The voyage backward down the Murray

I posted each day of my trip on Facebook. I worked out pretty quickly that it's not easy typing while sitting in a tent. Additionally, internet coverage was a bit hit and miss.
The process I ended up adopting was to write up my post, transfer it to my phone via messenger, upload photos to Facebook and add the post as comments. Often this was done a few days at a time when I was at a caravan park using a table in the camp kitchen.

 

Day: 1

Date: Sunday 6/03/2022

Start: 36°05'06.8"S 147°00'03.9"E

Finish: 36°05'15.7"S 146°53'21.9"E

Distance: 29.3

Accumulated Distance: 29.3

Rowing Time: 3:33:37

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Pizza takeaway from Albury, the dough was a bit thick

The day before, my brother drove me and the boat with wife for support from Norwood in SA to Howlong in NSW where we'd booked for four nights.
As always, it took us a while to get going with a trip to the shops but eventually we made it to the boat ramp at the base of the Hume Weir.
The plan for the day was to load the boat with everything planned for the journey, row to the Kremur Street boat ramp, trailer the boat and return to Howlong to check things over and make any required adjustments.

The ramp is in a perfect spot at the base of the weir, the weather was beautiful and there was enough daylight to get where I wanted to go.
I'd never rowed in water with a current so it was a new experience for the water to take me somewhere I hadn't planned to go. Likewise, snags were something I knew about but dealing with them is another thing, I hit a couple but hopefully there's only a bit of paint missing. I didn't see another boat on the water the whole afternoon, a few people were fishing on the banks with everyone you pass asking where you're going.
Some swimmers at Albury made for challenging moving obstacles
but I got to where I wanted to go, we loaded the boat, raced to get some food before everything closed and went back to Howlong to again sort some bags and discard a fair bit of unwanted weight.

  

    

Day: 2

Date: Monday 7/03/2022

Start: 36°05'15.7"S 146°53'21.9"E

Finish: 36°01'25.0"S 146°43'50.6"E

Distance: 36.9

Accumulated Distance: 66.2

Rowing Time: 4:46:46

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine (BCC) Roast Chicken with mashed potato, alright, a bit sloppy "On day two which was the first night camping, I confirmed what I knew in that you need to get off the water and set up about 2 hours before dark.

Phone reception along this bit of the Murray has been good but priorities have to be set up camp, prepare dinner, work out where I want to go the followng day before things like logging the day can be done. A dodgy light didn't help any of this which is why Deb and Bruce are here for the first three days, to get the things that I forgot. The caravan park manager at Howlong told me that the campsite at Richardsons Bend campground is where stolen cars are taken from Albury to be burnt and suggested the twelve mile TSR point on the NSW side. I ended up directly opposite on a lovely spot with a beach. With perfect weather, time on the water was spent leaning back, going with the flow.

Too much time concentrating on the starboard snag led to being caught on a snag to port. I had the river all to myself.

Day: 3

Date: Tuesday 8/03/2022

Start: 36°01'25.0"S 146°43'50.6"E

Finish: 35°58'53.1"S 146°37'02.4"E

Distance: 28.4

Accumulated Distance: 94.6

Rowing Time: 3:44:18

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Deb's very cheesy pasta with bits scraped off the leftover pizza, very tasty but ignore the cholesterol count.

Day 3 took me to Howlong where we're booked into a cabin in the caravan park for four nights. From here on, I'm on my own, Deb and Bruce head home.

Again, a very quiet, beautiful bit of river all to myself, a bit of upstream rowing up the Black Swan  Anabranch wasn't a great idea, there's no way to get closer to the caravan park so it was back to the boat ramp which is great place to rest and wait. Todays lesson, one thing at a time. I'd love to have a good GoPro, have voice control s you can tell it t start video, take a photo, stop video etc so you can concentrate on rowing. I'm a big reluctant to having $600+ sitting on the boat to loose overboard or be stolen so I bought an $80 cheapie instead so naturallly while filming, I hit a snag! So from here on, it probably won't get much use. I should follow the advice of Steve Dawson who posted his journey with his wife down the Murray in 2021, a great read and hopefully I learned alot from their adventure. Steve made the point that all his photos were from his phone, he wanted to enjoy the experience rather than spend all his time editing. So a lot of stuff was discarded and would go back to Adelaide, anything else needs to be purchased along the way.

Day: 4

Date: Wednesday 9/03/2022

Start: 35°58'53.1"S 146°37'02.4"E

Finish: 36°00'27.0"S 146°23'50.8"E

Distance: 45.2

Accumulated Distance: 139.8

Rowing Time: 6:27:11

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Well & Good Thai Green Curry with tin of coconut milk, nutritious, healthy but not advisable for making friends the next morning.

I'm still finding my way rowing, trying to work out the best daily distance combined with accommodation options. I stopped at a great spot, got out, ate and stretched my legs, there'll be more of that happening.

Corowa was doable with what looked like a perfect place to pull up, just down the bank from the Caravan Park. Wrong! Great lagoon Gilligan but the Caravan Park is fenced like a detention centre and the entrance is about 1.5km's away.

And guess what the office hours are?

So it was back upstream a bit so I’m closer to the park, empty the boat of everything, walk the bags to the park and leave the boat tied up in a secluded bit of the river bank nearby.

Lesson learned, stop for lunch, estimate time of arrival, look at the alternatives such as Bindaree Holiday Park which has its own boat ramp, and phone ahead. I'll stay for two nights so I can better plan the days ahead and do some laundry.

Question, are rest days counted? Is my next Strava post day 5 or 6?

Day: 5

Date: Thursday 10/03/2022

Rest day in Corowa

Day: 6

Date: Friday 11/03/2022

Start: 36°00'27.0"S 146°23'50.8"E

Finish: 36°01'17.8"S 146°15'38.4"E

Distance: 33.1

Accumulated Distance: 172.9

Rowing Time: 4:58:45

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine Honey Soy Chicken, very tasty, soaks up all the water and quite substantial, rice cream for dessert, followed up with peppermint tea.

After a rest day at Corowa doing some cleaning and internet stuff, a day of river contrasts, first a big long stretch out of town with large houses down the NSW side then the river goes a number of ways, the flow in the main river is less with many snags and different vegetation on the banks such as lots of blackberries. 

Then things come back together and you cruise along at a good speed on a very wide river. 

I had made a booking at the Yarrawonga caravan park for Sunday night knowing it was a long weekend and sites would be hard to get so the plan was to spend the first two days getting as close to the start of Lake Mulwala as possible and break the first two days into two.

When I get close to where I plan to be, look for a site to pull in and camp. I thought I found a good spot on the NSW side but with to many cow pats and goat poo I worked out I wasn't where I thought I was, the good current had taken me further than I thought. 

Just down stream, I chatted to some lovely people camping for the weekend who said I was welcome to join them. There is no direct car access, they had the farmers permission so it's a well kept site, a great nights sleep after tea around the campsite.

Day: 7

Date: Saturday 12/03/2022

Start: 36°01'17.8"S 146°15'38.4"E

Finish: 36°01'01.2"S 146°07'25.3"E

Distance: 25.2

Accumulated Distance: 198.1

Rowing Time: 4:09:09

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: San Remo Creamy Bacon (flavoured) Beef and Vegetable Pasta, I chucked in some dried mushrooms, poached wild figs with rice cream, delicious!

From a lovely camping spot to another secluded place on an island near the start of Lake Mulwala. 

A sign of things to come, while having breakfast, two boats and a jet ski went fanging past taking the inside of a lefthand upstream bend. Being a public holiday weekend in Victoria meant it was a bunta day, I had to keep close to the NSW bank with a lot of jet ski's and ski boats, meant I hit quite a few snags. 

I knew it was going to be a short day but not too sure where I'd end up so took my time. I pulled up in Bundalong next to the boat ramp in awe of the bedlam that was going on, it was like being at an ADHD convention. 

I headed for the NSW side and followed some markers avoiding the main river and then headed for the Burke Street canal. The camp site I found was well used but had fig trees in fruit as a bonus, lovely greeting by a blue Kingfisher.

There was plenty of passing traffic until the sun went down and beautiful sunsets across the tree studded lake.

Day: 8

Date: Sunday 13/03/2022

Start: 36°01'01.2"S 146°07'25.3"E

Finish: 36°00'28.2"S 146°00'56.1"E

Distance: 11.7

Accumulated Distance: 209.8

Rowing Time: 2:11:08

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Criterion Hotel accepted my walk in on a busy public holiday weekend, delicious Wild Mushroom Risotto and couldn't resist the Sticky date pudding for dessert.

From an idealic overnight camp spot to dry land. From a night where everything went well, setup and fed before dark, wake up early and loaded the boat, heading off just after sunrise to probably one of the hardest days rowing I've had, Lake Mulwala is full of dead trees and you need to concentrate and follow the channel markers. 

Chuck in strong winds, the wake from jet ski's and ski boats and it's hard work. Presuming the worst was over I pulled in by the Hogans Road boat ramp and emptied the boat because it was a bit swamped. Given it was still to far to portage the boat to Yarrawonga, with lighter winds forecast for midday, I packed the boat up and set off again. 

Good for a while but as I got closer to Yarrawonga, the wind picked up and it was like rowing a surf boat.

I was heading for the boat ramp but feared that I wouldn’t make it so surfed in to a spot hiding amongst the private jetties, landed it well and decided I was near enough. 

I was still about 2km's from the caravan park and down the bottom of a grassy bank so it was empty and strip the boat, get it up the bank, put the wheels together, load it up and get moving.

The RAILBLAZA C-Tug Canoe & Kayak Cart doubled up was tested for it's weight bearing limits but they passed with flying colours and with any luck, will not be required beyond the Yarrawonga boat ramp. 

You do get some weird looks pushing a boat down the street and footpath, a very helpful local stopped the traffic as I crossed the main street. 

I extended my stay to two nights as my seat needed some attention, things were not very comfortable down there. 

A good pub meal and back to the caravan park where next door a concert was on where sadly I knew most of the words to Cheap Trick and Rose Tattoo who were on the line up.

Day: 9

Date: Monday 14/03/2022

Start: Rest day in Yarrawonga

Day: 10

Date: Tuesday 15/03/2022

Start: 36°00'36.8"S 145°59'49.5"E

Finish: 35°58'22.8"S 145°50'52.5"E

Distance: 29.2

Accumulated Distance: 239.0

Rowing Time: 4:29:05

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Coco Earth Creamy Mushroom Risotto, of course followed by Rice Cream

Late start, flat, wide water. A bit of wind early on but no issue, tried to rain, blink and you missed it. 

This bit of the river is characterised by big sweeping bends with plenty of sandy beaches and many of the snags are marked with attached plastic bottles, finding somewhere to camp shouldn't be a problem with many people camping but never more than two groups per site. 

Two boats fishing, that was it for other river traffic. 

The new seat padding helped, glad I also bought a backup.

Lunched by where Deb's tree should be, many of the mileage signs are missing, my was there, no-one wants a 1960 souvenir it would seem. 

I had no great distance focus for the day so started looking for a spot around the 30km mark. The Murray River Access Guide book 1 on Avenza maps has it as Dufty's beach, in Google it's Duffy's, a nice beach all to myself until it rained and I had to share it with 10 million millipedes.

