Mildura & the Murray River

The banks of the Murray River
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Our heads were a bit sore as we packed up this morning, a result of Hans' birthday celebrations the night before.  When we were all packed we farewelled Hans and Connie as they were heading back to the south coast, while we were continuing north.

I took a turn at driving the first leg to Mildura, and Brendan drove second.  The view outside the car changed as we drove further north.  The land got drier, the dirt redder, the towns we passed were very small and pretty old fashioned.  We set up slowly and enjoyed the mild weather.  We couldn't be bothered cooking so we had Dominos for dinner.  It was nice to have a day off from cooking!

A houseboat on the riverbank.
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In the morning we drove into the city for a look around.  We drove to a lookout just outside town and caught a glimpse of the Murray River through the Red Gums.  We also dropped into the visitor centre and found there was a Drags meet on that night.  I'd never been to the Drags before, and we were keen for a change of pace, so we decided to check it out.  It was quite a small meet and they raced a 1/8 mile instead of the usual 1/4.  There was a good crowd and some nice cars.  It was a fun night.

Paddleboat 'Avoca' approaching Lock II
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On Sunday morning we had a special Easter breakfast of bacon and eggs.  Later we ventured into town for the Sunday market.  It was hot - about 28C - so it was nice to be out enjoying the weather, but the maket was pretty small.  After lunch we did some sight seeing around town.  We started at Mildura Warf where we saw the paddlesteamer, PS Melbourne, loading.  Even though a ride on the paddlesteamer is one of MIldura's big attractions, we decided to give it a miss.  Several people told us the trip was a bit boring!  We continued our sightseeing visiting a beautiful recreation park that was home to Lock II and the Wier, both man made structures that manage the flow of the Murray River.  We walked across the Lock, and following a walking track along the bank of the river.  Along the way we saw several houseboats on the river and admired the scenery.  We also saw a paddleboat pass through the lock.