Chapter 1 - The Long Paddock Touring Route

Day 1 - Wednesday 20th June - On the Road at Last

It was 2 degrees C as I started the Prado and did final checks.  The Prado & caravan headed down our street at 9:32 am. We were in no rush. All locks were locked, and a trusted neighbour was in charge.

In no time at all the temperature had rocketed to 9 degrees and we were having coffee and a French vanilla slice at Heathcote. There was little or no wind.

Time seemed to flash past and we drove in to Echuca to buy a new side mirror (long story) and obtain tourist information on our route for the next few days - The Long Paddock Touring Route - or the Cobb Highway.  We also scored a DVD on the history and highlights of our route.

A feature of the route are the sculptures that commemorate the history of the region.

Stop 1 was the Moama bakery for a couple of pies. Stop 1A was a nearby park where we ate the pies and took our first sculpture photo.




River Barge

The River Barge (above) illustrates the issue that early wood cutters had in that red gum timber does not float, so they had to build a barge and strap the red gum timber to the sides of the barge.  The barge was accompanied down-river by men who guided the cargo.  It was boring work and they apparently spent the time consuming alcohol.  In the above image the only barge resident who seems interested in the direction of the barge is the dog.

Soon after - in the spirit of the name of the route we were travelling - we came across a huge herd of cattle moving very slowly along the road.



Users of The Long Paddock Touring Route

We then diverted off the highway to visit a campground on the edge of Australia's largest redgum forest - near Mathoura.  The area is also know for its wetlands and bird viewing areas.

Edge of Australia's largest redgum forest

The local pastime of fishing was demonstrated by the following impressive sculpture.

Looks a bit Fishy

We were amused by the Bra Fence - erected to make people aware of breast cancer and help raise money for local cancer services.  On 11th June 2018 there were 307 bras on the fence.  There seems a lot more now - but I am no expert.




About 25% of the Bra Fence

Mathoura had sculptures 2 and 3, to again commemorate local regional history.



The Woodcutters

The Drover and the Horse

We drove on to Deniliquin and booked into the Riverside Caravan park for two nights.  The view from the caravan was pretty good.

Edward River from the Caravan

We chatted to a "water ways" guy who was inspecting the quality of the river and he explained that many moons ago this region was a delta that was flooded in the wet.  As a result many of the rivers flow in and out of each other.  For example, the Edward river flows into the Murray, and the Murray flows into the Edward at a different place. 
 
This phenomena is called an anabranch and is where a section of a river or stream diverts from the main channel of the watercourse and rejoins the main stream downstream. In larger anabranches, the flow can diverge for many kilometers before rejoining the main channel. In the above Edward/Murray example the distance is 380 km.

Today's trip was around 300 km.  Shirley conjured up spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. I found a bottle of red and created this blog page.

Day 2 - Thursday 21st June - Deniliquin



Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales 80 km from the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area.  The town is divided in two parts by the Edward River.  The urban population is about 7000.

All of that population would have known that it was only 2 degrees had they ventured outside around 7:30 am. I used that as an excuse to bypass my early morning walk - a normal thing for me when away on holidays.

We had a busy morning with culture and history dominating.  First we visited sites that recognize the huge nature of the Deni Ute Muster - a huge gathering of utes and their owners - worth an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.



A "Hard to Miss" Ute

 

A Mosaic Ute



The Site of the "Deni Ute Muster"

After that we visited the Peppin Heritage Museum that had a large focus on local history of sheep and wool. We were reminded that the first sheep to arrive in Australia produced hair - not wool.  Deniliquin graziers were at the forefront of the introduction of rams from South Africa - the start of our excellent reputation for high quality fine wool.  So Australia moved from having sheep for food to having differing types of sheep for food and wool.

Ram Shed

We were then directed to the gardens where locally famous (and valuable)muses were on display.  They were produced in Northern Italy in 1893 to a local design for just over 144 pounds sterling.



Three (Made in Italy) Muses

The cemetery features a furnace for the burning of wood to help Chinese souls reach the afterlife.  It was very interesting.

Furnace at the Cemetery

We finished the morning at the sites of sculptures 4 and 5. No 4 is called SHOD and commemorates the colourful history of bullock teams - a very important part of early local development.  No 5 is called CUT and draws focus to the contribution by the timber industry.

SHOD

CUT

After lunch we had a 4 km stroll around lagoons, a red-gum reserve and along the Edward river.  A few birds were spotted.....

An Emu and a Cormorant (or a Darter?)

A Great Egret and a Yellow Billed Spoonbill

Red Rumped Parrot

We also admired the old Town Hall and the "fish" at the front of the caravan park.

Deniliquin Town Hall

A Reminder to a Popular Local Sport

Day 3 - Friday 22nd June - Deniliquin to Ivanhoe

As John Fogerty would sing "Deja Vu all over again".  The temperature was 2 degrees as we started to move around - again.  By 9 am we were on the road heading north.

