Balranald

Friday 25th
Another lazy day, we didn’t wake up until nearly 9am, and are sleeping very well. No toast for breakfast today, as the toaster is kaput. Just for a change, we had pancakes and maple syrup. Yum.

Spent most of the day relaxing and reading and enjoying the peace and tranquility of the surroundings. The sun was shining, and the lake was glassy as there was no wind, no flies, just some ducks and egrets passing by. It is such a lovely way to spend the last few days of our trip.

We have booked a sunset cruise on the River Lady, which is a 2-hour cruise on the lake and wetlands, leaving at 4pm and returning at 6pm, so about 3.30pm we got ready and headed down the road. We drove there, as it was a bit too far to walk and would have been dark by the time we got back.

The boat cruised for about an hour, then stopped at a place called Rosie’s Garden, where paddle steamers used to stop. There was little infrastructure left at the site, but we got off the boat and walked around and it was a good opportunity to take photos. There were so many birds on the water, nesting in trees and flying past, and small fish jumping out of the water.

The sun was getting low by the time we got back and disembarked and headed back to the caravan.

When we got back, we heard some more sad news. Jenny, close friend of Theo’s sister Loretta and her family, had just passed away. She had been battling cancer for many years. We knew Jenny well and are very sad for husband Jeff and her children and grandchildren. She was always so strong and positive and always had a smile on her face. She was determined to make it to her birthday, which she did 4 days ago. Jenny you were such a fighter and will be missed by so many people. We celebrated your life with your favourite drink, Baileys while watching the setting sun. RIP Jenny.

We have really enjoyed our relaxing time at Lake Pamamaroo, it was a great way to finish up our holiday, eating, reading, drinking, bird watching and at the end of the day watching the sun go down, before the stars and moon appeared in the clear night sky.

We came in planning on staying for one night, but after enjoying 5 nights, we sadly packed up as it was time to move on.

Our next stop was Pooncarie on the Darling River. The region was first settled by Europeans during the 1840’s. In the mid-19th century, the towns Darling River Wharf was very active as paddle steamers carried wool on the way to South Australia. The population now is about 220, and it is a very small town. Last time we stayed here, there was very little water in the river. Today, the river was quite high and flowing following recent flooding earlier this year. Near where we camped there was a tree with a water mark high on the trunk, showing the height of the floods.

The site where the wharf was is now a café, which we had eaten at before, but found it to be closed today. We found a camp on the Darling River about one kilometre from town, set up and then walked into town and had a counter lunch at the Pooncarie Hotel.

We like to support local communities when passing through or staying in towns, and often buy lunch or take aways or groceries in these communities.

When we got back, we lit the fire and watched the bird life on the river. I thought that the water was looking a bit green, and discovered that 13 days ago, a red alert had been issued for high levels of toxic blue-green algae. Good thing we did not catch any fish.

Our neighbours Di and Ben (from Bendigo) joined us around the campfire, and we had a lovely night chatting to them.もっと詳しく