When we left Victor Harbour yesterday, we took the scenic route to Murray Bridge that took us past Lake Alexandrina. We stopped at the small township of Milang where we read of the importance of Lake Alexandrina as a river port in the mid 1800's. In fact it was South Australia's busiest port connecting Adelaide (47miles) with the thriving river trade. Both wool and wheat were exported through the port. The jetty has decreased in length over the years and standing proudly at the end is South Australia's oldest hand crane. I loved the small colourful fishing huts along the banks of the lake just south of the jetty.
Back in the car and the next township we pass is Langhorne Creek. This area's rich soil is perfect for wine production as seen by the hundreds of acres of vineyards on either side of the road. I truly love this area of South Australia, i.e. Fleurieu Peninsular, and would gladly return here. It is not far from Langhorne Creek to Murray Bridge. We have arrived too early for our check-in at the caravan park so we make our way to the Visitors Centre to gather some information about the area. The brochure showing us "The Discovery Trail Walk" has us interested so we plan that for our second day. The caravan park is called the Murray Bridge Marina Camping, & Caravan Park and when we take a walk late in the afternoon we wander down to the marina. Literally dozens of houseboats are moored here each and every evening. There are also houseboats for hire and we recall our time with our friends, Lynn & Graham, when we spent a week on a houseboat on the Murray River. Philip and I were laughing our heads off thinking about the near misses we had with that jolly boat!
So, today was the history walk. The weather has turned very rapidly from cold to hot but we are pleased to put the warm clothing away and pull out our shorts and t-shirts. We started our walk around 9am knowing that the day was going to be warm. The 4.5k walk begins and end at the Information Centre. Actually it supposed to be a lot shorter walk but we tacked on a lot more by heading off in different directions. There are several precincts that we enjoyed walking. First is the Bridge and Sixth Street with a very fine Town Hall built in 1911 that hosts a range of events and concerts throughout the year.
The next area that we walk is the Railway Precinct and it was a very busy area from 1880 until the 1970's. There are a number of restored cottages here but sadly not open today. I loved the "dunny" with its "out of order sign". The toilet has a distinct lean......
Next place we come upon is the Round House. This hexagonal shaped residence was build in 1876. It was exceptionally grand for the time when most people were living in small pine cottages. There are magnificent gardens surrounding the home with sweeping views of the Murray River. We pay for the tour inside the house and told that we can pick up any of the items that are laid out. We are told we can write on the old slate, dress in top hat and tails, or even write a letter using nib and ink as we wander around. We didn't do any of those things but how terrific that they allow it!
From the Round House it is a walk down a path to the rivers edge where the Murray Princess is docked. She really is a grand old paddle ship and we waited until she set sail so we could watch the giant paddle turning and churning the water.
Our walk now takes us under the bridges. We read that the bridges were such an important link between Adelaide and Melbourne back in the early 1900's that they were guarded 24 hours a day seven days a week during World War Two. Its is sad to see so many signs pointing to sunken vessels.
We have the choice here to continue along the riverfront or end our walk. We decided to extend the walk because it is just so lovely walking through the Sturt Reserve on the riverbank. There are families setting up places for lunch, fisherman casting their rods, rowers entering the water for their morning paddle, all types of watercraft on the Murray including water-skiers. It gives us an insight into the lives of the people living in Murray Bridge.
The last place we stop is Wharf Hill where we enjoy beautifully landscaped gardens and admire the view from the Gazebo sitting proudly at the top of the hill.
Murray Bridge has been a bit of a surprise really. It is much larger than we anticipated but still has a country town feel. Although the town sits on the banks of the Murray River it looks like a very dry place. There are certainly areas of lush green areas as seen in the Sturt Reserve, but there is not a blade of grass anywhere in our caravan park (the owners did warn us) and the same can be said for most of the homes in Murray Bridge. This seems surprising to us.
Tomorrow we move further north to the Riverland where we are booked into one of the caravan parks in Berri. I am looking forward to seeing this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment