On the Road - Day 2, 3, 4, 5

Lake Cullulleraine

We left Renmark after our overnight stay and didn't unhook the caravan so that saved Ron's back which gives him a fair amount of pain although he rarely complains as it could mean the end of our caravanning days and we do love travelling.

Our first stop was at Lake Cullulleraine, a freshwater lake just over the border in Victoria.  We had a walk around the lakeside, and morning tea before heading off to Mildura.

The George Chaffey Bridge between Mildura and Buronga

We had booked a site at Buronga which is just across the river at Mildura.  We were hoping we could get a riverside site but they are so popular that we should have booked much further ahead so we decided to take what we could get.  There are many caravan parks on the Mildura side of the River Murray but we have stayed at Buronga previously, we will have to remember to book well in advance next time.

Interesting sculpture at the caravan park

Not the most picturesque site but we had power and water and we are self contained

After setting up in the park, we discovered we had lost our long sullage hose somewhere along the way so we will make do with the shorter one. The maintenance man at the caravan park offered us some leftover pipe but unfortunately it was the wrong diameter, but we were able to just let the water out onto the grass.

Overnight we had some rain and it was still raining after we had breakfast so we just took our time then headed into Mildura to see if we could get a trip on a Paddle Steamer.  We booked a short trip on the PS Melbourne which was great as we had enough time to have a look around the wharf area before boarding the paddle steamer.

All steamed up!

Stoking the fire on PS Melbourne

Pelicans on the river

PB Mundoo being restored

Lock 11

We had a great trip up to Lock 11 and back to the bridge, also saw the Paddle Boat Mundoo and Coonawarra.  The weather was still a bit overcast and spitting with rain but we were prepared for the weather with rain coats.

The end of another great day on the river

Next morning we drove around Mildura and walked around the riverfront then had lunch at the Dockside Cafe which we had seen on our river trip.  It was a lovely cafe and perfect for a light lunch with lovely views and the staff were very pleasant which always makes for a good lunch.

View of Marina from Dockside Cafe

Lovely swan paddle boats for hire at the Marina

After lunch we did a bit more sightseeing and called into the Information Centre in Mildura which was really interesting and well set up for getting information with a lot of good displays.

Left Buronga Caravan Park after a cold night and headed to Lake Boga where we planned to see the Catalina Flying Boat Museum. 

 On the way we took some photos at Nyah where we had stayed before on another trip, and then to Swan Hill.  We have been to Swan Hill many times so just drove through and headed on to Lake Boga.

Paddle Steamer Gem in Swan Hill

The Catalina Museum at Lake Boga was so much better than we expected and we spent  quite some time there looking at the displays.  

The Lions Club of Lake Boga restored the Catalina A24-30 and the original secret communication bunker as a commemoration to the service men and women who served at Lake Boga from 1942 to 1947.

The museum holds many artefacts relating to the history associated with WWII including the historic Catalina Flying Boat.

Lake Boga Caravan Park