The car was packed up with all our gear for camping in Mildura. Its always a bit of puzzle to get it all fitting in but Dave always seems to make it work.
With the dogs on Dave’s lap and me driving we set off on our way to the dog prison ( kennel).
We don’t like having to leave the dogs but they are too out of control to take with us and would be really annoying. With them safely dropped off we head on our way to Swan Hill.
Swan Hill Fish and Chips
After about 3 hours of driving in the rain we reached Swan Hill and went for a walk up and down the main strip. We found a fish and chip shop and had some lunch. We did go out of our way to visit Swan Hill but decided we could have given it a miss. Not much happening in Swan Hill that we could see.
And then the clouds started to clear the closer we got to Mildura
By the afternoon and getting closer to Mildura the rain cleared up making driving much easier. I hate driving in the rain and much prefer the safety of a nice clear view and dry roads. There was one point where a truck going the opposite way pulled out onto our side of the road to avoid hitting a parked truck. I had a little room to move to the left, which I did, and managed somehow to live another day! My heart was beating so loud and hard for quite awhile afterwards. That is why I hate driving in the rain.
About and hour out of Mildura we drove along a great stretch of road where there were rows and rows of what looked like orange trees. Occasion- orange tree plantation, then grape vines with white plastic
What the? Tent on a slab of concrete
We arrived at the Buronga Riverside Caravan Park at around 4.30 and found the office to check in. There was a bit of queue for assistance and chit chat in the line about the previous nights wet weather. It had apparently poured down. Lucky timing for us that we missed it because when we found our allocated campsite ( and i had requested a river view site so it was right on the river)it was quite boggy around the concrete slab was where we were going to put our tent.
The concrete slab had mud and twigs from the down pour the night before and we were offered a broom by our campsite neighbors. They had watched and listened to our conversation about putting up the tent over the concrete slab as suggested by the park owners. We gratefully accepted their offer and swept all the crap off the slab. Once clear we laid out the tarp and tent and had the tent up in no time. I unrolled and unplugged our self inflating mattresses and we finished unpacking our stuff.
We cooked our dinner ( Koftas on the Coleman stove, with some yoghurt, tabouli and pita bread) with the backdrop of the beautiful sun setting over the river. Directly opposite was a new facility with bright lights that lit up the river with pretty reflections.
Was it ok sleeping on the concrete? Yes it was. It was flat even ground – and less annoying than putting your tent up on an uneven ground and spending the night sleeping on an angle and feeling like you are going to rollover.