                         

Day: 11

Date: Wednesday 16/03/2022

Start: Rest day at Dufty's corner

Day: 12

Date: Thursday 17/03/2022

Start: 35°58'22.8"S 145°50'52.5"E

Finish: 35°53'34.9"S 145°38'21.2"E

Distance: 41.1

Accumulated Distance: 280.1

Rowing Time: 5:47:36

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Parmi Burger at the newly reopened Central Hotel, both meal and accompanied beer went down a treat!

Day 11 was not meant to be a rest day. I'd set up on a nice corner but didn't set up the Tent Fly, a bit dopey because around midnight it started raining and continued nonstop until 12:30 in the afternoon. So around 7:00 the Fly was set up in the rain.

With the forecast for no more rain for at least a week I decided to stay put, let things dry out and caught up with my posts. 

Cobram was within reach but there were no caravan parks near town so I rowed to the Cobram/Barooga Bridge, tied the boat up and walked the 2 km's or so into the supermarket, dinner at the pub next door and taxied it back to the boat.

There's a lot of sandy corners outside Cobram so the next job was to find one for the night. With the Murray Valley National Park on the NSW side the choices were doubled. 

The Victorian side was well occupied but there was a great empty spot about 5 k's out, day done.

I’ve found that if I don’t set an alarm I wake up constantly and check the time, if I set the alarm set to 5:00 am, I sleep like a log until it goes off and the same daily routine is repeated.

Day: 13

Date: Friday 18/03/2022

Start: 35°53'34.9"S 145°38'21.2"E

Finish: 35°49'04.0"S 145°33'40.6"E

Distance: 22.3

Accumulated Distance: 302.4

Rowing Time: 3:26:00

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Lamb Shanks at the Tattersall Hotel, when you see Homemade Baked meringue w creme anglaise, fresh figs and plums, it's a no brainer 

The next town on the river is Tocumwal, the maps shows there are some camping spots right near the town, what you cannot tell from maps is that the town beach has free camping and an amenities block (well almost free, $5 per person). 

Bring your own paper and with only one tap, it's going to be a cold shower but better than a nudie wash in the river, especially with many people around. 

Again, the river has big sandy beaches on every corner, missing snags was easy on such a wide bit of river and being a short distance, an easy day. 

The town itself is lovely and being 900 metres from the beach, priorities were simple, ice-cream shop, supermarket, pub for some protein and great dessert, the old post office for a coffee where you can admire the giant Cod, no photo required and back to the beach.

Day: 14

Date: Saturday 19/03/2022

Start: 35°49'04.0"S 145°33'40.6"E

Finish: 35°51'19.0"S 145°17'01.6"E

Distance: 43.0

Accumulated Distance: 345.4

Rowing Time: 6:33:15

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Three courses, Laksa Soup, Beef and  Paste Hotpot and Fruit Salad wth Fruit Custard, the coffee detox unfortunately continues

If you look at the maps out of Tocumwal, every corner has a beach, Ardley, Grassy, Bottom, Pump, Wide, you get the idea. 

It was the first time that I saw what was probably irrigated fruit trees from the river, given the land is generally flat, you cannot see much beyond the banks other than magnificent gums. 

Being a Saturday, there were more boats on the river, mostly fishing boats. I always wave, ask how the fishing is going and sometimes you get unexpected payoffs. 

First was a brief chat with three guys with an offer of a beer, second thoughts, hell no!

Shortly after I was looking for somewhere to stay for the night, what looked like a good spot on the Vic side to pull up turned out to be too muddy so I moved on. 

I asked some guys fishing if they had seen any good spots nearby and they directed me to two bends on where on the NSW side I'd have a beach all to myself. A magic spot and with no-one in sight.

Day: 15

Date: Sunday 20/03/2022

Start: 35°51'19.0"S 145°17'01.6"E

Finish: 35°51'14.9"S 144°59'54.7"E

Distance: 51.4

Accumulated Distance: 396.8

Rowing Time: 7:27:32

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Chucked three different things in a bowl, Laksa Soup, Tuna and some dodgy pasta thing and it tastes alright with two more free beers, thanks Victorian horse breeders!

Day 15 and reality strikes. I'd been rowing for about an hour and 1/2 and my hamstrings were on fire. I rested regularly but couldn't get comfortable. 

Unless I am going to stretch this trip into a few months it was time to concede that rowing the full length was not a happening thing and the big white lump at the back of the boat will have to do some work. 

Having done some testing around Torrens Island I had a rough idea of how long the battery will keep me moving and at 7 kph, drawing about 12 amps from a 40 amp hour battery gives me about 4 hours with some solar input as well. LifePO4 batteries don't give you much warning when they've had enough but it was starting to hiccup so back to oars for the final part. 

Todays trip took me into the Barham National Park. It's very different country, both sides seem to be levy banks with the forest behind appearing to be more juvenile trees and lover than the river, with many turns, the scenery doesn't change much and at Pelican Point you get a good understanding of how billabongs form as the river cuts a new shorter course.

The plan was to find a campsite around that mark but there are very few spots to pull up.

Picnic Point is on the map but I had no idea what was there. As you arrive, there's a huge function centre, a great sandy beach next to the boat ramp and a caravan park, accommodation sorted. 

The park manager told me that the Murray Marathon day 2 ends there, it'd be quite a buzz. 

While drinking my next gifted beer by the boat, a very thoughtful wake boarder helped clean the inside, well done mate. It spent the night around the corner where the speed limit is less.

Day: 16

Date: Monday 21/03/2022

Start: 35°51'14.9"S 144°59'54.7"E

Finish: 36°01'07.8"S 144°57'16.8"E

Distance: 28.3

Accumulated Distance: 425.2

Rowing Time: 4:08:34

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Steak Sandwich at Barmah shop/post office/servo, closed the following day as the owner had Covid

I was booked into the Barmah caravan park for two nights to do some washing and the chance to sleep above floor level for a change. 

The boat has also taken a fair few knocks and needs some attention. 

This river continues to surprise. The shacks on the NSW side out of Picnic Point with their lovely lawns and willows are a stark contrast to their surroundings. 

Reading the fine print, heading south, the next bit is called The Narrows. Having a combined width of around five metres with the oars out makes for some challenging times missing snags with a good current to keep you moving, usually in the wrong direction five seconds after you make the required adjustment. 

Seeing a raft in bits twisted and stuck in the roots on the side was no surprise. 

I saw the first Emu on this trip and another Brumby having a drink, apparently there’s quite a few in this park.

Following The Narrows is the spectacular confluence of the Barham Lake and then pretty much roll into town. 

I rowed the whole day and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Boat stripped, put on wheels, everything dragged up to the cabin, check the water tight compartments with one holding about 5 litres of water, I think I have some work to do.

Rosco's advice was to take a lot of Gaffa tape, it may well be put to the test on day 18.

Day: 17

Date: Tuesday 22/03/2022

Start: Rest Day at Barmah

Day: 18

Date: Wednesday 23/03/2022

Start: 36°01'07.8"S 144°57'16.8"E

Finish: 36°06'47.6"S 144°48'26.1"E

Distance: 38.5

Accumulated Distance: 463.7

Rowing Time: 6:11:35

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Laksa soup, Heinz Three Cheese Tortellini with Creamy Mushroom and Bacon and of course rice Cream

After a rest day in Barmah to carry out some boat repairs, I was keen to get moving towards Echuca. I filled in one large dent in the bottom of the boat, I have no idea where the source of the water was in one of the four watertight compartments, I'll put it down to the lid not being screwed in properly, I plastered a few other scrapes with cloth tape and did seat revision #3. 

As forecasted, there was rain overnight, not much but that was also part of the criteria for stopping when I did. 

The temperature was milder than recent days  with about 25k southerlies blowing all day so headwinds given the rivers course to Echuca. It’s good to see that the mile markers are being replaced complete with metal posts, hopefully they won’t be souvenired.

 I was met on the way by some bike tourists who were also staying at Barmah who told me there were a couple ahead in a canoe who also left Barmah that morning. 

One houseboat was the only other river traffic I saw until the Goulburn junction where I saw the canoe I'd been tailing all day, they were on a three day adventure to Echuca. 

I have Boileau Beach all to myself with visits from curious Kookaburras and Magpies.

Day: 19

Date: Thursday 24/03/2022

Start: 36°06'47.6"S 144°48'26.1"E

Finish: 36°05'38.9"S 144°40'59.8"E

Distance: 26.3

Accumulated Distance: 490.0

Rowing Time: 4:11:09

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Lucky enough to be fed steak wraps made by someone else

The plan for the day was to go to Echuca, stock up with some supplies including a backup mirror or two and given there is no caravan park in the middle of Echuca, head downstream and stay at the Riverlander Holiday Park. 

Rowing into Echuca was not what I expected on the Victorian side which is the bush reserve until the main wharf. 

NSW lived up to expectations with a huge new Discovery Park complex with brand new grand accommodation and its own huge marina. 

I tied up on a little beach just upstream from the wharf, got what I needed in town including a flat white coffee and came back to meet some of the colourful locals fishing near the boat. 

Turtle (probs tortoise) seemed to be the only thing biting. 

Once under way again, the first thing I learned as I went under the new bridge is just how much wash a paddle steamer puts out.  It's not only huge, as you'd expect but the waves keep following for about a kilometre after. 

The Victorian banks as you head out of town are like a scene from Miami, beautifully manicured walls, golf course lawns with Gazebo's, to me they look horribly out of place but sipping Chardies on a hot day would be very nice, I don't believe I spotted any toilets though! 

Dozens of houseboats line the banks on this bit of the river and plenty can be seen downstream. A fair number of boats and jet-ski’s were on the water but I'm guessing it's more hectic on a weekend. 

The Holiday Park is made up of mostly permanents, I tied the boat up and did the long walk to check in. When I came back to the boat, it was full of water. Fair chance some kind wake boat first ran it hard to the bank and the second wash just filled it. 

So it was a case of empty the boat, bail it out and set up camp for the night. 

Fortunately, one of the people who has a cabin there saw what had happened and offered me both dinner and the use of his shower, amazing hospitality continues!

Day: 20

Date: Friday 25/03/2022

Start: 36°05'38.9"S 144°40'59.8"E

Finish: 36°02'14.8"S 144°35'55.6"E

Distance: 31.1

Accumulated Distance: 521.1

Rowing Time: 5:12:36

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine spaghetti Bolognese padded out with 2 minute noodles followed up with rice cream and an orange

It was probably the first time this trip that the cockies didn't act as a snooze button, this time it was the Murray Valley Highway that runs about a kilometre away, things you don't really hear on the water. 

I was planning to have a rest day at Torrumbarry Weir which meant 30km days.

The river is much wider with many houseboats along the way, plenty of waving and it also means I have to stay on the NSW side to avoid traffic which wasn't that much. 

Given the late start due to completely repacking the boat, it was around 5:00 so I had to get off the water, I spied an old fibreglass rowboat and correctly assumed they would be nice people so set up camp next to. 

Two retired teachers from Ballarat, there for 10 days to fish, great chat watching the Emmylou paddle past in the evening, destination unknown.

