Police Paddock

Woke to sun and wind, so things will dry nicely. Heading for Mulwala and Yerrawonga, they are towns on either side of the Murray which is the boarder. Beautiful towns, all to do with fishing. Did a bit of shopping then headed for Rutherglen. Another historical town, info center ladies were so great and helpful, had lots of laughs with them, they have water to fill RV’s, just make a donation of $2. Going out to Police Paddock camping. A great spot on a side branch of the Murray.

 Dead trees in the Dam area of the Mulwala Dam.  Very swift waters and flooded.

Murray River

Headed for the Murray river to camp, we were on the NSW side and no camping spots, spoke to a chap and he suggested a couple of areas if we could fit in, on inspection they were not suitable so headed to the Collendine State Forest, well it was an interesting track, be very mucky if wet, we could see the skidding from others trying to drive in the wet. The skies opened up overnight and we thought Oh no! but lucky we went out a different road that we’d checked before night as the skies were not looking good.

 

Bethungra Dam

Stayed at this Dam for a couple of nights, was nice but that’s all, a good rest stop as it was very quiet, not that far off the main road, not a lot to do, talk to the cows :).The water was very inviting but couldn’t swim as it had Blue Green algae.  Here’s a couple of shots.

 This is one of two shelters and there is one toilet block plus rubbish bins. no water.

Sofala

Had a great spot down at Sofala, lovely small town, my mother stayed here for some time panning and just loved it, said the hotel had a nice spirit living in it so I inquired, some said yes others didn’t know. Local swimming hole where we were, and got very busy during the day. I saw a Red Bellied Black snake, thought it was a shiny black stick, when it moved, then I knew.

dscf6868  Amazing landscapes, taken through the car window while driving, cant always pull up with a camper trailer in tow.dscf6872  Storm brewing.dscf6883  Countryside.dscf6890  Looking down at Sofala.dscf6914  Local water hole, we camped here. Camper in background.dscf6919  Very deep, quite cold.dscf6921  Resident dog, she was lovely, kept hanging around. dscf6933  The local kids jump into this hole from up the cliffs, we had lots of entertainment.dscf6938  Very cold nights I intend to keep warm. 🙂dscf6945

Fire.

New Year

I’m going to add several photos to cover the past week as it was very wet and not many images.

dscf6761  The road I walk every day while camping at the river, was very smokey as there are fires in the hills.dscf6763  Our camping spot.dscf6764  I was interested as to what makes these lines in the weed on the river, well I found out its a Red Black Bellied snake, I was sitting in the pool and it swam right passed me by about 6 foot.dscf6769  Having a bit of fun with my wee underwater camera, these little fish nibble your legs while you sit still.dscf6784  The storm has passed and the waters are still rising, if you compare this image to the first posting you’ll see how much its filled up. Wonderful to see.dscf6793  My waterhole before the rains was only up to my hips, now its under my arm pits. Awesome.dscf6806 Heading out, trees were down after the storm.

Day 32

Wednesday 15th June.

Set the alarm to see what the milky way was like at 5 am. I didn’t think it was worth it after looking, Don went out and did some shooting and is now still sleeping, 8.56 am. I’m going to save my early mornings for the jump-ups. Very windy today, hard to cook like this and we are still using a tarp for cover from sun due to the poles getting lost and the zip is not durable in wind. Going to have a relaxing day,  we are staying tonight as well. All the Wattles are in flower. Dingo’s were howling last night.  Got some good shots of Rainbow Bee Eaters this morning. Saw another crocodile this evening. Had another fire to burn all our burnables.

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The Fresh water crocodile. Looks like a log but then it moved.

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Sun going down over the Corella Dam wall.

IMG_0247White Winged Triller

White winged triller, lovely song it sings, just out side the camper door.

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Flocks of Budgies.

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Last light hitting the hill behind us.

Day 30

Monday 13th June,  Terry Smiths Lookout.

Heading to Terry Smiths Lookout for the night, its 80 km north of Cloncurry on the Burke and Wills development road. Stopped for lunch at the Burke&Wills Roadhouse,  big place, must of been 20 vans of sorts parked in there. We got fuel @ 1.49 a litre. Got to the Lookout and there’s heaps of vans but within the two hours the place has filled up to 19 vans. Several have a drive in and drive off. There are toilets and dump point but not always water in the tank. Light tea with a early start tomorrow. Bed and it’s only 8 pm. Few photos of the day.

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Whistling Kite, Mum was bringing food back for the young one, which was as big as the parent. It has a fish in its talon.

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Young one and parent. Whistling Kite.

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Road kill, Wedge tailed Eagle and a Whistling Kite.

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When we arrived at Terry Smiths Lookout, budgies flying free, so nice to see. Terrible lighting, but still had to take it.

Day 29

Sunday 12th June, 

Another cool morning,  love it. Sat by the river and just enjoyed it as we leave tomorrow. Chattered to a couple of people that came in yesterday, Got chatting and Another couple who parked opposite us all were really nice. They all came from Woolongong, NSW. Lovely group.  Quiet day really. I cleaned up my camera gear and put them into the car, had tea and bed by 9 pm. In reference to my words Shoot or Shot, this is with a camera. 🙂

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Sun going down, cooling nicely.

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What a beautiful sunset, nice end to a wonderful time here at the Gregory River. Top spot. 🙂

 

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Don cooling off, the river is very fast flowing.

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Small bridge that the trucks come in and fill up with water for the road works.

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Crimson Finch, Male.

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Young Whistling Kite.

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Grey Fantail.

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This poor kangaroo has a broken jaw, so awful to see it still trying to eat and cant help it.

Day 28

Saturday 11th June,     Gregory River

Lovely sleep last night as it was cooler. Alice and Jack headed off,  they are going home. We have decided to stay over until Monday.  Lots of vans have come in.  I had a rest this afternoon was so nice as we are in shade all day. Shot birds, went for a walk, chattered with people really relaxing day.

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Infra-red photo of the Gregory river. This is a lovely swimming hole.

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Blue Winged Kookaburra. This bird has a real funny call not like the laughing kookaburra, very timid, this was the only shot I got.

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From our campsite, looking north. That’s the main bridge on the road above.

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This is looking south from our campsite.

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Looking south from the main bridge, we are tucked up on the right hand of the image.

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Looking north from the bridge. Gregory River on right.

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Different angle. Even though there are a lot of vans, people are not in each others face, lots of room for big rigs as well.