Simon missed this section of the Murray River when I paddled it back in 2018. It was one of my favourite parts of the river so when Lisa suggested I do it again, this time with Simon, it was not a hard decision.
This leg of the journey began on April 3th, 2023 and finished on April 11th, 2023
Day 1
Long drive to Mildura. Nice pizza dinner at the Pizza Cafe in Langtree St.
Camped overnight at Apex Park. The caravan park was under water during the recent floods. On my previous trip here I was able to leave my car in a storage area at the back of the park. That is no longer a service provided by the park however they allowed Simon to leave his car parked under shelter (and charged nothing for it).
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| Coffee break at the bakery at Bridgewater |
Day 2 - Apex Park Marker 882 to 844 Williamsville Bridge
A quick trip into the CBD for breakfast at Langtree Cafe and for me to visit the supermarket to purchase a phone charger cord as I had left mine at home.
On the water at 9:40 am - slow paddling. Stopped after 90 minutes and walked into Merbein for lunch. It was further away from the boat ramp than I expected so we walked for 30 minutes before reaching the shopping centre. It was worth the effort for some sandwiches and a drink.
Back on the water at 1: 30 pm. Steady paddling until a cutting just before Williamsville jumped us 10 km further according to the markers. We stopped just bear the bridge where the Calder Highway becomes the Silver City Highway. A bit of difficulty finding a campsite that didn't have the stench of rotting carp.
It is illegal to return carp to the river so fishermen just throw them on the banks and leave them to rot. Unfortunately we found this in a number of places during this trip.
Pasta with tomato, onion and chorizo sauce for dinner.
In our tents early as it was dark by 7:00 pm.
Day 3 Marker 844 to Marker 812
Very noisy night, lots of trucks heading to and from Broken Hill. An irrigation pump on the other side of the river started up about 1:00 am.
A lovely sunny morning - packed up and on the water by 8:00 am. Arrived at Wentworth at 10:15 am. A quick walk around town with a stop for lunch and dinner supplies.
The Tourist Information Centre allowed us to fill up our drinking water tanks. We were happy not to have to think about filtering water from the Murray which is currently an interesting shade of green. The Darling by contrast looks far more normal despite issues with fish kills 600 km up the river at Menindee.
Back at the river we met a family who were launching a motor boat. They were going to spend a week on their houseboat. Mum gave us a very large bunch of table grapes grown on their property at Berri.
Next stop was Lock 10 where we wanted to get through until we were told it was broken. The Lock Keeper Darren had joked that the lock wasn't open until Friday 1:00 pm before allowing his offsider to operate the lock for us.
Unfotunately the outtake valve was blocked possibly by a branch or log which meant the doors could not be opened. It possibly required a diver to effect the repair. It was not going to be fixed before the busy Easter holiday weekend.
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| On the trailer at Lock 10 |
We were lucky as the lock keeper helped by transporting our kayaks on the back of a trailor to a boat ramp 1 km downstream.
This stretch of the river is beautiful - lots of birds including Darters, Spoonbills, Cormorants, Kites, 1 black swan, a kingfisher and lots of ducks.
We finished the day at the top of Bates Bend near Marker 812, on a lovely sandy beach. Sausages purchased at Wentworth and Mash for dinner.
Day 4 Marker 812 to Marker 774 3 km short of Lock 9
Both of us up before 6:00 am packing up. Leisurely breakfast and on the water paddling at 7:20 am. The weather was perfectly still and overcast all day. There were some minor showers but no major rainfall.
Lots of birds, we saw a mass take off of ducks ahead of us on the river. 1000s of birds spooked by us paddling down the river.
We stopped at the Fort Courage Anglers Club campground where we were able to top up our water from a rainwater tank. The caretaker was helpful although he was busy preparing for the Easter weekend.
Can't help but think about the origin of Fort Courage. It was the name of the fort in the 60s sitcom
F-Troop. I can't find any other references to the name. It does not appear in lists of historic NSW sites so perhaps it is simply a humorous reference to the television show.
We finished at Marker 774 - Lock 9 was just around the other side of the bend. I went for a walk after we set up camp and could hear the sound of the water going through the lock. During the flooding the bend had been under water. The high water mark on trees well inland of the river was up to my shoulder height.
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| high water mark at my shoulder 500 metres inland from the river |
Day 5 Marker 774 to Marker 731 near Lock 8
There was an electrical storm last night from 10:30 pm onward. There was a lot of lightening and a heavy shower of rain. The thunder seemed to be some distance away so we were not concerned. The tents remained dry inside.
It was a cooler windy day. Again up before 6:00 am packing and on the water at 7:30 am. No rush though as Lock 8 wasn't open until 8:00 am. No waiting for this one, we were out the other side by 8:30 am after a 2 metre drop.
We had to push into the wind on a number of river arms. We were able to make good progress despite the wind finishing near Lock 8. We could hear it from our campsite although I was unable to get close when I went walking due to the bank being covered by willows.
