caravan Park in Buronga about 5 kms north of Mildura (just over the river).
By the time we arrived, the rain was very heavy. We pulled into a drive through site, plugged into power and water and turned on the heating to dry our clothes and shoes. If the rain keeps up, this will be a very good place to stay until the rain passes.
Shorty's RV Adventures 