We have now moved on to Robinvale, about 130 km along the road from Swan Hill. The road closely follows the course of the river for much of the way. The landscape is dominated by irrigated farmland of all sorts, but mostly grapes, olives and citrus trees with increasing acres of olives and almonds as we approached Robinvale. Some sheep as well. We stopped beside the river bank at Nyah for some morning tea, an attractive free camp area here at the sporting field complex.

A little further along a short detour across a single lane bridge over the river took us to Tooleybuc. A small town with a landscaped riverbank area and restored Bridgekeeper’s cottage. We managed to get a shot of the van doing the bridge crossing inbetween a steady stream of heavy vehicles taking a shortcut to Balranald and one of the inland routes through western NSW up to Queensland.

A little further along we came to Boundary Bend, a town where there is a big bend in the river and a great photo opportunity. I suspect that is how Boundary Bend got its name. Olives are big in this area, with a local production centre for oil products.

Not far out of Boundary Bend, and about 50 km from Robinvale, there is a turnoff down a gravel track to the junction of the Murrumbidgee River and the Murray. It was tempting to follow this track but with the van in tow and the track getting a little ragged we abandoned the venture, deciding that there might be another opportunity in the future to see this significant geographical site.

So it was back to the main drag and the run into Robinvale past more grapes, olives, almonds and citrus trees. We have planned two nights here at Robinvale beside the river. Not doing too much either. Not that there is a lot to see anyway. The town is much smaller than Swan Hill. It does though have a claim on fame in being a sister town to Villers Bretoneux, a bell from V-B sits atop a brick archway into a garden area. The name Robinvale is derived from a local resident, Robin Cuttle, who was shot down near V-B in WW1. ‘Robinvale’, farewell Robin.

On the other side of the river is the town of Euston which is home to a weir and Lock 15 on the river. The weir and lock is also accessable from Robinvale. But the Euston side gives some great views of the river cliffs downstream. The river is flowing quite strongly, plenty of water is coming over the weir and stirring up the river below.

Back at the campground we settled in for an afternoon by the river watching the sun set and later a fire to warm the bones. It is rather chilly after the sun goes down. ‘Oddity’ appeared on the river, slowly moving along the river towards the bridge before turning back and mooring up in front of us. A couple of grey nomads were on board.

‘Oddity’ is run by a washing machine motor and is solar powered, a small outboard is available for emergency needs. A home build job and not much bigger than a small caravan. It is transported around on the back of a truck when not in the water. The occupants are travelling along the river and are in no hurry to get anywhere. It left the next morning on its journey along the river. Maybe we will see it further along in our travels.

Next stop, Mildura for a few days.