Robinvale 2010

November 20th, We moved to Robinvale and booked into the Riverside Caravan Park, for a week. They were able to put us on a riverfront site, which was great. The first thing we noticed was the large number of ducks in this area. They were a small duck with a narrow beak and we identified them as Wood Ducks. After setting up the Van I had plenty of time to get the tinny off the car, set up and in the water, ready for use. I put the shrimp trap in to catch some live bait. A quick run around town didn’t take long, but I did spy their Museum which was going to be open next Thursday, so looking forward to that.

November 25th, I have been out fishing every day since we got here and still haven’t caught a fish, Pathetic. I went to look through their “Rural Life Museum” today and was very impressed with the great collection of local memorabilia. They continue to exist on entry Donations and very dedicated few volunteers. They had just finished resurrecting an old manual “hand operated” Petrol Pump and done a great job.

November 26th, Still no fish today, so, time to get the boat out of the water and packed up. We leave in the morning for Gol Gol, just 5 minutes before Mildura. We went to a local Club at Euston tonight, for dinner and a flutter. Euston is a small town over the border in NSW and has a very nice, modern Club with great meals.

Swan Hill 2010

November 10th, Travelled to Swan Hill, only 152 Klms, and booked into the Swan Hill Riverside Caravan Park (Top Tourist), for a week on a riverfront site. Fabulous, only a metre from the river and a tree to tie the Tinny to. We set up and walked around the Park and would recommend this park to everyone. It is right next to the Pioneer Village which will be a must to visit. Dropped my shrimp trap into the edge of the river, overnight, to catch some bait for to-morrow.

November 11th, Put the boat into the river and went out for a fish, late in the afternoon. Only caught 3 shrimp in the trap, which was disappointing, but proved to be plenty. I only went a short way down river, just past the road bridge, and had 2 lines in. Used shrimp on one and soft cheese on the other. Wasn’t there more than 10 minutes when I pulled in a good sized fish, caught on soft cheese, measured at 40 cms. I identified it as a Cod Trout and unfortunately this is an endangered species so, after a photo I released it back into the river. That was my only catch of the day.

November 13th, Had a rest day yesterday, rain started late afternoon and is still raining today. We went to the local Grain Shed in the afternoon for their Expo and Market Day. All outdoor stands were washed out but we enjoyed the undercover Shed displays and stalls. Went to check out the RSL, had a Chardy and made a donation through their pokies. Always willing to keep the local economy buoyant.

November 14th, The rain stopped so, pumped the rainwater out of the boat and went out for a fish. No fish today.

November 15th, tried my luck again today and was thrilled to come in with a 40cm Yellowbelly. It gave us 2 good sized fillets. Val had one for her dinner tonight and loved it. She coated it with flour and fried it in butter.

November 16th, I caught a 37cm Murray Cod this morning, so took its photo and returned it to the river. Two reasons for that, it’s the closed season for Murray Cod and the minimum legal length is 50cms. Val went to the local Medical Centre to get new scripts written up for her medication.

 November 17th, I went to look through the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement today. Val wasn’t interested so I went on my own while she did some reading. We took out a temporary membership the Swan Hill Library and borrowed some books. The Settlement is similar to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. It had 47 items on display and 10 of them were manned by Volunteers. I had a ride around the Settlement in a 1920 Dodge and that brought back memories, as my first car was a 1929 Plymouth and my Dad had a 1926 Chevrolet when I was a young boy. It took me 4 hours to look through all the exhibits and I took many photographs, only stopping when the camera battery went flat. I thoroughly enjoyed walking back through time and the most fascinating item was the Steroscopic Theatre in the Mechanics Institute. It had 50 old photos from around the world shown in 3D and was built in the 1800’s. I couldn’t believe that they had the 3D technology way back then. I also enjoyed a nice coffee and cake break at the Bakery and later an icecream at the General Store. After a late lunch we went into Town and had a Chardy and a flutter, on the Pokies, at the Swan Hill Club. Didn’t win but enjoyed a good run of luck in very pleasant surroundings.

November 18th, Went out fishing this morning and caught a 40cm Cod. All these Cods look very similar but I’m learning that if it looks like a cod, it will either be endangered or a Murray Cod and has to be released. So I keep praying to catch a “yellow belly” which I know I can keep, if it is above the legal length. We have seen on the News that there is an impending locust plague, in the direction that we are heading, so went and bought some “flyscreen” and taped it over the front of the car, just in case we run into a plague, on the move.