Our first stop was only 20 km down the road for sculpture 6, titled SMOKO, at a place called Pretty Pine.  This symbolises the breaks that woodcutters would have when tobacco was often preferred to tea and cake.  In this sculpture the wood cutter is a two-headed Janus figure where he is looking back on prosperous days and looking ahead to a doubtful future.  He is also having both a "cuppa" and a smoke.



SMOKO

We took a photo at Wanganella which was the former home of the Peppin family - the people who imported the South African ram to develop and start producing the first fine merino wool in Australia (mentioned earlier in this blog).

We then moved on to The Black Swamp where sculpture 7 was called Headless Horseman.  This pays respect to a folklore story where two drovers were terrorized at night by a local butcher who pretended to be headless.  The headless horseman in the horseman on the far right in the image below.

 Shirley Admiring the Headless Horseman

The Kelly Rig in Front of the Above Sculpture

We were now moving to the edge of the Australian Outback.

Straight and Flat

Our next stop was Hay where we spotted sculptures 8 (Murrumbidgee Landscapes), 9 (Lang's Crossing) and 10 (Cobb's Wheels).

Murrumbidgee Landscapes
(river in the background)

Lang's Crossing

Cobb's Wheels
(Tribute to Cobb and Co Stagecoach Company)

(Very low) Murrumbidgee River

We did some shopping (milk, bread and fruit) in Hay before we moved on.  Although Hay is the biggest town in this region we had visited here just 12 months ago.

A photo of the former hotel at a place called One Tree was in order.

(Pre loved) One Tree Hotel

We had to stop at Booligal to remember Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson's poem Hay and Hell and Booligal.  It was first published in The Bulletin on 25 April 1896. The poem compares Booligal unfavourably with the nearby town of Hay and even Hell, recounting a litany of problems with the town—heat, sand, dust, flies, rabbits, mosquitoes, snakes and drought—with humorous intent
The poem concludes with the lines: 

'We’d have to stop!”  With bated breath
We prayed that both in life and death
Our fate in other lines might fall:
“Oh, send us to our just reward
In Hay or Hell, but, gracious Lord,
Deliver us from Booligal!”

However there was not much at Booligal, apart from the pub, post office and cricket ground.  The road ahead was still straight and flat.  The sky was cloudless.  Emu were seen frequently, kangaroos were very rare.

Same road - Less trees

Our destination for the day, Ivanhoe, produced the final sculpture of the Long Paddock Touring Route - No 11 - The Pioneers.  Ivanhoe is a small town of around 350 people.

The Pioneers

The art work and the history provided along our route has been amazing.  It has been thoroughly enjoyable.  The following work was produced by the local indigenous people.

Indigenous Sculpture

We booked into a very basic campsite (read power but no water, but great showers) behind the general store and petrol station - across the road from the pub.

We had travelled a very interesting 340 km for the day.  For the last 240 km to Ivanhoe we did not see a vehicle travelling in the same direction as us.

Day 4  - Saturday 23rd June - Ivanhoe to Wilcannia

There is something special about waking in the Outback and seeing the magnificent pink/blue sunrise skies.  With only the sound of birds it was a great start to the day - except for the chilly conditions (2 degrees again).

We hit the road about 8:45 and moved north. We were soon amused by the rock art along the side of the road.

Outback Rock Art

The road alternated between gravel and bitumen.  The bitumen parts were new and excellent, the gravel varied from very good to ordinary - mostly pretty good.

Gravel Road North

We had to stop and take a photo of maybe the best letter box that we have ever seen.  The stage coach and horses was very appropriate for the Cobb Hghway - named after the Cobb & Co stagecoach company that used to travel this route.

The stage coach was around two metres to the top of the "Rosewood" sign.

A Great Outback Letter Box

We were in the country of stock grids that restrict stock to certain areas.  The main animals observed were kangaroos, emus, wild goats and sheep. Many of the goats and sheep had young in tow.  We saw a kangaroo joey enjoying morning tea from Mum.  Mum just watched us as we passed maybe 30 metres away.

THe Cobb Highway came to an end about 20 km before Wilcannia.  It had been a wonderful trip of around 600 km from Moama.

We drifted in to Wilcannia and refueled, before taking some photos of some great sandstone buildings.

Wilcannia Hotel

Post Office

Court House

We drove out of town and booked at a camp site on the Darling River, at Warrawong on the Darling.  This brought back some great memories of years ago. 

It was only 1pm so we had a restful afternoon to enjoy.  A walk around the lagoon below was enjoyable.

Lagoon Near the Caravan

One of the Magnificent Local Trees

 

After some relaxation we headed over to the campfire and "chewed the fat" with other "grey nomads".  Our hosts provided cheese and biscuits.

 

Shirley holding court around the fire



We had driven about 200 km today.  The trend of cold mornings and lovely days has continued.

Tomorrow we head East.............



Click here to return to the Introduction.

Click here to go to Chapter 2.

This post was last updated around 7:30 pm on Saturday 23rd June.