Victoria

A second honeymoon at Rutherglen

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When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade pizza.

Pizza al Fiume
Pizza al Fiume
Stanton Bend Near Rutherglen
Stanton Bend Near Rutherglen

Forget Venice – we are at Stanton Bend in Victoria. Another awesome spot not on the map (see the grey pin mark). As the crow flies we are very near Corowa in NSW, but by car Rutherglen (in Victoria) is closer. We have a private beach and camping site and the dog is enjoying some rare freedom to

Dog and Murray - study 17
Dog and Murray – study 17

investigate his surroundings. Actually he is not much into personal investigations as he is now 10 years old. We went for a canoe ride today without him and he swam behind us for over 100 metres before we pulled up and let him on. He is very much a people dog now.

Honeymoon suite
Honeymoon suite

The beautiful spot is complimented by sunny weather, so our caravan bed is looking stunning. Of course, while we are in there the canvas is shut – it is winter after all. However, if it were summer, we would be looking at the Murray outside out window!

BedLookingAtTheMurray

Importantly, we have mobile reception so can chat with Ashleigh back in Sydney while we wait for him to rejoin us. Hopefully. But right now, this is fun!

Travel, Victoria

Sunday at Wodonga

Sun 7 June – Well, the great journey has become odd now. On Friday Ash walked off to Barooga dissatisfied with our trip itinerary – he fancied that we were about to return home. He called me a bit later to say he had met up with some people and was off to get free pizza at a closing down party of a pub. On Saturday morning he called to say he would be back soon and on Saturday afternoon when called he said he was on a train back to Sydney! So Sunday morning I had myself, the dog and the caravan in Wodonga, Carmel in Canberra finally finished her work, and Ashleigh in Sydney. Without a clear direction, I sought divine assistance.

Sacred Heart Church, Wodonga
Sacred Heart Church, Wodonga

The local church in Wodonga is quite lovely inside being mostly woodwork – red river gum and (black) petrified wood trim.

AltarOfSacredHeartWodonga

Anyway, after mass, I was delighted to have Carmel join me, so at least the family was not so spread out. Ash claims he wants a chance to prove that he can go to school and get an afternoon job and support himself, so we decided to give me a chance. We are grateful for local friends who are keeping an eye on him. I personally hope he will return and join us in a few days.

Boating, New South Wales, Victoria

Rowing for Victoria

Fri 12 June – On Friday I had the honour of rowing for Victoria, unusual for a New South Welshman.

The pin marks the spot for Paradise Beach
The pin marks the spot for Paradise Beach

The location was Paradise Beach, an unmarked beach in Barooga State Forest on the Murray River. The place was not sign posted at all – it was off a 4WD track. I drove past it twice thinking “that is surely not it”. (We actually found it in a great book titled “Bush Camping with Dogs”. It is surprisingly well researched, and also found

Great tool to finding out of the way places
Great tool to finding out of the way places

us the Tumut campsite.) However, a chat to the local constabulary confirmed it was. We arrived late at the location in light rain – not ideal for 4W driving. When we reached the Murray, we just stopped and made a quick camp. The following morning showed this to be a great choice.

The Murray River is a quiet river at present (or here) and sides are either coarse sand (such as on Paradise Beach) or reeds. So I inflated the blow up canoe we found at the camping show and followed in the wake of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.

ParadiseBeach2Alex was busy talking on the phone so opted not to be on the first canoe attempt. Surprisingly, the dog was a willing participant.

Dreamy morning on the Murray
Dreamy morning on the Murray

So off we went, rowing away from NSW and into Victoria. Despite the slow flow, upstream was quite hard work and I had removed my warm vest after 20 minutes. On the way back downstream, we met some fellow dreamers.

ParadiseBeach4