There was also a pair of Pied Butcher Birds hanging around our camp. Simon a coule of pictures of the chubbier bird. I used these pictures later to confirm the species. Curiously the overall marking matched the Pied Butcher Bird but the wing markings were similiar to the Black Backed Butcher Bird.
Day 6 Marker 731 to Marker 688
Today had everything, wind, rain, sunshine, goats, birds and 2 Locks. We were at Lock 8 right on 8:00 am and were through bu 8:30 am. Beautiful sunshine and the Murray Sunset National Park all to ourselves. The park is closed to most camping as the flooding has made the tracks inaccessable.
We were hit by a heavy shower of rain just prior to lunch. We quickly grabbed our waterproof jackets and paddled on. Rain showered us intermittently and the wind was quite gusty.
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| campsite opposite Ulmarra Lodge |
We arrived at Lock 7 just on 2:00 pm. Only a 5 cm drop this time. We were the 1st lockage in a week. The lock keepers work 12 days on and 2 days off. It is not strenous work and one of them suggested it can get like "ground hog day". It is certainly a job for people who like a quiet life.
The day continued witha gusty wind but the rain disappeared. We pulled up on bend opposite Ulmarra Lodge which seems to be an outstation of the main Ulmarra property. It appear there might be a party kicking off but once the kids went to bed it was a quiet night.
We had to find some slightly higher ground to pitch our tents as the ground was still quite damp and soft. In the morning behing the camp I found a wrecked car that was somewhat bogged.
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| Properly bogged! |
Day 7 Marker 688 to Marker 640 - 48 km from marker to marker but 6 km gained in shortcuts
Ideal day for paddling - cool and dry and little wind all day. It was overcast all day and so grey that Joe lost all sense of direction near Higgings Cutting and wanted to paddle in the wrong direction. Simon talked to a camper who pointed the correction direction commenting that we should always follow the current. Later looking at the map I realised the river had looped back on iteslf and his sense of direction wasn't as out of sync as he thought.
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| Underwhelming sign at the SA NSW border. The SA Vic border 13 km further wasn't marked at all. |
At one point we saw a large mob of emus walking through the forest close to the river. There were more people around camping today particularly on the NSW side.
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| Devil's Elbow |
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| Lock 6 |
Only 77 km to go to Renmark. I posted on Facebook looking for transport back to Mildura. Amy Outdoors responded. Amy had offered to drive for us back in November when we originally planned this trip but hadn't got back to me when I messaged her last week. Amy has her own Youtube channel that features her own adventures including her canoe trips on the Murray and other rivers.
Day 8 Marker 640 to Marker 604 Wilkadene Woolshed
I slept in this morning. My phone having switched to South Australian time did not wake me before sun was lighting up te tent. It was lovely and sunny but not too warm. It was pleasant paddling all day.
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| the paddlesteamer in the background was in the same place in 2018 |
Our 1st goal was Lock 6 after 20 km (J Ias not paying enough attention to the maps and predicted it would be after 10 km). We arrived in time to go through the Lock ahead of 2 houseboats coming up stream. This time the drop was 1.7 metres.
The next stop was to be Woolshed Brewery that I thought would be a Woolshend Bend. Iwas wrong again. Woolshed bend was the site of the Chowchilla Woolshed and Shearers Quarters. Realising my mistake I reassessed the map and decided that the brewery must be at Wilkinson Cutting a further 10 km.
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| Has as Simon ever stopped at 1 beer before? |
We arrived at the brewery and were able to purchase a Woodfired Pizza each and a schooner of Summer Ale. While we were there Berny Lohmann, another member of Murray River Expeditioners came over for chat. He paddled a "sit on" on the same stretch previousl,y a feat Simon judged more difficult than ours.
After the brewery we paddled just 500 metres back to the river and found a lovely campsite for our last night on the river.
Day 9 Marker 603 to Marker 566 Renmark
Birds were noisy all night - At 2:30 am I woke to hear a magpie chortling and thought it must be dawn already. There was also a Boobook Owl nearby, a sound I normally find soothing but close up it was a little annoying.
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| Breakfast |
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| Sunrise |
Pack up and breakfast went to plan and we were on the river by 8:00. Steady progress all morning saw us arrive in Renmark ahead of our scheduled meeting with Amy Outdoors. We were able to book into the Big 4 Caravan Park and have a shower before heading out to meet Amy who brought pies and pastries and soft drink and beer to celebrate our trip.
Amy drove Simon to Mildura to get his car and then they both returned to Renamark where we all went to the Renmark Club for dinner. We were joined by Amy's partner Ian who is a keen cyclist. He was previously a FIFO worker on oil rigs. It was a lovely evening of chatting about the river, cycling and chook houses.
We finished the night packing gear into Simon's car and putting the kayaks up on the racks before going to bed.
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| Simon found this image on his phone during the trip |
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