Steves Outback Adventures » Mildura

Lake Mungo

stevie — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 04:30:49 +0000

I got up at 6am to get ready and drive 120km to Lake Mungo. This visit has been on my bucket list for almost 10 years now. Mungo is a site of substantial archaeological and anthropological significance in Australia. Just over 90 km of the road is graded and sand. The road is surprisingly good, so one can drive at a decent clip. Unlike major roads, there are no stop-offs or ‘Rest areas’ along gravel roads. So I was amused to see the following rest area that had been built by someone with a sense of humor, see pic.

Outback Rest area

Reminder of how easily Skids happen on gravel roads

This place (Mungo) is World Heritage listed as being the oldest burial place of modern human man outside Africa. Mungo man walked the shores of Mungo Lake before man roamed Europe. The remains of several skeletons have been radio carbon dated at 41000 years ago. This includes the now famous Mungo Man and Mungo Lady. It was special for me to have our aboriginal tour guide speak to us about the customs and survival skills of his ancestors. Some of these skills and practises have survived to this day and had been passed on from one generation to the next. The trip back to Mildura happened faster that I had expected.

Sunrise over Lake Mungo

Lake Mungo centre

Back in Mildura, after mucking about at and in the river we decided to find some pizza in town. Boy did we find a great pizza place. At the Grand Hotel they have the Pizza Café that simply makes the best pizza I have eaten for many a year. They have a few great local brews as well.

Mildura

stevie — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:21:51 +0000

We’re off to explore the Mildura town area. The walking track along the Murray River is well developed and passes through grassy parks with lawns and plants that are well watered. I guess you would expect this along the Murray. We were passed by a few paddle steamers that seemed to drag us into an era of 100 years ago.We ended up in town on Deakin Street where we came across an eating/coffee strip that offers al-fresco service. The coffee was great and we will have another one before we leave Mildura. The people at the table next to us also had a Spoodle so the dogs did some catching up as well.

The Boss Spoodle

Later in the afternoon we had a swim in the river next to our caravan park. Along the Murray there are pockets of clean beach sand on the banks. There are even flocks of seagulls. The only thing missing is the crashing of the surf, but we will get heaps of that when we hit the Yorke Peninsula later on this trip. In the evening we had a slow barbie at the caravan. The sizzling of the sausages and patties was interspersed by sips of beer and a yak with the ‘good lady’ and doleful looks from the pooches psyching me into giving them a sossy as well. All in all, a great day.

Mildura Bound

stevie — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 04:06:09 +0000

, We left Winterwood and traveled along the Calder highway to Mildura. 500 km later an exhausted family reached Mildura. The country side improves remarkably as you get nearer this lager rural center in NW Victoria. As you get closer to Mildura, the number of cultivated properties bursting with budding vines, mandarins and oranges, increases and the landscape greens up beautifully. Grain and fodder crops abound, all the way into South Australia.

We booked into the Apex caravan park which is situated in a National Park along the banks of the Murray River as it snakes lazily through the landscape. The park has good clean facilities and is run by friendly staff. For us it was great to understand that they are pet friendly as our two Spoodles, Zack and Lexie are on holiday as well. We could not miss the lunar eclipse that night. It was awesome, but hard to get a decent picture of as there was some cloud in the sky

Hole-in-one tree at Apex Caravan Park

Wheat-fields everywhere!
From Victoria to South Australia

Paddle Steamer on the Murray