Day 22, Mildura – Fort Courage, 2 Nov

Tony

 

There’s a hot air balloon above us when we drive out of the caravan park this morning – I still haven’t been up in one of those, I’d better add it to the bucket list! The conditions are calm and I pass a herd of cows drinking, a mangled old tree and some pelicans, which I photographed a couple of times as they shot off – shame the picture of them all on wing came out too blurred.

I pass under the old Abbotsford Bridge, Williamsville, which has the section that can be raised up to allow boats to pass. The bridge is still in use as a single lane traffic bridge but I don’t know whether they ever raise it these days.

The wind picks up and I’m fighting against it for the rest of the day. Pass a lot of people swimming and having fun in the river, and loads of campers, some of them backpackers - I stop to say hello to a lot of them, but I think zee Germans had trouble understanding my accent – thanks for nodding and smiling anyway, fellas!

Yesterday we met Trish & Ron in front of our caravan park and they came out to meet me in their peddle kayak, staying alongside me for a couple of kilometres before lock 10 at Wentworth, thanks for the company and encouragement, guys!

Came across a river snake and managed to capture it on my camera this time. I looked back after I’d passed it and it was coiled up ready to strike, which really put the frighteners on me – once it’d submerged I had a good tug at my rudder to make sure it hadn’t climb aboard to attack me!

Meet Pan at Wentworth, I’ve done 52km by this stage, and decide to make a break for it and do half again to reach Fort Courage, as there’s little in the way of road access between here and there. It’s a real struggle to get through with the wind pushing me back and it’s a scorching day. As I feel the end nearing, some fishermen come by saying they’ve met Pan a few kilometers up at Fort Courage Caravan Park, they whoop and say ‘good on ya!’, which spurs me onto the finish.

Thanks to Fort Courage Caravan Park for donating a site to us at their great little homely park – a beautiful spot for paddling and fishing!

Distance paddled: 78 km

Pan

The landscape changes suddenly and dramatically today – one minute it’s all orchards, vineyards and olive groves, then when I pass Wentworth, bam – I feel like I’m really in the outback! Nothing but flat plains of low scrub as far as the eye can see. And the heat is extreme - I can’t handle it and have to keep in the shade.