Day: 21

Date: Saturday 26/03/2022

Start: 36°02'14.8"S 144°35'55.6"E

Finish: 35°55'48.4"S 144°26'45.8"E

Distance: 39.0

Accumulated Distance: 560.1

Rowing Time: 5:45:50

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine vegetarian spaghetti carbonara, I thought the prerequisite was ham or bacon, apparently not!

I'm not sure why it takes me 3 1/2 hours to get moving in the morning but it does. On to the Torrumbarry Weir and lock. 

Given I was planning to stay the night at the caravan park, the motor got a workout. 

The date palms on the banks gave you notice that something different was coming up and Perricoota station appeared, a magnificent set of old buildings and residence, probably worth checking out one day.  It also answered the question of where the Emmylou paddle steamer was heading the night before. The shop and cafe appeared to be closed, probably a victim of Covid. 

Just before the weir I was passed on the wrong side by a jet-ski, shortly followed by a huge Malibu wake boat towing three people. Not at all upset to see the jet-skier flip it shortly after with his passenger asking if he meant to do that. 

The caravan park has access both sides of the weir. I spied a small patch of grass above the weir, pulled in and was advised that that was where the wake boat was parking, clearly not someone I wanted to negotiate with while I checked into the park. 

So I decided to head to the lock. 

Breaking the plan ahead rule once again, I didn't have the lock masters phone number hoping it to be on display. Nope, someone watching gave me the caravan park number, I rang them and got the lock masters number, (5487 2900 for anyone planning to visit soon), a very friendly person who said he'd be there in 10 mins. 

As a first time in a lock, it was a weird experience but never in danger, I sat at the back taping the oars until it got to the lower limit and simply rowed out. The lock master said that many people ask why he lets the Kayaks through the lock and his standard answer is why not? 

The caravan park boat ramp immediately comes into view and straight away I knew I was never going to cart the boat and sundry up there. 

I tied up and walked a long way to the reception. As any tent site was up that end of the park, the decision was made to keep heading down river. 

The maps showed a cutting not far away where the old bit of river creates an island which is officially in Victoria, my interpretation was free camping so that was where I spent the night, it also meant a recalibration of what I was going to do for the next few days, plenty of food and water so no problem other than a battery in need of a charge knowing my solar blanket is reasonably useless.

Day: 22

Date: Sunday 27/03/2022

Start: 35°55'48.4"S 144°26'45.8"E

Finish: 35°48'06.1"S 144°22'32.6"E

Distance: 41.6

Accumulated Distance: 601.6

Rowing Time: 6:39:18

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine Roast Chicken and mashed potato padded with 2 minute noodles, tin of rice cream for a change

The next towns down river are Barham with its twin town on the Victoria side of Koondrook 100km away from where I was so realistically 3 days of rowing. 

Gunbower Creek heads south west from the Murray just after Perricoota Station and re-joins the Murray at Koondrook. This creates an inland island, surprisingly named Gunbower Island. 

This bit of the river has many bends with national parks on both sides and very few spots along the way to pull up. 

Speed boats don't exist in this bit of the river with the only few boats being keen fishermen. 

I saw only two big sandy corners, at one I chatted with guys having fun on motorbikes on the NSW side who told me the forest and its tracks went all the way to Barham, the next sandy bend on the same side I utilised for a lunch stop and had a bath at the same time.

After 4:00, trying to find an ideal spot to pull up was illusive, I spotted a rare Willow tree, thought it must be reasonably shallow and there was a boat ramp but appeared to be a fair few snags in the way, I poked them with the oar and was pleased to find they were all floating, maybe someone's ploy to keep it to themselves.

It was one of the first nights where you could hear absolutely nothing, shame about the Tinnitus.

Day: 23

Date: Monday 28/03/2022

Start: 35°48'06.1"S 144°22'32.6"E

Finish: 35°41'48.4"S 144°13'00.4"E

Distance: 37.7

Accumulated Distance: 639.3

Rowing Time: 5:56:19

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Tuna with Lentils, Sweet Corn and Thai Black rice mixed with Wasabi Style Rice, a dangerous combination but so far all good

After two hours of rowing, I saw the first two people, I was not the last man on earth.

Another hour later the second two who may not have been pleased that I pulled up opposite for lunch, spots to pull up were still rare. 

I heard my name called from the banks shortly after, it was the group of cyclists that I met in Barmah so I pulled up for a tea and we shared our travel experiences over the last few days.

They were staying the night there but the banks were too high to contemplate dragging things up so I bid farewell in search of a better place. 

Shortly after, a fisherman told me there was indeed a sandy bend two corners up, and then the first boat for the day passed me, they had come from the same spot which was perfect for the night and left only 20km's for the next day into Koondrook. 

I had spoken to Deb during the day to get some information on where to stay in Barham/Koondrook, I wanted to sleep somewhere higher than ground level but there wasn't anywhere available, Koondrook seemed to have a good boat ramp so that would be where I would be aiming for.

Day: 24

Date: Tuesday 29/03/2022

Start: 35°41'48.4"S 144°13'00.4"E

Finish: 35°38'31.0"S 144°08'00.8"E

Distance: 18.4

Accumulated Distance: 657.7

Rowing Time: 2:42:29

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Fillet steak and chips, rare of course at Mates Royal Hotel Koondrook, sticky date pud for dessert

I had never heard wind start as it did overnight, it was dead calm, I had just gone to bed and suddenly it sounded like I was about to be run over by a log truck without its lights on. I went outside and the trees above were moving but nothing yet at ground level and it never really caught on down below. By morning, dead calm again. 

One boat on the river, caught up with the cyclists and got to Koondrook by midday. 

The non-slip boat ramp isn't friendly to the wheels I have but the camp site is right by the top of the ramp so no great effort. 

Koondrook is the poor cousin to Barham but the camp site with a very friendly manager named John, the pub with a great beer garden and the boat ramp all fit the bill. 

I did my washing, walked into Barham, came back and got my protein and carb fix at the pub, sat down in the camp kitchen while the battery is on charge and caught up with my Facebook blogs, shopping and restocking is the plan for tomorrow along with some planning of where I'm going to be when with perfect weather forecast, the alarm will not be set.

Day: 25

Date: Wednesday 30/03/2022

Start: Rest day at Koondrook

Accommodation: Tent

Day: 26

Date: Thursday 31/03/2022

Start: 35°38'31.0"S 144°08'00.8"E

Finish: 35°28'38.0"S 143°51'50.0"E

Distance: 54.7

Accumulated Distance: 712.4

Rowing Time: 8:05:48

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: More of the dehydrated Back Country Cuisine, Anapurna did well out of me, Beef Fetticinni I think with Apricots for dessert

Deb's coming to visit on Sunday at Swan Hill so the planning is either 3x38 or 4x28, whatever works to get there.

The weather forecast continues to look good but the winds are not going to be kind. In saying that, the Expedition Wherry has been designed to handle the rough stuff, it's more my head that objects. 

Not too far out of Koondrook/Barham, the river splits with the Little Murray heading off to the right and re-joining near Murrabit where the magnificent old wooden bridge crosses. 

What this does is narrows the main river meaning the option of cruising down the centre of the river to avoid snags disappears and it's back to snag slalom, it'd be great if they were marked with red and green poles rather than invisible brown mud. 

And like any product designed by Bastards Inc., no two are the same, some hiding just below the surface, some with bits that go sideways to try and decapitate you or the mirror and those with an evil twin that attacks from the opposite bank, I thought I had found them all. 

I have pleasant memories of big sandy corners back upstream, one feature of this country is very few places that you can pull up and take a break, more troublesome is trying to find somewhere to camp for the night. 

Don't bother looking on the NSW side, if you didn't plan were you're going, you won't find something there. The Vic side is generally good where there is River Murray Reserve but in some spots camping is not permitted in Licensed water frontages adjacent to private property. The big issue is identifying these spots from the river. 

So I thought I had found a good spot but wandered down the road, no camping permitted sign so given it would soon be dark, identify possible spot on map and motor it. 

And that was when I hit the mother of all snags, the solid bastard. And it did a good job on the starboard rigger, bent back about 15cm and tilting the gate down. 

Worry about it in the morning, get the tent set up but get Deb on the case looking for someone in Swan Hill that may be able to straighten it. Phone coverage was very poor, otherwise I probably would have asked if anyone knew anyone through the Murray River Expeditioner Facebook group. 

The camp site was great, lovely big grassy spot, muddless dismount, shame about the water pump opposite going all night but I slept through it.

Day: 27

Date: Friday 1/04/2022

Start: 35°28'38.0"S 143°51'50.0"E

Finish: 35°22'37.0"S 143°36'49.2"E

Distance: 50.6

Accumulated Distance: 763.0

Rowing Time: 7:46:16

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Spicy Basmati rice with Tuna mixed in, Apricots again and there may have been a bag of Jelly Beans consumed.

I  woke up 1/2 hour earlier than normal to try and put some k's in, I didn't plan to get to Swan Hill in one day but wanted to get close so if I need to chase someone down on Saturday, I had more time.

The downward tilting gate meant I was at risk of catching crabs so shortly after setting off, I pulled in, got out the spanners and reversed the gate mount which gave me back a couple of inches plus squared the gate, everything still works but I'm probably not sitting square and things are not as efficient as they could be. 

Picking camping spots is best planned the night before or when you pull up for lunch.

Night before, not happening, lunch, again few good spots to pull up but I did have a couple of spots on the radar. 

The much shared rule seems to be the first one is/was the best, that becomes the one upstream, the one you pick is not as good as option three which you see the next morning.

My option three was another 8 km's away but a caravan park, read shower and toilet, no spade, worth the cost. I may have lucked it with this one as they are farmers, when I told wife of rigger problem, she nominated diesel mechanic, handy with tools husband to have a look, hopefully we can fix things in the morning.

Day: 28

Date: Saturday 2/04/2022

Start: 35°22'37.0"S 143°36'49.2"E

Finish: 35°20'34.1"S 143°33'56.8"E

Distance: 9.2

Accumulated Distance: 772.2

Rowing Time: 1:16:38

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Fish and chips at Swan Hill Club washed down with a schooner of pure carbs

No alarm, pure heaven.

Sometimes I may tend to over think a problem. When the caravan park manager had a look at the boat, his question was why don't you release the support strut and see if you can bend it back? When I undid the support it bounced back a bit, a strategically placed knee and a bit more force got it closer to square and I left the gate support on backwards. 

The strut also got bent somewhere back to straight, none of it perfect but it will have to wait until I take it off the boat, clamp it to a bench and lever things straight and measure with a decent square. 

I shouldn't get carried away, I'm not trying out for the Olympics, I'm just rowing down the Murray singing happy birthday to my daughter. 

It may have only been a short row today but again I saw no boats. It's probably been one of the biggest surprises to me as to how few boats there have been on our biggest river. No complaint, happy to have it all to myself with the understanding that will all change come Easter and the school holidays. 

Entering Swan Hill was also surprising, there was a bend with some big houses on the NSW side and then not a lot of development until you round the final bend by the caravan park where I'll be staying for the next four nights.

An excellent spot by the river with the boat high and dry, sand (yay!) and an easy to get up grassy bank.

So some reorganising of what I'm carrying, I have too much cooking gear, if I have not used it in the last four weeks, fair chance it will not get used here on so it can go back with Deb. 

