Posts Tagged With: Paringa

Sunday

It was definitely a day of rest today and we had nothing in particular planned.

We caught up on some housework, cleaning Bertha after driving through rain, and spent several hours just relaxing outside with our books.  Highlight of the day was lunch at the Paringa Pub.  When we arrived we were the only customers there but quite a number of other people did arrive a little later and we all had a great time.  Ann had the roast of the day, which was duck, and she enjoyed it very much.  I had a delicious home-made pasta and sauce.  Lunch was accompanied by a very nice drop (or two) of local Angove Merlot.

Paringa Pub

The weather forecast on the evening news didn’t look too good!

Monday

Today we had originally planned to catch the local Amazon Bus service to see some of the local sights but we both seem to be suffering from head colds and decided not to inflict ourselves on other bus passengers.  Besides, there is rain and possible thunderstorms forecast for some-time today so we decided that staying close to Bertha would probably be a better idea.

We did wander over to the Paringa Bakery & Café and thoroughly enjoyed our coffee and cake.  From there we went on a good walk around Paringa to check out some of the local attractions.

Paringa Bakery & Cafe

First stop was the famous Black Stump, which is actually just across the road from the Bakery.  There are apparently 11 Black Stumps around Australia and Paringa is very proud that theirs is the biggest.  It is 8 metres in diameter, weighs 8 tonnes and is an estimated 600 years old.  It was found some 50 kilometres away and has been in its current location since 1984.

The Paringa Black Stump

From the Black Stump we walked past the local Paringa Community Museum which house various local artifacts and farm machinery from the area.

We couldn’t exactly miss the Paringa Lifting Bridge.  The bridge was opened in 1927 and was one of the earliest bridges to span the Murray River.  Part of its significance is the section which can be raised to allow the passage of river boats.  The lifting span is still raised twice a day, depending on river traffic – bookings are required.

View of Paringa Lifting Bridge

Next to the bridge is a community park which is currently being upgraded.  There are sweeping lawns where several families were enjoying picnics.  There is a nice rotunda for a bit of shelter (not sure if a brass band ever plays there).  We noticed several canoes out on the river.  Looking along the river banks we could see the start of what we are pretty sure is the Renmark Big 4 caravan park.

Great park with rotunda and family picnics

Canoeing on the river

Walking back from the bridge and park we stopped at Cammies Antiques and Collectibles which had an amazing collection of old and interesting treasures – but we are past buying stuff like that anymore – interesting to look.

Cammees Antiques & Collectibles

From there we picked up some lunch supplies at the bakery and headed back to Bertha for lunch.

Just as we were finishing lunch outside we felt the first drops of what we thought was the approaching rain.  Shade cloth wall and awning were immediately packed up before they got wet and we retreated with chairs inside.  The rain only lasted 30 minutes and we’ve had only light sprinkles ever since

Rain and thunderstorms are still forecast for today.  Tomorrow’s weather looks a little better and we plan on heading off towards Port Augusta.

It was a little foggy as I watched the sunrise over the grape vines this morning.  Sorry – I forgot to mention yesterday that Red Cliffs is the start of the Mildura wine region and that there are vines immediately behind the caravan park.

Sunrise over the vines at Red Cliffs

The vines became even more prolific the closer we got to Mildura.  Interestingly many of the vines were covered – I assume to protect from cold mornings, etc.

Covered grape vines at Mildura

Red Cliffs is only 15 kilometres from Mildura so it wasn’t long before we had parked Bertha and gone for a stroll around town.  We enjoyed coffee and cake at Hudaks Bakery, a favourite place of ours and picked up some supplies in town before continuing on our travels.

Scenes at Mildura

From Mildura we left the Calder and changed to the A20 towards Renmark.  From vineyards growing very close in to town, the scenery soon changed to cropping country.

Leaving Mildura

We later passed what appeared to be large plantations of almonds.

Almond trees (we think)

In what seemed to be only a short time we arrived at Lake Cullulleraine which looked to be a nice place to stop for thermos coffee overlooking the lake.  We did take a wrong turn and ended up at a dirt road going into a farming property.

Wrong way!

We retraced our steps and found a more appropriate entrance to the lakeside, where we were greeted with green lawns, shade, and benches and seating.  There was a lone speed-boat out on the water scaring the fish.

Views of Lake Cullulleraine

Leaving Lake Cullulleraine the scenery changed again and we saw large areas of cultivated land showing orange against the stubble in nearby paddocks.

Cultivated land contrasted against crop stubble

We continued along the Sturt Highway across the South Australian border where we stopped for a “photo opportunity”.

Bertha at the border

Within a couple of kilometres we had to stop at the Yamba quarantine station where Bertha was searched quite thoroughly for contraband fresh fruit and vegetables, plants and grape vines.  We were clean and left with a clean bill of health, unlike a couple of guys in very muddy off-road trucks who had bags and bags of fruit and vegies confiscated.  At least they were good natured about it and didn’t kick up a fuss.

Welcome to SA at Yamba quarantine stop

A few kilometres up the highway we stopped at Paringa Caravan Park, where we have booked in for a couple of nights “R & R”.  We set up Bertha with awning and shade wall, and I even changed into shorts.

Happy campers at Paringa

This is a small family run park where they really seem to care about their customers – we were given discount vouchers for the Paringa Pub and a heap of tourist information.  Paringa is a small town about 4 kms East of Renmark and we are very interested in catching a local shuttle bus which will take us to many interesting places in the Paringa/Renmark area.

We will report back in due course.

It was a glorious day today and we hope that this weather continues.