November 19th, This is my last day to go fishing here, so with the 7 shrimp, caught overnight, and a block of cheese off I go. I anchored just past the road bridge and the first fish I land is a 59cm Carp. A huge fish, biggest I’ve caught in the Murray River and it was fun to get it into the boat. I followed that up with a 40cm Cod and a 37cm Perch, both endangered species, so back into the River they went. That was my best days fishing and I brought the Carp in for Val to do a photo shoot. It was pack up time again and the boat had to come out of the River. On the way to the boat ramp I was to toss the Carp onto the small island, in the middle of the river opposite our site, for the birds and foxes to clean up. Val was watching as I took off to complete this task and as the river is narrow at the end of the Island the current runs very fast. I had difficulty and did a couple of 360’s trying to position the boat alongside the Island, then grabbing the Carp by the tail I took a mighty swing and launched it on its way, only to land just on the edge and roll back into the River. I just shrugged and said under my breath, DAMN, while Val could not stop laughing. The rest of the packing up went smoothly and to-morrow we are off to Robinvale to continue our Murray River Trip.

Echuca 2010

November 3rd, We moved to Echuca and booked into the Riverlander Caravan Park for a week. We were a little disappointed that we could not see the Murray River from any of the riverfront sites, so opted for a site in-between the Cabins nearer to the Amenities Block and opposite the Pool. This Park is 7 klms out of Town and is provided with river water in the taps and rainwater tanks for drinking. It has its own boat ramp so I’m expecting to finally get the boat into the water and do some fishing. I ducked into Town to pick up some groceries and took a quick look around the Port Precinct. It was amazing as it felt like taking a walk back in time. Val is going to love this Town.

November 4th, I unloaded the boat off the car and started to set it up for fishing. I’ll go to a fishing tackle shop, for some local advice. After lunch we went into Town to the Workers Club to watch the Oakes Day Races and have a few bets. My pick is still running but Val got the Quinella up and a place win as well, so she was off to good start. We decided to have a little flutter on the Pokies while we finished our drinks and for a $20 investment, took away a $100. We went down to the Port Precinct and walked through the area, taking in the wonderful old buildings and shops. We did some wine tasting, bought some delicious fudge and checked out the Paddle Steamers Cruises. We were amazed at the number of Paddle Boats and Houseboats in this part of the River. The Paddle Boat Cruises run all day every day and plenty to choose from.

November 5th, We started to-day with the “Main Power Board” blowing up, at the Park, so no electricity for 4 hours. We had to change over to LPG for the fridge and boil water for coffee in a saucepan. I finished setting up the boat and we went into Town to look at the other half of the shopping area, which included BigW and Target.

November 6th, I put the boat in the Murray River this morning and was happy to find my new Towing Hitch, which I had made with scrap aluminium from Greg’s place, worked perfectly. Went for a fish, using plastics, but didn’t get a bite. We went on the Paddle Steamer “Emmy Lou” Lunch Cruise, 1 ½ Hours on the Murray River. That brought back memories of our Houseboat Cruise on the Murray at Murray Bridge with Joan & Robert, a couple of years ago. We were envious of the holiday makers in the Units, right on the river front. It was a very pleasant and relaxing cruise with a nice lunch and a glass of Chardy. We drove around Moama, on the NSW side of the river, to check out the Town. The Sunday Markets are on there to-morrow.

November 7th, We never did get to the Markets and it was too windy for fishing, so after lunch I went into Town to look through the Holden Museum. It was a great collection of Holden vehicles, starting with a 1946 American built prototype through to the Commodore. They had a video showing the Holden history from the horse and cart days progressing through to 1975. A very interesting story for any car enthusiast. I have owned a few Holdens in my time, including the FJ, FE and Commodore models, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to have some memories re-visited.

November 8th, Went out for a fish to-day and had been told that cheese was a good bait for Yellow Belly (Golden perch) and other guests had been catching them. Obviously the fish didn’t like my cheese and I returned, once again, empty handed. I ducked into Town mid afternoon to have a look through their Historical Museum, which used to be the old Police Station, only to find it closed. I settled for a drive around Town and photographed a few of the interesting buildings.

November 9th, Had a chat with the Park Manager and was given a few tip on the best bait to use here. Soft cheese or Shrimp, caught in the river with dry dog food as bait. So will give both of them a go. I thought I had a shrimp net, from our previous Murray River adventure, but was informed that what I had was not a shrimp net. So armed with a borrowed shrimp net, I set off to try my luck. 15 minutes later I had caught a dozen shrimp and went down river to select a fishing spot. It wasn’t long before I had caught my first fish in the Murray River, unfortunately, it was a 40cm European Carp and not an edible fish, by western standards. It was a good fish to catch but being an introduced species are not to be put back into the river when caught. I’m told that Asians and Germans do eat Carp. I took a photo as proof of my catch then disposed of it humanely. Time to pack up again as to-morrow we move to Swan Hill.