We're going to play tourists for the next couple of days, back on the water on Wednesday, the weather forecast is still looking good.

Day: 29

Date: Sunday 3/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Swan Hill

Accommodation: Cabin

Day: 30

Date: Monday 4/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Swan Hill

Accommodation: Cabin

Day: 31

Date: Tuesday 5/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Swan Hill

Accommodation: Cabin

Day: 32

Date: Wednesday 6/04/2022

Start: 35°20'34.1"S 143°33'56.8"E

Finish: 35°10'05.0"S 143°23'01.4"E

Distance: 47.1

Accumulated Distance: 819.3

Rowing Time: 6:56:09

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Chicken casserole courtesy of Mick and Gail

After three rest days in Swan Hill where I played tourist with my wife, it was time to get moving again. I commented to the guy at the Catalina museum at Lake Boga that I hadn't seen any Pelicans other than a solitary one at Yarrawonga that probably couldn't get flight insurance due to age. 

He said it was because the Menindee lakes were full, they all migrate there for a good feed and come back when things dry out, makes sense. 

I didn't do anything with the boat while in Swan Hill but bought some dry bags from the trusty Kmart to split my food supplies from one bag to two and shed a lot of unused cooking gear so now there's one less bag on top and a few kilo's lighter. 

Leaving Swan Hill the river meanders gently through the countryside with more pumps indicating plenty of agriculture along the way.

The NSW side is more hammered due to cattle and sheep making their way down for a drink.

The river level has dropped over the past week and the sandy corners have been replaced by muddy clay. 

The day before I'd asked the question on the Murray River Expeditioner Facebook page which way I should go at the Beveridge Island junction, straight on down the Anabranch or the long way around the river? Consensus was to cut it short by 2km's which I did and there's no issues at all. 

I'm always full of energy after a rest day or three so went further than planned, I'd seen there was camping in Nyah, really the only benefit was toilets with seats. 

For me a bit different though, as I pulled up a guy on the beach recognised me, or more so the boat from Tocumwal and invited me to his caravan for chicken casserole and a couple of beers, rude for me to object!

Day: 33

Date: Thursday 7/04/2022

Start: 35°10'05.0"S 143°23'01.4"E

Finish: 34°57'38.7"S 143°19'07.4"E

Distance: 41.3

Accumulated Distance: 860.6

Rowing Time: 6:12:28

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Couscous, penne and tuna, chuck it together, very filling

I didn't have any great plans as to where I'd end up, Tooleybuc was looking good but the issue was where to stay. 

I'd checked out the maps the night before and there was a cutting at Murphy's Island saving about 3 1/2 km's. I searched the River Murray Expeditioners group for any reference and Steve Dawson had a good explanation with key words ""littered with snags"" and ""yeehaa like"", what could go wrong? 

My boat travels much the same backwards as forwards so I practiced before the cutting as it's so much easier seeing what you're trying to miss, turning myself around means I can't slide the seat, going backwards means I can still use the oars. 

Turn left and it’s going to be exciting. Withing seconds I was sidewards against a log, one oar caught underneath it with a good flow keeping me there. So I shipped the oars, pulled out the spare paddle, pushed myself off and yeehaa'd the last bit. 

Great fun but I was lucky to not damage anything, there's not a lot of boat shops nearby. 

I pulled up at the boat ramp past Tooleybuc, but there was nowhere to legally camp so I kept going until I saw a great little hut on the Vic side, hopefully I would not get the builder's company for the night, the empty shot gun shells didn't make it too welcoming.

Day: 34

Date: Friday 8/04/2022

Start: 34°57'38.7"S 143°19'07.4"E

Finish: 34°46'35.4"S 143°16'22.0"E

Distance: 47.2

Accumulated Distance: 907.8

Rowing Time: 7:23:17

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Nutrish Tom-Tation soup with San Remo Alfredo chucked in, good combination, finished off with chocolate rice cream.

The weather forecast wasn't looking too promising but I'd been surprisingly lucky to dodge the rain so far. 

The big change in the river came at the junction with the Wakool river, I'd seen it from the road past Tooleybuc in the past but didn't have an understanding of it size. 

The nature of the Murray changes after the junction and widens greatly. 

I was checking snags in the mirror and some appeared to be moving, looking around I saw five emus making the great escape from Vic to NSW. I'm not sure how they swim given their spindly legs, pretty sure they were floating but they swim fast and made a hasty getaway once they hit the bank, sadly I was too slow with the camera. 

Just after this the rain started. Not really rain but drizzle which kept going for a few hours. 

My target for the night was a place by sandbar track, it had to be a sandy corner, right? As sandy as it gets with the current level of water but a good spot anyway. 

To ease some of the boring bits, I've been listening to ABC podcasts, great one today on How Indigenous elders read the stars, fitting given the great night skies out here, but not tonight.

Day: 35

Date: Saturday 9/04/2022

Start: 34°46'35.4"S 143°16'22.0"E

Finish: 34°42'53.3"S 143°08'49.1"E

Distance: 30.9

Accumulated Distance: 938.7

Rowing Time: 4:56:49

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: first Pizza for six weeks, BBQ Chicken with extra cholesterol, 2 x beers, light of course and a Weis Bar, take away heaven!

The plan for the last two days was to get to Boundary Bend Caravan Park, with 47k's knocked off day 1, day 2 meant only 32 left, even better when there's a cutting! 

Shortly after setting off the skies cleared to another beautiful day. 

Long distance rowing is sometimes like going for a jog where you set a target such as the fifth tree and just before reaching it, you reset it again. 

Rowing, I might rest at the next corner but generally have a bit of a float and snack when I cannot see on the current map the place where I started that day. 

On today's first float session I got to play ""dickhead of the day"" with the cockatoo's, this involves watching a flock and working out which one is doing the most stupid thing, they're brilliantly animated birds and there's rarely a clear winner,  given I was the only boat on the river I saw today, fair chance I was their dhotd. 

I reached another important milestone today, the junction of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers. I was expecting something more dramatic with the meeting of the longest and 3rd longest rivers in Australia but it was mudbanks and snags, a bit of an anticlimax but that's the way it is, don't bugger it up. 

I hadn't studied the maps (again) and was pleasantly surprised by the cutting at the 1234 mark, managed to crank the boat up to 10kph coming out of it! 

Another surprising day of no other boats moving on the water, a few boats fishing on the side and that was it, definitely not a complaint. 

The caravan park is very utilitarian but I realised I hadn't showered since leaving Swan Hill, the river banks and cooler weather is not conducive to the night time nudie baths that happened upstream, besides, no-one is within nose reach which is just as well.

Day: 36

Date: Sunday 10/04/2022

Start: 34°42'53.3"S 143°08'49.1"E

Finish: 34°39'54.3"S 142°57'26.3"E

Distance: 47.2

Accumulated Distance: 985.9

Rowing Time: 7:10:51

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Rehydrated dehydrated green peas with basmati rice and SAFCOL tuna thrown together, leftovers for Monday lunch

The roadhouse cafe opens at 7:00 so with the boat ready to go, it was a rare chance to get something different for breakfast, greasy bacon and questionable eggs and toast with a coffee, not recommended for everyday but good occasionally. 

Another dietary difference, given it was going to be a warm day was a sports drink that disappeared pretty quickly, everything did its job and the day went well and the sports drink may become more of a regular thing. 

I'd better get used to a hugely wide river with big flowing bends because there were plenty today with perfect weather to knock out a fair few k's. 

What there wasn't were other river users, again it was a few hours before confirmation that I was not the last man on earth, finishing with a flurry, four fishing boats in the last km who were camped nearby. 

The many pumps on the side of the river confirm we're in irrigation country, you can hear them from a long way off and with the bends, often the same one can be heard for miles. Taking the prize for the loudest is one after the 1130 mark, I reckon you could hear it 10km away, the surprising thing was a big sign with the installer's name and mobile, I would have kept that a secret from the EPA who should surely call. 

A milestone reached, officially 1,000 of the voyage completed at the 1222 sign although with shortcuts, my records show I will have done 1,000 tomorrow, halfway isn't that far off.

Day: 37

Date: Monday 11/04/2022

Start: 34°39'54.3"S 142°57'26.3"E

Finish: 34°34'42.7"S 142°46'14.3"E

Distance: 40.8

Accumulated Distance: 1026.8

Rowing Time: 6:27:18

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Euston Club for Chicken Mignon, a bit ordinary

Time for a rest day and the location of the Robinvale caravan park being right on the river with a good but very slippery boat ramp made it an obvious choice.

Tip, a trolleyed boat fits under the boom gates.

My overnight camping spot was magnificent although with the usual muddy approach. 

Just after dark I'm pretty sure I could hear (probably wild) pigs across the river, hopefully they're confined to that side. 

The wind was blowing a bit more today and there was a welcome shortcut after the 1168 mark. 

The blue signs are a bit of a rarity, many missing, many others a faded unreadable blue rectangle which is why having the maps is great. 

I don’t know why but I keep finding myself on the Vic side of the river, the opposite side that I should be on while travelling downstream.

Generally no issue when there are no other boats but I'm now back in wake boat country during school holidays so it's a case of keep to the right of the river and get used to rocking, getting off the water means it takes a long time to lose your sea legs, I'm still rocking.

The landscape has changed again, I saw the first of the red cliffs and the river banks in many places are very low with a different forest behind of smaller trees than what was upstream. 

My records show that I have travelled 1026.8 km’s, the blue signs indicate I’ve done 1084, a difference of 57.2, that’s a lot of shortcuts.

So a rest day is due, I've emptied the boat and pulled it out of the river before it gets swamped. People are always amazed to see the number of bags I pull of the boat but I swear I need them all. Two for food, a little six cam cooler (with no cans), toiletries bag, cooking gear, two bags for clothes, one with boat wear the other for off boat which hasn't had much use, another cooler with boat paint and fibreglass stuff, hopefully it will get little use but has been used, another bag with spare boat gear such as gates and tools, two big bags which sit with me, one with table, chair, tent, fly and sleeping mat, the other with sleeping bag and pillow, a battery box, solar panel and motor there to just add weight but have been used and a multitude of smaller stuff in the boat with me such as bailer, maps, first aid kit, safety gear etc. and the wheels which are bulky and have been used for more than just Yarrawonga where they were a must have item. 

 I want to check over every nut and bolt, buy some washers to replace the bottle tops I've used on the bolts that hold the sliding seat unit to the boat, apparently the hardware shop is a good walk but the caravan park manager hinted that he may have to go there tomorrow so I'd better work out what I want. 

Todays lesson, when you schedule a stop, check first if the town has a pub, apparently the Robinvale pub burnt town quite a few years ago, fortunately the Euston Club runs a shuttle service. 

I need to do some forward planning with Easter this weekend, there's not a lot of towns this side of Mildura which is 254 river k's away but there will be plenty of people with boats holidaying meaning good camping spots will b hard to find. Therefore about 7 days of rowing around 36km's per day with a lock that I had better get the number for, plenty of boats and time spent waiting to rock over the wash. 

I'll need to get more water and fruit in Robinvale, I probably have enough other food. Looking forward to no alarm tomorrow.

