I was awake just after 5.00 am and decided to get up and start packing rather than going out for a run. The breeze was cool and I decided to break up the journey by stopping somewhere and going for a jog to freshen up.
I finished packing and was on my way via the coffee shop and bakery. I stopped in Kingsway for petrol and set off down the Calder Highway. At Marong outside Bendigo I stopped for a comfort break. I thought about going for my run there but it didn’t feel right. Not much further down the road at Bridgewater On the Loddon I parked by the river and changed into my running gear. There was a path along the river but this was only good for a couple of km before it dead-ended so I made my way to a road running south toward Newbridge. Once I clocked 5 km I turned around and headed back.
Loddon river at Bridgewater
I was very sweaty so I took some time to cool down before changing back into my day clothes and heading off again. At Inglewood I stopped to get a pasty and some sandwiches. Probably didn’t need both but I enjoyed both. I stopped at Ouyen to get petrol only because I wanted a break and petrol was cheaper than in Melbourne – how can that be?
Approaching Mildura I plugged in the details of Nichols Point cemetery into the GPS and set off to find a “Family History” grave for Lisa. It was a nice cemetery not far from the river. After that there was a church in Merbein to find. Disappointed it appeared to no longer in use so there was no chance of viewing the interior which apparently features a very good stained glass window.
My cunning plan to solve the logistics conundrum is leave drive to Renmark and leave my pushbike there so I can ride it back to the car when I get to Renmark. This meant a further 140 km of driving today. I finally arrived at Riverbend Caravan Park at Paringa just outside Renmark at 5.00 pm. I got a site for the night and set up my tent.
Kangaroo outside my tent at Riverbend Caravan Park, Paringa
The caravan park was a little noisy at night, FROGs making a racket. I woke a few times during night – as usual for 1st night of trip. It takes a couple of days to settle into sleeping on an inflatable mat again. I was awake before sunrise and set about packing up for an early start. There was no reason to rush as I couldn’t get on the water until tomorrow.
Once in the car I called Lisa for a chat knowing she was driving to Geelong for an early start as well. Actually I only just caught her as she was already in Geelong. We ad a nice chat while I looked at the view on a river bend just out of Paringa.
After that the drive to Mildura was fairly dull although there was plenty of road kill. I also saw a mob of emus in a paddock. I thought about stopping for a picture but they weren’t close enough. In the car at 110 kph this distance passes fairly quick but I am wondering whether I have given myself too big a task to cycle it in 1 day when I paddle into Renmark again. There is a caravan park at Lake Cullulleraine about half way so I can do it in 2 if necessary.
Arriving in Mildura I headed straight to Langtree Café for breakfast. Simon and I had breakfast there last year. After that it was shopping for food for the trip at Woolies then down to the river for a 10 km jog. My legs felt heavy and tight but I was running ok although it was hot work. The air here is much drier than down south and I am feeling it. I had a good stretching session afterward.
As it was close to lunchtime I headed up to town to Subway for 6 inch Veggie Delite and then back to the river. To fill the time I took the 2 hour cruise on the paddle-steamer “PS Melbourne”. It went down through Lock 11 and back. Strictly speaking I should do that in the kayak however I am launching downstream at Apex Beach. I will skip 4 km but the logistics would be too difficult otherwise.
After the cruise I booked in at Apex Park. The bonus of staying here apart from the close proximity to the launch site is that I can leave the car here for the week. My original plan was to leave it at the railway station but this is better.
After setting up my tent I unloaded and packed the kayak ready for the morning. This was followed by a long cool shower. It has been very hot today – hopefully it will be cooler tomorrow as there is very little shade on the river.
For dinner I went to “Curry & Tandoor”, an Indian restaurant. I tried to order Chanda Dahl but they weren’t cooking that tonight and offered me another dish. It was lovely but had lists of red kidney beans. Could be interesting in the tent in the next 36 hours!
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