We followed the brown river from Echuca along the Murray Valley Highway to Mildura and Renmark. There was the profusion of red gums and acres and acres of wheat fields, vineyards, oranges and mandarins.
It was obvious that there is a glut of oranges as they are dirt cheap, often lying on the ground or left on trees. We bought the most delicious bag of Mildura oranges and sadly had to dispose of some of them at the SA border. The farmer explained that because of the high dollar it is very difficult to export the oranges. As for the vineyards.... we have NEVER seen such an expanse of vines - not even in Margaret River. No wonder I keep hearing about the glut of wine on the market - must be for a looming Chinese market?
I can't get over the way the tourist brochures and advertising billboards depict the Murray as being a lovely blueish green colour....not.
We stayed in Mildura - where we had visited Nat when she lived there - in a gorgeous park close to a magnificent red gum. I just love them. They are beautiful even though there are are warnings everywhere reminding people that branches are liable to fall at any time.
It has been a wonderful experience traveling through this part of the country. It has given us a much better understanding of the issues often debated regarding the precious Murray River. The whole area is "so Australian" and gives meaning to all the paintings of the river and the gums! We even crossed the river on our way to Clare in SA on one of the ferries that are free and operate 24/7. When I first saw the ferry I didn't think the car and the caravan would fit ...but it did!
I've added some of the rigs people use to travel around Aus. They were all stopped at Mildura.
The statue was in the garden of the caravan park....and because of the heat that day the ducks took shelter under our van.