Day: 38

Date: Tuesday 12/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Robinvale

Accommodation: Tent

Day: 39

Date: Wednesday 13/04/2022

Start: 34°34'42.7"S 142°46'14.3"E

Finish: 34°43'17.0"S 142°40'47.8"E

Distance: 38.3

Accumulated Distance: 1065.1

Rowing Time: 5:47:58

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Packet soup reduced to clear, Back Country Cuisine Roast Beef with vegetables mixed with 2 minute noodles and finished off with rice cream

I enjoyed the day off in Robinvale, even though the pub burnt down a number of years back.

You can get a courtesy bus to the Euston club and there's a good cafe in the main street and the motel's meals are fine.

After stripping the boat, a visit to the Autopro in town which also has camping gear, I bought some washers, nuts and tools to better fasten the sliding seat unit. 

Much better now but I've been offered help when I get to Mildura and hope to straighten everything out.

I am also trying out seat version -1, the original bare plastic. It's something I should have learned from bike saddles, you already have one big padded thing back there, saddles are only suppose to make a seat at the  points of contact. It seems to work. 

I got away early to beat the many ski boats at Robinvale. The park was a beautie with great managers who put me as close as possible to the great boat ramp right next to the caravan park although very slippery. 

I may have surprised a few people at Euston when I screamed out Pelican, they do exist there, I saw about six content in the side lagoon. 

Just after 9:15 I was the first boat through Lock 15 and he wasn't expecting a lot of traffic, there was a fair bit of water going over the wall and the current is good but the level is going down. 

Yet again, the scenery changes immediately after the weir. The colours of the cliffs reminded me of so many classical Australian landscapes where you say to yourself, those colours can't be right, well they are out here, simply beautiful arid lands. 

Finding a camp has been pretty easy, not many boat ramps so no ski boats but many families given it's school holidays and almost Easter, I'm sharing a broad site in a spot where it was easy getting the boat out. 

With good weather forecast for the next week, I'm keen to get as many k's in a possible now that I'm past the official halfway mark.

Day: 40

Date: Thursday 14/04/2022

Start: 34°43'17.0"S 142°40'47.8"E

Finish: 34°43'11.5"S 142°30'46.4"E

Distance: 39.4

Accumulated Distance: 1104.5

Rowing Time: 5:35:04

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Moroccan Lamb with Creamy Bacon Spirals and Carbonara, ice cream of course

There's only one town shown on today's plan, Wemen which can't be seen from the river but I pulled up, went to the cafe for an alright coffee and biscuit and set off again feeling refreshed. 

Following a very long stretch of river I pulled up for lunch and chatted for a long time with a successful Cod fisherman, he swore by Cheddar as bait. 

Again surprised by the lack of boats on the water, the few I did see were fishing.

There were a number of spots starting to fill with Easter campers but I found a good, long sandbar with only two other groups on it, one more came later.

Day: 41

Date: Friday 15/04/2022

Start: 34°43'11.5"S 142°30'46.4"E

Finish: 34°32'14.9"S 142°22'37.9"E

Distance: 38.9

Accumulated Distance: 1143.4

Rowing Time: 5:12:23

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: I didn't cook it, BBQ'd Lamb Chops, chicken sausages with salad, Coopers zero alcohol beer tastes good.

Just as well I set up camp on a beach, my airbed was flat again so I found the pin hole and fixed it before setting off with the mattress drying on the fore deck. 

I'd worked out that at 254 k's from Robinvale to Mildura, it would be either six or seven days, depending on weather and river traffic.

What I missed in the planning were two cuttings, Retail cutting and Tarpaulin cutting which combined save about 13k's. 

Coming out of Tarpaulin cutting marks the 1,000k to go point, another milestone met. 

I'd set my goal as a sandbar at the 991 mark but there were three large groups, two of these with generators. 

Further up on the NSW side, a sandbar only had two cars, five people and no generators, bingo. 

I was fortunate to have a great dinner with a Mildura couple, lovely people who had done a lot of adventures including a fair bit of travel in a boat on the Murray, plenty of Kayaking and numerous road trips. 

And then John told me about the Mildura 100, a speed skiing event where clearly, the river would be closed for a fair bit of time both Saturday and Sunday. No problem Saturday, I wouldn't get that far but Sunday could slow me down. 

I also learned that the town around the corner, Colignan is the next town, Nangiloc, spelt backwards, who knew?

Day: 42

Date: Saturday 16/04/2022

Start: 34°32'14.9"S 142°22'37.9"E

Finish: 34°23'12.4"S 142°21'59.7"E

Distance: 42.3

Accumulated Distance: 1185.6

Rowing Time: 5:54:03

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Vetta Smart spiral pasta combined with Heinze Tortellini, means I have to wash the pan.

It's Easter Saturday and many people have settled in for the weekend. Plenty of tinnies and I'm thinking I should buy Adventure Kings shares, their stuff is everywhere including two bags on my boat. 

The river is heading north towards Mildura with plenty of twists. There are times when it feels like I am going downhill, which I am and other times when it feels like I'm going upstream which I'm not. I think my head has issues dealing with bits on a map that go up so this whole stretch seems difficult. 

The weather though is perfect. 

I pulled up on a spot on the NSW side, a caravan pulled up shortly after, friends of those already there and then she uttered the words no tent dweller wants to hear, ""they've all got generators"" so I moved back upstream a bit.

On the opposite bank, feral Cheryl ran commentary on my dip in the river to cool off at the top of her lungs complete with expletives, and after the sun had gone down, I had fun watching the group almost reverse a car off the high banks, set off fireworks during the night and so I was waiting for a bushfire or someone to get seriously burnt. 

Around midnight, a tinnie came up the river, turned just near where I was, screamed out, "now the journey begins!" and raced off again, I blame the full moon.

Day: 43

Date: Sunday 17/04/2022

Start: 34°23'12.4"S 142°21'59.7"E

Finish: 34°19'18.7"S 142°17'34.8"E

Distance: 23.0

Accumulated Distance: 1208.7

Rowing Time: 2:14:53

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Freeze Dried Beef Mince with Macaroni Cheese, needed tomato sauce.

I upset feral Cheryl by getting up early, as I set off she was madly trying to get her troops organised with their paddle boards to intercept me, ""I wanted to have some fun with him"" were the last words I heard, all the while, I had not said a single word to the bully, a strange restraint for me. 

The plan was to get to the turn of the Mildura 100 to find out what the timing of the river closures would be. 

On the way, I went through another sneaky cutting which had a fair few snags, as I got there a tinnie fanged through the other way which gave me a good indication of where to go. 

With the race, sure enough, a big buoy with river closed just around the corner from the turn so I tied up the boat, went for a walk through the bush and joined the carry on watching so much money race up and down the river. 

It would certainly give anyone a great adrenalin fix if you could afford it. I spoke to the NSW water officer who was following the race with the organisers to indicate the river was open, he was a great help and warned me that there may well be plenty of people with pent up demand on the river ahead, he also recommended the Discovery Park camp ground at Buronga, across the river from Mildura. 

I was lined up in the boat watching the last competitor go, set off with a good tail wind and got to a great spot on the NSW side, a couple of K's short of originally planned but with very few other boats on the way to slow me down. 

With rain forecast for Monday it was early to bed for another early start.

Day: 44

Date: Monday 18/04/2022

Start: 34°19'18.7"S 142°17'34.8"E

Finish: 34°10'55.7"S 142°10'07.7"E

Distance: 37.2

Accumulated Distance: 1245.9

Rowing Time: 5:29:59

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Chicken Parmi with a beer at Langtree Cafe in Mildura, great coffee to finish off.

Up at sparrows to beat the weather and other river users. 

And to mention sparrows, there have been so many along the river, they fascinate me with their flying skills and what seems to be inquisitiveness of what I'm doing. 

My expectation of Easter Monday was to see many of those camped on the banks packing up and getting ready to head home and a number of people getting in the last ski, the weather was threatening so there wasn't much of the latter. 

What there was as you get closer to Mildura was houseboats, plenty of them of all sizes with most heading to Mildura to be returned after the holidays. 

I had a go at one point of surfing the wake of one houseboat, they'd been keeping pace with me for quite a while and as they passed, I upped the stroke rate and had a couple of goes tracking its wake. It seems that my boat has an upper speed limit of about 11 kph, no matter how much effort you put in, that's it. Fun for a short while. 

The wind was mostly behind me and it tried to rain but I managed to get to Mildura Discovery Park and set up before it rained and it did continuously for about the next 18 hours.

Again the river scenery has changed. In many spots the big red gums have disappeared and there is no doubt you're in Mallee country, there's red cliffs and fewer lagoons that I can see. 

Additionally, on the NSW side, there are huge houses with lush lawns right down to the river with flash boat moorings while on the Victorian side, it's still undeveloped. 

When I was about 10 k's from Mildura I contacted the person who offered to help fix my boat. He gave me the bad news that he tested himself with a RAT that morning and was positive for Covid, bugger for him, unfortunate for me. 

So I posted a plea for help on the Mildura Rowing Club's Facebook site. I got an immediate response from the club captain with the offer to head to the boat shed, immediately opposite where I'm staying on Tuesday at 4:30 to see what can be done, gotta love country hospitality! 

Now I just need the rain to stop so I can head into town to restock and do my washing which may not have been done since Swan Hill.

Day: 45

Date: Tuesday 19/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Mildura

Accommodation: Tent

Day: 46

Date: Wednesday 20/04/2022

Start: Rest day in Mildura

Accommodation: Tent

Day: 47

Date: Thursday 21/04/2022

Start: 34°10'55.7"S 142°10'07.7"E

Finish: 34°07'23.2"S 142°01'23.6"E

Distance: 26.0

Accumulated Distance: 1271.9

Rowing Time: 3:56:02

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine Chicken Carbonara, padded with 2 minute noodles of course.

Mildura copped 31mm of rain on 19th and 20th April, prior to that for the month, 0.6mm.

Luckily I arrived on Easter Monday and had everything set up before it started bucketing.

Tuesday afternoon, I headed over to the rowing club to take up the offer to help fix the boat. I emptied it out completely and had forgotten how spritely it is without so much gear.

The big risk in bending steel that has been bent is it is weaker and the chances of breaking it are greater. Our efforts were gentle but sure enough, the rigger cracked. 

One of the club members, Joe, offered to take the broken piece to a welder he knew. We spoke about different ways that it could be strengthened or gusseted, Joe being a mechanical engineer left me no doubt the repair would be up to task. 

It was done Wednesday so it was back to the rowing club where the boat spent the night to put things back together. 

Beautiful job, everything square with new gussets welded on, even spray painted.

Everyone I met at Mildura were amazing people, the half dozen at the shed that were there to help (it's not a shed, it's the Taj Mahal of rowing sheds), Russell dropped me back at the caravan park, Joe picked me up, beers in the clubrooms overlooking the river, great hospitality to back up the offer I had from Rob who was sidelined by Covid. 

My brother Bruce and girlfriend Chris visited on Wednesday night and suffered watching me pack up all my gear, some of it still soggy, load the boat, wheel it down to the ramp and finally get on the water at 11:30. 

The fix all seemed to be working well. A quick call to the lock master and I was through by midday. 

There were some interesting currents in lock 11, unlike the other two which went down quite smoothly. 

