English (part 8): At our friend's place in Moama
Door: Franziska
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Franziska & Klaas
25 April 2015 | Nederland, Groningen
Monday 10th of November: Moama (Barmah Forrest)
After a lazy morning spent emailing and chatting to our friends Helen and David take us to Barmah, a small community about an hour’s drive up the Murray River. Just outside town we enter Barmah National Park, home of the world’s largest red gum forest. River red gums are enormous trees providing a very hard and heavy sort of timber, very popular with loggers and for making charcoal. No wonder most of the red gum forests, which once used to grow all along the Murray River, are gone by now. River red gums need periods of flooding for survival and reproduction. If it is too dry for too long, they start to shed the branches they are not able to support any longer. For this reason you should never pitch your tent under a red gum tree, especially on a hot day. Every year several campers are injured or even killed by falling branches of red gum trees.
Of course the red gum forest is home to a vast array of wildlife, mostly birds, but also kangaroos, koalas and emus. Helen and David booked a boat trip with Kingfisher Cruises for us hoping to catch a glimpse of the diverse birdlife in Barmah Forest. Benita our skipper is also a very knowledgeable naturalist, who can teach us a lot about the forest’s ecology and its inhabitants during this two hour cruise on the river. So far so good. There is only one problem: We are cruising the wrong time of the day! A river cruise starting at 12.30 pm might be convenient for a bunch of lazy tourists wanting to sleep in, but it is certainly not the best time to spot any wildlife. For birds and other wildlife you are far better off in the early morning or late afternoon. Unfortunately it is still off-season and the 12.30-cruise is all there is today. Therefore our bird-spotting-experience is limited to a few pelicans, some ducks and darter birds, as well as one lonely kingfisher crossing the river in a split second and disappearing in the bushes right away. Of course to some extent spotting wildlife is always a question of luck, but I really feel we would have seen much more at dawn or dusk. Although slightly disappointing from this point of view, we still had a good time: the river and the red gum forest are beautiful and Benita taught us a lot about this special environment.
Instead of heading the same way back to Moama we take a little detour to the town of Nathalia. After a late lunch at the local bakery we visit the Barmah Forest Heritage & Education Centre. Here we learn even more about the ecology of the place, the ways the forest was used by the Aboriginals and the pioneers in this area and the methods the park management uses to protect this unique environment. After this visit we drive back to Echuca taking the road on the south side of the Murray River. We stop at the wharf to take a closer look at the paddlesteamers moored here. Unfortunately the actual wharf is part of the Echuca Port Museum and can only be visited with a valid ticket. Because it is already 5 pm and the museum is closed for today, all we can see are the paddlesteamers moored further downstream and the old buildings behind the wharf. But no worries, we still have two more days in Moama and we will certainly be back in Echuca for a proper visit of the town and the port’s museum.
Back at Helen and David’s place we show them the pictures we have taken so far. We are so busy, we almost forget to have dinner. The rest of the evening is spent searching the internet for an affordable cabin or motel room in Bright. After Moama this will be our next port of call and as the weather forecast doesn’t look too good for the weekend, we don’t want to camp. While we don’t have too much trouble to find something for the first three nights of our stay there, for some mysterious reason Bright seems to be packed with tourists on Sunday night. As we can’t decide what to do just yet, we decide to postpone the booking till tomorrow and go to bed.
Tuesday 11th of November: Moama (Echuca)
This morning we continue the search for an affordable cabin in Bright. On Pine Valley Tourist Park we finally succeed in finding a standard cabin for the first three nights at a reasonable rate. We want to stay four nights though and for this last night, it isn’t possible to book online. We have to call the place to make a reservation. We are lucky and manage to get the very last standard cabin available on the campground. Seated on a bench in the garden the rest of the morning is spent updating our diary and writing articles for our travel log.
Around noon Helen and David take us to the restaurant at the Best Western Plus Madison Spa Resort for lunch. Armed with hats, caps and sung-glasses we enjoy a delicious lunch on the sunny veranda by the pool. After lunch our friends give us a quick tour of Moama, before we cross the river and head over to Echuca for a proper look at the old port. At the visitors centre we board the paddlesteamer PS Pevensey for a one hour cruise on the Murray River taking us downstream to Morrisons Winery and back up to the wharf of Echuca. Seated on big balls of wool, the freight PS Pevensey used to transport, we enjoy the scenery passing by. Back at the wharf we visit the adjacent Port of Echuca Discovery Centre, the museum telling the port’s history. After a short stroll across Echuca’s old town and a refreshing ice cream we cross the bridge back to Moama.
