We left Halls Gap after saying goodbye to our friends having had a great weekend with them; we now headed to Bendigo to have a look around as it had been quite a few years since we were there. We booked into the first caravan park we came to which proved to be very good so we set up and then headed back to the Aldi store which we had been told was worth going to especially as we don't have them in Adelaide. We did a bit of shopping there and found some of the prices were the same as in SA and also found a few different brands. We then drove around the town and then back to the caravan park.
Next morning we packed up again and drove to Echuca and had a good walk around the wharf area but as it was "under construction" we were a bit disappointed that we couldn't walk on the wharf as we had done this a few years ago and so we had to be content with viewing the few paddlesteamers from the viewing platform. The wharf was undergoing some major renovations due to the flooding so we will have to come back again some other time.
Next morning we packed up again and drove to Echuca and had a good walk around the wharf area but as it was "under construction" we were a bit disappointed that we couldn't walk on the wharf as we had done this a few years ago and so we had to be content with viewing the few paddlesteamers from the viewing platform. The wharf was undergoing some major renovations due to the flooding so we will have to come back again some other time.
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| Echuca |
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| Paddle Steamer Canberra from Echuca wharf |
After some looking around the town and then going to Moama we then headed off into New South Wales and started to look for a camp spot.
Mathoura is a lovely little town which we have not been to before, so we went into the Information Centre and were told about some great camping places by the river and headed off to Picnic Point to find a camping spot for the night. We must have taken a wrong turn and ended up at Poverty Point and then managed to get onto a no through road. After a 36 point turn we managed to get the van turned around and headed back towards Mathoura. We must add this to our list of things not to do as No Through Roads will save us a lot of trouble and a few headaches. We seem to do this quite a lot as we like to do some "exploring" but its not such a good idea with a 20 ft van on the back of the Landcruiser.
We decided to go up the road to Millewa and found a campsite by the Edwards River regulator. What a great spot this was and we soon had a campfire going and sat back with a wine by the fire. This is the life for us.
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| Camp spot by the Edwards River |
While enjoying the peace and quiet by the river we were entertained by some lovely little blue wrens hopping around nearby. As the sun set over the river we put some more wood on the fire as it was getting very cold. We were both pleased that we had our thick jackets to keep warm although we still got a bit too chilly to stay outside for long.
Next morning we reluctantly left our camp site and headed for Temora.
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| Edwards River |
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| Edwards Bridge on the Edwards River |
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| Early morning on the Edwards River |
Next morning we paid for our 3 nights at the Post Office and hooked up to the power and water. There were only a couple of others there so we had a chat to our neighbours and then drove the 30km into Temora.
Again we were surprised at how great this town was, with a Country Target, IGA supermarket, lots of small shops in the main street and of course I had to go into the community store where they had lovely hand made goodies and some locally grown fruit and veg. I love these little towns as they have such a wide variety of shops, and I find them much more interesting than the big complexes in the city.
Temora has a good statue to "Paleface Adios" who won 105 harness races in the 1970's. We were given a lot of information from an interesting chap at the Information Centre which was a great place to visit but we didn't have time to visit the Rural Museum, will just have to come back again as there is so much to see here.
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We drove out to Lake Centenary, a man made lake with picnic grounds and then back to Ariah Park to have another look around. Ariah Park is a step back in time to the 1920's with many of the shops in the main street now being private homes but they have put displays in the shopfromt windows which makes a walk down the main street a history lesson. It is a lovely well kept town and we enjoyed our 3 days here.
On Saturday we drove back into Temora for the Air Show which was our main reason for the trip. We were again very surprised to see such a well organised event. The car park filled up very quickly and we made our way through the main entrance to find it full of people lining up for their tickets. There was a good tourist shop with everything to do with aviation and displays and photos of servicemen from Temora. From here we went into the Museum area where we were seated and enjoyed a film of the Spitfires and the ground crew that worked on them. After the 40 minute film we had plenty of time to view the many aircraft there and then we braved the cold and windy weather and waited for the air display to begin. They had provided a small stand for viewing and also plenty of room along the fence line to see the aircraft. There was hot food and drinks available too and we certainly needed some hot food to keep us warm. The local charities are recipients of the funds made from the air show and the whole event is run by volunteers. David Lowy, son of Frank Lowy of Westfield fortune has been the force behind the aviation museum, and he was there and was the pilot of the Spitfire and gave us a wonderful display despite the bad weather conditions. We also saw the Tiger Moth get off the ground after much waiting while they got it going - what an exhausting way to start an engine. The other plane that we saw flying was a Ryan, a very nice looking plane. After all 3 planes had given their flying display we were able to go into the large hangar and view the other planes close up.
This was a great day and so much to see, more than we had expected and a real credit to the town.
Next morning we sadly left Ariah Park and headed on our homeward trip stopping at Hay overnight.