The weather was good, there were a few boats and jet ski's on the water but less traffic than I would have thought given it was school holidays. 

I wanted to make as much headway as possible and was happy to see the sneaky cutting that saves about 8km before Dareton. It wasn't clear from the river how passable it was so I pulled up, went for a walk and it looked like I would get through unscathed.

There was one point where I had to get out and pull the boat over the hard mud but got through with a big grin. 

I camped just out of the cutting on the NSW side with some Dareton locals who's son leases the river property, lovely families, great pumpkin scones and a warm fire, even better, that had a vast knowledge of the river and we spent a fair bit of time studying the maps.

Day: 48

Date: Friday 22/04/2022

Start: 34°07'23.2"S 142°01'23.6"E

Finish: 34°05'27.0"S 141°44'05.3"E

Distance: 44.3

Accumulated Distance: 1316.2

Rowing Time: 6:39:26

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine spaghetti Bolognese padded out with 2 minute noodles followed up with rice cream, no orange this time

Another day, another lock. There's a constant buzz from traffic between Mildura and Wentworth with very big corners and very long straights on the river. 

I called the Lock Master, there was a cabin cruiser going through at 12:00, I could go through with him. 

The next milestone, the Murray Darling junction. I had heard about the different colours of the water for the two rivers but given the rains up north, was expecting black water in the Darling, instead it was very sandy in colour which continued on beyond the weir which comes soon after the junction. 

The cabin cruiser was also heading for Goolwa, I was curious as to how much fuel they had on board but didn't ask. 

Again, another friendly lockie saw me on my way. 

Given the run to Renmark is going to be a long one, about 8 days, any chance for a shower and toilet seat needs to be taken so the aim for the day was to get to the Fort Courage caravan park which is owned by the Wentworth Angling Club, great spot and great facilities for a whole $10 per night. 

Downside, being the Anzac Day long weekend, they had a fishing competition over the weekend so it was pretty packed, tinnies lining the banks, I was allocated a spot with the swags and regardless of the colourful language and kids running over my guy-ropes, I was out like a light.

Day: 49

Date: Saturday 23/04/2022

Start: 34°05'27.0"S 141°44'05.3"E

Finish: 34°12'23.5"S 141°31'02.7"E

Distance: 47.8

Accumulated Distance: 1364.0

Rowing Time: 7:04:38

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: 2 x Alfredo Pasta with 2 x Hot Buffalo Tuna, the Rice Cream helped put out the fire

Surrounded by fishermen with alcohol induced coma's, I got up stupidly early, quietly packed everything up and made breakfast in the camp kitchen. 

The comp started a 7:00 so it wasn't long until the entire camp were heading for the water.

Lock 9 is in the middle of nowhere, I phoned the lockie 6k's out, while going through the lock I asked about the cabin cruiser, they'd come through the day before with engine problems and had asked about fuel, as with me, he phoned ahead to let lock 8 know they were on their way. 

The day before, he asked another boat when they expected to get to Lock 8, they said 8:30 that night and were surprised when informed that the locks were not a 24 hour service.

Since the lock, there have few good landing spots for either a lunch or camping but at the bit of sand where I did pull up for lunch, in the distance I spotted a flock of Pelicans soaring, it took me back to my childhood where many days were spent at gliding clubs checking the skies for thermalling gliders, wedgies and pelicans. 

The maps show both picnic spots, marked with a picnic bench and camping spots marked with a tent. The spot where I finally pulled up is shown with a tent but I was please to see and utilise the picnic bench in a great spot all to myself, it's so much easier typing at a table and chair than to try and do it cooped up in a tent.

Day: 50

Date: Sunday 24/04/2022

Start: 34°12'23.5"S 141°31'02.7"E

Finish: 34°05'53.5"S 141°16'34.2"E

Distance: 43.3

Accumulated Distance: 1407.3

Rowing Time: 6:32:13

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Super Grain and Veg soup, Creamy Mushroom Risotto with added beans and the usual dessert

It was again one of those days where I thought I was the only man on earth. The first person I saw was the Lock Master at Lock 8.

I rang him 3km's out and there was a pause, he said I was cutting it fine for the 11:30 lockage, the last before lunch. I upped the stroke rate and got there right on 11:30. 

To continue the cabin cruiser story, while they were in Lock 8, the pilot/driver put it in reverse and there was a big spill of oil. 

They asked where the nearest town was and if anyone was going there. 80k's was the answer and the Lock Master wasn't going anywhere for 12 days, no one else there. The taxi fare was apparently out of the question. They considered going back up but the Lock Master suggested that given there was no leakage going forward, keep going, don't use reverse and sort things at Paringa. 

I said I'd keep an eye out for them, my camp site is 6 k's from lock 7 and I haven't seen them or any debris floating, keen to hear from the Lock Master at Lock 7 tomorrow. 

To confirm I'm in the middle of nowhere, I think I only saw the one boat today. I was struggling to find a good spot to stop, just after Lock 7 looks good but I rang the Lock Master and I was not going to make it by 4:30. 

I spotted another bench like yesterdays, again all by myself with the exception of a few Kangaroos not at all happy with my presence and given it's warmer, quite a few insects there as well.

Day: 51

Date: Monday 25/04/2022

Start: 34°05'53.5"S 141°16'34.2"E

Finish: 34°02'21.3"S 141°02'34.3"E

Distance: 46.1

Accumulated Distance: 1453.4

Rowing Time: 6:13:13

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Home made pizza from Wompinni Station's pizza wood stove

Lock 7 was just around the corner, phone coverage from both Telstra and Optus died about 2 km's out, just as I was going to ring the Lock Master. I had spoken to him the previous day so it wasn't a surprise when I did get through.

My first question, the cabin cruiser, yep, they'd passed through, he was keeping the oil topped up. 

Next I told him that, given the weather forecast was predicting constant rain, I was looking for somewhere in the next stretch to possibly sit things out. 

He suggested Wompinni station and then went and got me the number, how's that for great service. He then said I could go, I wasn’t  looking at the exit gates, they were open, given the current flow, it's pretty much a row through with little drop in level. 

The Rufus River has good flow from Lake Victoria and there was no problem keeping up an 8 kpm pace, 3 kph floating. 

I rang Wompinni, a place on the cliffs near the 660 mark and booked a cabin for 2 nights. 

On Tuesday, while I was packing the boat, about 6 small boats slowly went past heading for the lock. The following day I asked the Wentworth Lock Master about them and they were booked to go through that afternoon. I briefly saw them before Fort Courage but knew I was still in front of them. They finally came past while I was having lunch at Devils Elbow which has a view of spectacular Cliffs after the 682 mark. 

Seven in number now, they were sitting on about 10 kph so didn't get too far in front of me. Nearing Wompinni, there they were, all pulled up for pizza, all South Australians from the River Murray Boat Owners Association of S.A. Inc. travelling from Mildura to Renmark. Given I’ve now committed to a rest day, it had better rain or I'm going to be disappointed, apparently though, rain has a habit of bypassing this bit of land, regardless, I'm looking forward to the first night off the ground since Swan Hill on 5th April, 20 days ago. 

Chuck in a shower and toilet, no alarm, I'm in heaven.

Day: 52

Date: Tuesday 26/04/2022

Start: Rest day at Wompinni

Accommodation: Cabin

Day: 53

Date: Wednesday 27/04/2022

Start: 34°02'21.3"S 141°02'34.3"E

Finish: 34°03'10.0"S 140°49'33.8"E

Distance: 54.7

Accumulated Distance: 1508.1

Rowing Time: 7:49:23

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Brown rice, spicy soup and donskis bullets all thrown together, a good mix

Wompinni was a great rest stop, I had pizza night one and joined my hosts and some visiting friends for BBQ the second night. We also had the manager and his protégé visit from nearby Warrakoo Station, a rehabilitation centre for Indigenous males, listening to their stories was a very humbling experience. 

One of the beauties of staying in a cabin is that most of my gear can stay on the boat and packing up is so much easier and getting going in the morning is that much quicker.

Most of the rain had passed but there was a bit of drizzle but very little wind. 

The aim for the day was to get across the SA border and through Lock 6. The scenery continues to change with magnificent clay cliffs and the birdlife has decreased considerably leaving an eerie silence at times.

I have been keeping track of another person doing the Murray voyage by the name of Joshua West. Joshua is Kayaking and started his journey at Bringenbrong Bridge which is further up the Murray from Hume Wier and has slowly been making ground on me. 

We realised that he would catch me on Tuesday so I was keeping an eye out to catch up with him as he passed. 

The guys at Wompinni told me in the afternoon that he had passed around 1:00 pm so it seemed we had missed the catch up opportunity.  

Given the misalignment of the SA/NSW and SA/Vic borders, you first say goodbye to NSW and then Victoria passes from the southern bank and I'm back in SA. 

There were a number of houseboats but I was making good time with good flows. 

I rang Lock 6 to let them know I was near, I was told he had a boat in the chamber, he'd put them through and have it reset of my arrival. 

The Lockie then told me that Joshua would buy me a beer at the Woolshed Brewery, Joshua was the boat in the chamber when I rang, I was only about 10 minutes behind. 

The promise of beer with civilisation is always a good motivator and a new goal was set. 

The Woolshed Brewery has become an SA icon, their alcoholic Lemonade is great after a hard day’s row and I had to have a flat white, the first since Mildura, clearly I'm addicted to coffee and enjoyed the fix. 

It was great catching up with someone experiencing the same journey as myself, with the brewery closing at 5:00 and the sun to soon go down, we headed off to a nearby beach and set up near a houseboat moored and shared the campfire with the families on board.

Day: 54

Date: Thursday 28/04/2022

Start: 34°03'10.0"S 140°49'33.8"E

Finish: 34°13'23.9"S 140°44'19.4"E

Distance: 46.6

Accumulated Distance: 1554.7

Rowing Time: 6:54:19

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Basmati rice with Hot Buffalo Style Tuna, good enough

Another beautiful sunrise, it is impossible to get too many of them. 

Joshua West and I were ready at the same time and set off together. 

With the boats side by side, mine looks like a B-double compared to Josh's SUV, he's certainly travelling lighter than I am which very much reflects his background as a long distance walker. 

We talked constantly about our shared experience, what we had seen over the past few weeks, what the future may hold and life in general, it was a bit like meeting an English speaking person after weeks in a foreign country, it was a pleasant change. 

When we got to Renmark, I stopped for coffee, Joshua was staying nearby for two nights so we said our goodbyes, fair chance we may catch up again further down the river. 

On the weekend there will be the annual Tour of the Riverland cycling race at Berri, an event I've raced about 13 times with differing degrees of success and consciousness as well as directing the race a few times. 

It was coincidence that I would be able to make it to Berri for the race so I wanted to get through lock 5 at Renmark and shorten Fridays run as rain was forecast, I have planned to stay two nights to catch up on my local cycling knowledge. 

I settled in for the night on an inside corner of a bend which had a couple of cuttings before it meaning there was no vehicular access therefore little damage from other campers.

Being closer to civilisation meant familiar sounds I had not heard for a while, there is a lot of traffic on the Sturt Highway which is not that far away.

