Day 2 – Farrer’s Lookout to Tintaldra (35 km by river 8 km as the crow flies)

It took a while for Tony to get to us in the morning as he had to wait until he could get petrol. Once he arrived and we had finished packing I towed his kayak over to the other side where he hauled up it the bank to his car. A bit like the solo man only back to front.

Simon and I then set out for Tintaldra. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the scenery was gorgeous. Every bend in the river revealed a new vista with mountain backdrops.

For about an hour we had Pine Mountain in view. It is a monolith 1.5 times the size of Uluru although not as spectacular as it does not dominate the landscape.

We paddled for a couple of hours before taking a break on a gravel race in a river bend. We has some boiled eggs and some muesli bars. Our thanks must go Tony who supplied most of the supplies. Who would have thought 12 boiled eggs would go that far. We were still eating them on the last day.

After the break we paddled on until we eventually sighted the Tintaldra Bridge where Tony was waiting for us. We hauled the kayaks out and made our way to the caravan park. A great little park. Can't imagine how they would make any money as they only charged us a few dollars to stay the night. Tony decided not to stay so he headed off to visit friends in Benalla on his way home.

Simon and I wandered up to the General Store where 85 year old Betty had opened the shop so we could purchase some drinks. The store was part museum and had a fantastic position above a bend in the river. Betty told us that when she moved to Tintaldra with her husband 40 years earlier there, had been no willows on the banks of the Murray. Now there is scarcely 50 metres of bank that doesn't have a willow in it.
Weekly Times article about Betty Walton of Tintaldra General Store

Simon wanted his picture taken next to this flood marker. Not sure why?

Back at the caravan park we met some interesting characters. One was an itinerant candle seller who lived in his van and spent time fishing along the river. Another was a Kiwi mural artist who spends half his year in the Himalayas.



We had pasta and sardines for dinner (for those of you who are avid readers of Joe and Tony’s cycle touring blogs you will know that sardines are a staple part of the diet) despite discovering that we could purchase a Bbq and salad dinner pack from the caravan park. Simon was amused at the look on my face which registered disappointment on that discovery. Simon did mention something about me being a vegetarian. In the interests of accuracy I am pescatarian although when on these trips I do eat meat as in many places non-meat meals can be hard to find.