Day: 55

Date: Friday 29/04/2022

Start: 34°13'23.9"S 140°44'19.4"E

Finish: 34°17'13.1"S 140°36'46.2"E

Distance: 28.1

Accumulated Distance: 1582.8

Rowing Time: 4:03:17

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Pub Skippy, I need extra protein

Sunrise, I'm at a point in this trip where I question what life will be like back home, will I get up at sunrise or sleep through them? 

The Pike River is just south and the cliffs in the distance give todays change of scenery with many irrigated orange groves visible on top. 

I stopped for a quick break at a made to order spot on the bank, sand and grass, hoping to see more of this further down but not too hopeful. 

I saw the first person for the day at the Lyrup ferry having rowed about 20km's, I was on the phone to my son at the time, he had rowed these parts of the river as a school boy. 

When you have a daily goal, the last 5 km's seem to drag, definitely the case today and with rain starting, I really wanted to get of the water. 

The marina boat ramp is extremely slippery but I'm getting better at securing the wheels and getting it onto dry(ish) land. 

The caravan park is immediately opposite the ramp so in no time I was in the park and set up before it rained again. 

Shower while the laundry is washing and then a short walk into town and on to dinner at the pub with great friends talking about past race days and how good we were, the truth may have been stretched a little.

Day: 56

Date: Saturday 30/04/2022

Start: Rest day at Berri

Accommodation: Tent

Day: 57

Date: Sunday 1/05/2022

Start: 34°17'13.1"S 140°36'46.2"E

Finish: 34°26'39.8"S 140°30'18.6"E

Distance: 45.1

Accumulated Distance: 1627.9

Rowing Time: 6:24:22

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Mushroom Risotto with Tika Masala Tuna, can of chick peas for added fibre

I had a fun 2 days in Berri, thanks to Wayne McCarney for making me feel like part of the team, it was great to catch up with many people that I had not seen for a few years.

Showered, restocked and well fed, I was slow to get going but the weather was again perfect with interesting bits on the river as it wound its way through Katarapko after Lock 4. 

Again, big colourful cliffs opposite wetlands, the depth and height of the river redgums a shadow of what was upstream. 

I've been through Loxton and Berri many times but never considered the path of the river, it's been great to finally fill in the picture. 

The plan was to stay in the caravan park and maybe have a pub meal. The park seemed a good walk from the pub and the entrance from the river wasn't at all obvious so I kept going to the outlet of the Katarapko creek near the 482 mark and camped opposite the boat ramp, there was a pump there but I was quickly dead to the world.

Day: 58

Date: Monday 2/05/2022

Start: 34°26'39.8"S 140°30'18.6"E

Finish: 34°12'20.2"S 140°21'28.6"E

Distance: 46.4

Accumulated Distance: 1674.3

Rowing Time: 6:48:34

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Pho soup, Roast Chicken and Leek Risotto, chucked in additional spirals and Teriyaki Green peas

The sun came up over the park behind me, not the usual spectacular view, for that I had to go down to the water.

Being a very cold, still day, there was a mist over the water that could be seen in all directions. 

While having my breakfast, a kangaroo hopped along the shore and stopped to check me out, like all good Aussies, I asked the question, ""how's it going Skip?"", if a look could be interpreted as ""piss off dickhead"", I got it as it hopped away. 

So another magical morning waking up on the Murray which could not be caught effectively on camera. 

When you see a straight bit of the river named Seven Mile Reach you know it's going to be tough going. 7 x 1.6 = 11.2 km's of straight rowing. 

I played with the compass on my phone and worked out that when I get to Lake Alexandrina I'll need to invert the data given I'm going backwards and add/subtract 180, I've got a couple of weeks to do my homework. 

The Marook General store is set behind beautiful lawns on the rivers edge and is quite inviting at lunchtime. I had to have a pie with sauce in it, not in a stupid little container, additionally given my forced dairy and coffee purge, scoffed a strong Farmers Union iced coffee as a quick fix. 

There were two possible targets for the day, Kingston or through Lock 4, I rang Lock 4 to check the time of the last lockage and it seemed I'd be about 10 minutes too late for the last at 4:30. 

The Kingston caravan park didn't seem to be close to the river so I found a good spot about a kilometre out from the lock with the aim to be at the lock for the first lockage at 8:00.

Shortly after setting up camp I got a photo of Joshua West's lunch at Marook, it would seem we were again on the same part of the river.

He was staying at the Kingston caravan park so somehow I'd got in front of him, whether it was the day before or later that day we'd have to work it out later, it was bedtime my camp was right on the water's edge and passing out was the only option.

Day: 59

Date: Tuesday 3/05/2022

Start: 34°12'20.2"S 140°21'28.6"E

Finish: 34°10'22.4"S 139°58'57.6"E

Distance: 50.5

Accumulated Distance: 1724.8

Rowing Time: 7:25:17

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Chicken Parmi at Waikerie Hotel, bargain prices!

I found plenty of the missing Pelicans, there's so many along with swans on the many lagoons in South Australia, watching them take off and land still fascinates me.

I was at the lock just before 8:00 and through it by 8:30.

Shortly after the westerly wind picked up and didn't give up until I had finally got to my destination of Waikerie.

I hadn't originally planned to do such a big day but rang the caravan park at lunchtime, they had spots near the water so I committed to get there by 5:00.

Again the cliffs are amazing and the river is so wide.

I also reflected on how my attitude to such sights has changed over my life as I had a “so what” attitude as a kid and couldn't see the beauty that I can now see.

The Waikerie caravan park is on the water’s edge, it was a race to set up, shower and get to the pub, well worth it.

Day: 60

Date: Wednesday 4/05/2022

Start: 34°10'22.4"S 139°58'57.6"E

Finish: 34°03'12.6"S 139°51'19.8"E

Distance: 36.7

Accumulated Distance: 1761.4

Rowing Time: 5:10:24

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Laksa noodle soup, Brown rice and riceberry mixed with Tikka Masala Tuna, butterscotch pud with custard

I had 2 days to get to a friends river house at Brenda Park so there was no rush to leave.

The weather forecast predicted some rain, not a lot and again the winds were not favourable, south west was not the direction to be travelling today. 

The second to last lock would be halfway through the day and I was the first through the lock after lunch, Josh was the last through before lunch so there's a fair chance he'll stay in front of me for the rest of the journey.

I phoned the 82 year old that I bought the boat from and gave him an update on the trip to date, he seems very proud that the boat he built is being used for what it was designed for. 

The lovely grass banks of Caudo Vineyard looked inviting but just around the corner was my target being Wilson sandbar, it had my name on it. To greet me were two Kayaks, being paddled by two Queensland couples who have been paddling different bits of the Murray over the years, this trip was Renmark to Morgan I believe.

They were leap frogging cars, one was at Morgan, the other at Waikerie. It was a great spot with good company, the cold night air ensured an early night.

Day: 61

Date: Thursday 5/05/2022

Start: 34°03'12.6"S 139°51'19.8"E

Finish: 34°04'02.9"S 139°41'05.6"E

Distance: 30.3

Accumulated Distance: 1791.7

Rowing Time: 4:30:29

Accommodation: House

Dinner: Kathy's Chicken Nasi Goreng

It was a very cold night. I went to bed in what I was wearing. It tried to rain just before sunrise but it wasn't much.

The others were off before me and were looking to stop at Cadell on the way. 

The wind was blowing south west. There were four sections on todays course where I was heading south west and in most of those there were waves. My boat carves through them pretty well but the speed drops to about 5 or 6 kph along with my enthusiasm, it's just a case of keep going, rest at the next corner.

The boats of Nancy and Paul, John and Claire were on the bank in Morgan as I passed. 

Just a few more corners and my destination appeared, a magnificent river house and I quickly made myself at home, tethered the boat to the landing, showered, dried out wet tent flies and posted my updates. 

A wonderful evening with great friends, excellent food and wine and my eighth night off the ground in the 61 days to date.

Day: 62

Date: Friday 6/05/2022

Start: 34°04'02.9"S 139°41'05.6"E

Finish: 34°21'14.7"S 139°37'02.3"E

Distance: 40.4

Accumulated Distance: 1832.1

Rowing Time: 5:55:00

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Chicken and corn soup, curried sausages with rice, sticky date pudding at Blanchetown Hotel

I had better get used to southerlies, from here on most of the time I will be travelling south on big long stretches of water. 

It was surprising to see how many river houses there are along the river in this bit of SA. There's probably twice as many private property signs and it's not a very welcoming sight, crown land seems to have a different meaning around here but my target was one of the two caravan parks in Blanchetown which one was dependant on my ability to get to the lock on time. 

Once again, big long stretches with waves, I'm still rocking sitting still.

After stopping for lunch, I realised that it would be touch and go getting to Lock 1 by 4:30, my bike computer not charging properly wasn't helping. 

I had a go at slip streaming a houseboat for a couple of k's to get out of the wind and it helped.

The last straight is about 5 km's long, heading mostly south. I rang the Lock Master with about 5 km's to go at 3:57 he said that if I was there by 4:30 I'd be through, 4:31 I'd be sleeping upstream, I put in a big effort ignoring the waves and rolled into the chamber at exactly 4:30. 

Almost my last lockage, there's still Goolwa barrage to get through. 

There's a Big 4 park just below the lock, a great spot to pull the boat up to, friendly staff and cabins available so night 9 off the ground coming up after a great feed at the pub.

Day: 63

Date: Saturday 7/05/2022

Start: 34°21'14.7"S 139°37'02.3"E

Finish: 34°39'16.8"S 139°39'32.4"E

Distance: 46.7

Accumulated Distance: 1878.9

Rowing Time: 6:48:19

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Brown, Red and Wild Rice medley with Tikka Masala Tuna with coconut milk finishing with rice cream

No tent or sleeping bag packing means I only need to load a couple of bags and get moving.

Given the colder nights, I'm starting to layer up. Cycling gear to the fore, leg warmers, gilet and rain jacket, all things that can easily be peeled off as it warms up. I need socks though, crocs alone just don't cut it. 

Cruising south out of Blanchetown was heaven on flat water but before lunch, the wind had picked up and I was again presented with waves.

Swan Reach pub sits like a beacon up the cliff bank, salt and pepper squid and two flat whites was a perfect lunch. 

Fuelled up, I set off again and the weather had settled a bit. 

I didn't realise how many houses there are lining the banks of the Murray in South Australia, not many people home but it would be a different story in summer. 

Greenways Reserve was the target, it was a site that has been over used and not far away, a pump ran all night filling the lagoon behind, of course, the next day showed a better site about 1 km down the river.

Day: 64

Date: Sunday 8/05/2022

Start: 34°39'16.8"S 139°39'32.4"E

Finish: 34°53'43.4"S 139°36'17.2"E

Distance: 43.0

Accumulated Distance: 1921.9

Rowing Time: 6:57:00

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Soup, Basmati Rice with spicy Mayo Tuna and Chick Peas with lemon and pepper, fruit salad with custard, complete meal!

Another perfect day on the water, low winds, very few other boats and magnificent cliffs.

Whistling Kites make great use of the uplift winds from the cliffs and I often find myself floating, staring up at the birds.

I pulled up and took the short walk to the Walker Flat general store for a pie and coffee, the net stop was the very tidy and well presented Bow Hill general store where I was advised that I had to wear shoes to be allowed on the grass outside with bare feet due to liquor licencing laws, who knew crocs had their place outside the boat?

Not far out of Bow Hill I spied a nice grassy spot with no private property sign, the promise of good weather overnight and in the morning meant I left the boat floating and had a quiet but very cold night.

Day: 65

Date: Monday 9/05/2022

Start: 34°53'43.4"S 139°36'17.2"E

Finish: 34°54'30.7"S 139°19'08.3"E

Distance: 30.9

Accumulated Distance: 1952.7

Rowing Time: 4:34:25

Accommodation: Tent

Dinner: Butter Chicken Burger at Pretoria Hotel

Overnight I received a text from ABC Adelaide radio for an interview about my journey. Why not?

Glassy water again for the dash west to Mannum.

Lots of houseboats along the way.

The width of the river here is a vast contrast to the river over the first part of my voyage. Up there, seeing beyond the banks was difficult due to the narrow width of the river, the height of the bank, thick forestation and the general flatness surrounding it. 

Here, you can see the rolling hills for miles, sadly many of the redgum forests were flattened years ago and will never return. 

I pushed hard to get to Mannum before the planned interview time of 1:45, maybe too hard as I'm pretty sore tonight. 

I came to Mannum late last year to test the boat setup and knew the ramp and banking at the caravan park is near perfect. 

The interview went well but quickly. 

At 43:40

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/adelaide/programs/afternoons/afternoons/13864082

Given my early arrival, my final restock for the journey was done and a quick visit to the barber shop and yet another great pub meal. I’m keeping a close watch on the weather at Lake Alexandria and trying to line up a pilot for the crossing.

Camp kitchens are so useful to sit and type but its back to the tent for another very cold night.

Day: 66

Date: Tuesday 10/05/2022

Start: 34°54'30.7"S 139°19'08.3"E

Finish: 35°08'02.7"S 139°18'06.9"E

Distance: 42.6

Accumulated Distance: 1995.3

Rowing Time: 6:33:19

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Wonton cup soup,  Rice with Quinoa, Tuna with brown and red rice chucked in 4 bean mix, followed up with fruit salad, leftovers for tomorrow.

It was a very chilly night in Mannum. 

I came to the Mannum park late last year when testing things and knew the local cockies lurk in the parks trees above and don't sleep much, other birdlife are fattened by the camp's fishermen extracting carp from the river.

Because I was up late to update posts, I had a sleep in, I probably shouldn't have given a fair distance needed to be rowed to Murray Bridge.

I had a houseboat about 400 metres off my stern for the first 10 km's of glassy flat water, shortly after the wind picked up and my pace slowed.

I got a welcoming call from my brother who had been cycling nearby, what did I want for lunch? A steak sandwich, cannoli and flat white was his well picked surprise and we lunched at a beautiful spot at Woodlane.

Fuelled up, I set off again having phoned through a booking to the Murray Bridge Marina Caravan Park.

Access is through the Marina  and I made it just in time, with only a few days left, I chose the soft option of a very well appointed cabin without an ensuite, the showers and toilets are immediately behind. 

Showered, dinner is done, the post is being typed, the heater is on and loading the boat in the morning will take seconds, I could get used to this!

Day: 67

Date: Wednesday 11/05/2022

Start: 35°08'02.7"S 139°18'06.9"E

Finish: 35°19'49.2"S 139°23'02.8"E

Distance: 35.0

Accumulated Distance: 2030.3

Rowing Time: 5:19:20

Accommodation: Cabin

Dinner: Beef schnitzel with chips and salad at Wellington pub, lemon cheesecake to follow up.

Given most gear stayed on the boat overnight, getting on the water early was easy, given the fog, seeing where I was going, not so easy.

The navigation lights were used for the first time and I received a warm but cautious send-off from the swans. 

The Swanport bridge loomed out of the fog which didn't clear for about 10 km's. 

The trip to Tailem Bend is very straight, a perfect time to practice using the compass. Coming into Tailem Bend, you’re greeted by the largest flock of Corella’s I’ve ever seen, I'd arranged to meet a past work colleague, I can't call her old, a savoury slice at the bakery followed by a vanilla slice and maybe another bun, flat white of course. It was great to catch up. 

The final push to Wellington is yet another very wide, straight bit of river lined the whole way by evasive Willows with levy banks to my left. 

The river as it is is almost over for this adventure for me, the milestone reached today is that I've done over 2,000 km's. 

There is accommodation available at the pub, the caravan park where I am staying is not far behind it, in a cabin again so I can make a quick getaway. 

Given the weight of my boat, finding a good spot to park it for the two nights that I'll be here was a problem but the pub is very accommodating. 

The weather conditions today would have been perfect for the crossing, tomorrow should be good in spite of it trying to rain presently, but Friday has northerly winds, not to strong but they should help. 

The rest day will be used to plan the crossing and checking that everything is in working order, wish me luck!

Day: 68

Date: Thursday 12/05/2022

Start: Rest day in Wellington

Accommodation: Cabin

Day: 69

Date: Friday 13/05/2022

Start: 35°19'49.2"S 139°23'02.8"E

Finish: 35°29'33.0"S 138°55'15.8"E

Distance: 54.8

Accumulated Distance: 2085.0

Rowing Time: 8:51:20

Accommodation: On-site caravan

Dinner: Back Country Cuisine Roast Chicken and mashed potato padded with 2 minute noodles and Nutrish soup, tin of chocolate rice cream for a change

The day that I have been fearing the whole journey finally arrived. 

With hindsight the day before, despite the early rain world have been better but I wanted a rest day to ensure all the planning was done.

For a whole $12.00 I downloaded to Avenza a map of Murray Lakes, Goolwa Channel and Islands from Carto Graphics.

I mapped a number of different routes, the distance variance of some options is not that great so I opted for one that gave me a chance to have a couple of rest stops. 

I had both phones in front of me and simply followed the line on one, I had the compass up on the other, upside down given it's mounted backward and stuck to the required course.

On the water around 6:00, there was no fog or wind, light northerlies was the forecast. Tracking the line worked well in the early part giving me confidence that in the open water of the lake where no reference points can be seen, I should be fine.

Near the house ruins of Pomanda Island was a beach and my first rest stop, apparently it' a bit rough near the point. 

And then the 17.65 kilometre crossing. No wind for what would have been the first 10km's where you can start to pick out landmarks on the horizon. 

From then on, the wind continued to build, fortunately a direct tail wind but I knew I'd be turning west once I got to Point McLeay. 

At this point, I should have quit for the day, the winds and subsequent waves made it impossible to row, the problem rowing in rough waters especially when travelling square to the waves is the risk of crabbing an oar, you get quickly spun around and swamping the boat is very easy. 

But I have a motor which hasn’t seen use since before Swan Hill and a desire to finish this journey, regardless, on this lake with these conditions, it was very reckless. 

Travelling west at about 5 kph, the boat bobbed over the waves pretty well but it was a slow and cold trip. 

Getting to the Sturt Peninsula is one thing, it's still a long way until you get to Goat Island which is where you finally get protection from the prevailing winds. 

Naturally the battery had had enough before I reached this point so it was oars out for the last slog into Clayton. 

The Clayton Bay riverside holiday park is a great spot, marketing old on-site caravans as retro worked for me, not another night in a tent please. 

So here I am, still rocking sitting still, 24 km's away from the Murray Mouth which will be the end of this adventure, about 3 hours depending on lock times, a dip of feet in the ocean and then back to reality. 

Pull out the trumpets, last post tomorrow.

Day: 70

Date: Saturday 14/05/2022

Start: 35°29'33.0"S 138°55'15.8"E

Finish: 35°30'01.3"S 138°54'32.4"E

Distance: 2.0

Accumulated Distance: 2087.0

Rowing Time: 0:25:02

Accommodation: Isolating at my son's place, at least it's a bed!

Dinner: From the boat, Penne, Alfredo Pasta and sauce, mixed with Nutrish soup.

OK, this isn't the last post, the trip is officially on hold, with one day left. There was a bit of drizzle overnight so the caravan experience was positive. The wind forecast was not good, WNW gusting up to 41 knots. It looked fine at Clayton but I have never known Goolwa to not be windy. My plan was to head over to the Hindmarsh Island side and work my way around to the barrage lock, go to the mouth, load up back near the barrage and go home. Once out of Clayton Bay, I was met by white capped waves, I pushed through to the other side but it was impossible to stay out of the reeds, I even tried with the motor but it was still impossible. I decided to call it quits, to be completed another day. I phoned Deb, come and get me from Hindmarsh Island please, also please bring a RAT as I've had a cough the last couple of days, better to play it safe. So my son came with the trailer, we loaded up, did the RAT and drove back to the gate, a long driveway of about a kilometre, where Deb, daughter and partner were waiting. Look at the test result, positive, bugger! Dumb founded would be the most apt word, day 70 of this trip and I may have Covid, lucky to avoid it but really, could I finish please? So I drove home alone, garaged the boat and headed for Victoria Park for a PCR test, I'm alone at my son's house awaiting the results. It's not a problem to drive down to Clayton when the weather is fine and finish the journey, let's hope it's soon.

Day: 71
Date: Tuesday 24/05/2022
Start: 35°29'33.0"S 138°55'15.8"E
Finish: 35°31'51.9"S 138°49'36.3"E
Distance: 18.6
Accumulated Distance: 2105.6
Rowing Time: 2:42:24 
Accommodation: My own bed!
Dinner: Chicken stir fry

The last eight days don't count, this is day 71 and the last.
In the last couple of weeks I have been in contact with Frank Tuckwell OAM who is the registrar for the Inland Rivers National Marathon Register which, for those who don't know is a record of journeys down the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin ending in Goolwa.
I was keen to get on the register so a finish at least at Goolwa has always been part of the plan.
The register is maintained by the Goolwa National Trust History Centre and there are many items of interest there relating to my grandfather's brother, Jack Dodd as well as a very large spiral rug made by my mother which may have had some assistance from her children.
The weather forecast for the rest of the week isn't looking good, Tuesdays forecast was for north easterlies with no rain, unlike the rest of the week. 
So I contacted Frank and we could do the presentation on Tuesday afternoon. 
Another big shout out to my brother Bruce who was there at the beginning of the journey at Hume Wier and he again dropped me off, this time at Clayton and picked me up at Beacon 19 boat ramp in the salt water of The Coorong.
It was again a very windy day, while a tail wind is a great thing on a bike, it's not so much fun in a row boat devoid of most of its usual weight, the wind was determined to turn me sideways to the waves so there were many air strokes done on the trip west to Goolwa and on exiting the barrage lock when things get salty however I did make pretty good time. 
I learned that the Goolwa Barrage lock is really narrow, with a head wind and the inability to extend my oars and with no spare paddle, getting out of the lock was a nightmare and with another boat waiting to pass through, patience from the lock master was understandably wearing thin.
It would have ben good to go to the mouth and back to the boat ramp but it would have added 12 1/2 k's to the trip and the conditions were not improving so to me, I've done all I can to travel down the Murray, job done!
With the boat loaded, we headed back to the Goolwa wharf where we were to meet Frank and others for the presentation. 
A celebratory beer and Tacho toastie at the Wharf Barrel Shed filled a large hole before meeting Frank and the crew for the presentation, it marks a great full stop to the adventure.