Before heading back to our friend’s home we make one last stop at the Horseshoe Lagoon. The lagoon is formed by a couple of old river bends cut off by a dam from the actual river bed. A nice board walk crosses the lagoon, leads to the banks of the Murray River and back to the parking lot. It is late afternoon and birdlife at the lagoon is abundant: ducks, galahs, a kookaburra, corellas and even a kingfisher are crossing our path.
Back at our friend’s house Helen prepares a wonderful dinner for us consisting of quiche Loraine, salad and a pavlova with berries and ice cream. Mmh…! Yummy! After another pleasant chat with our friends it is time to go to sleep.
Wednesday 12th of November: Moama (car club excursion)
Today we can’t sleep in as long as we did the past two days. Helen and David are members of the Echuca & District Historic Vehicle Club and they have invited us to join one of their club meetings today. The event will take place on the sheep farm belonging to two of the club members and will involve a sheep shearing demonstration, tea and a picnic barbeque. David and Helen own two historic cars, a fancy Austin Healy sports car and a somewhat less elegant Toyota Corolla, nevertheless called “Fancy Nancy”. Today we need both of them, as the four of us won’t fit in one car. It is a short but pleasant drive out to the shearing barn, where the owners John and Carol give us a warm welcome. Although we are the first to arrive, our two cars are soon joined by about a dozen other historic vehicles of all shapes and sizes, turning the paddock next to the barn into an open air car museum. Once everyone arrived, we enter the barn, where John and Carol give us some insight information about sheep farming and the production of wool followed by a sheep shearing demonstration. Although I can hardly imagine anything more typically Ozzie than that, this demonstration is something not many tourists to Australia will be able to experience. After a good old cup of tea in the shade of the barn we move back outside for a real Ozzie barbeque. The juicy sausages and delicious salads Helen brought with her taste wonderful out here! But with the sun shining all morning and hardly any shade around us it is also steaming hot. While our sunny boy David enjoys his meal seated in the full sun, Klaas and I stick to the tiny strip of shade remaining next to the barn wall. And these are only ‘moderate’ spring temperatures! I don’t think we’re made to visit this area during the summer.
Once we have cooled down in the air-conditioned environment of our friend’s home, we are ready for another little excursion. Our hosts take us out to the Torrumbarry Weir, a dam regulating the flow of the Murray River and thus providing enough water for agricultural purposes all year round. A visitors centre next to the weir tells us the story of how the barrage was built. Next to the weir is a fish ladder attracting a lot of pelicans, cormorants and other birds waiting patiently for an easy snack.
In order to thank our friends for their extraordinary hospitality, on our return we take them out for dinner at Nik’s Sunago Restaurant in Echuca. Although the sun has gone by now, it is still warm enough to dine outside. After a delicious Greek feast we return to Moama for a cup of coffee at the Moama Bowling Club. While clubs might be the most common thing in the world for people living in a Common Wealth country, to us Continental Europeans it is a completely new phenomenon. We simply don’t have this type of institutions in our country. The closest thing to a club we do have in the Netherlands is probably the golf club. But as golf is still considered a rich men’s sport over here, most people in our country have never been anywhere near to a club. If it wasn’t for our friends Helen and David, we would probably have missed out on this experience here too, as obviously you have to be a member of the club to get in. As our friend’s guests we are provided with a temporary free membership card consisting of a scan of our driver’s licences. Once inside the first thing we learn is, that you don’t necessarily have to be interested in playing bowls to be a member of the club. There are tons of other reasons to become a member. Originally built as a sports venue, the bowling club is much more than that today. Besides for bowling people come here to have an affordable meal at the club’s restaurant, to meet their friends at the café, to get married, to attend a show or to gamble at the club’s pokies (poker machines). So most of all the club is a place to socialize. And that is exactly what we are doing tonight: before we know it, we are surrounded by members of the car club, most of whom we have met this morning at the shearing hut. They had been participating in a bowling tournament earlier tonight and are now sitting down for a cup of coffee and a chat with us. After this fun, new experience at the bowling club we return home for the last night at our friend’s home, before we move on tomorrow.
After a lazy morning spent emailing and chatting to our friends Helen and David take us to Barmah, a small community about an hour’s drive up the Murray River. Just outside town we enter Barmah National Park, home of the world’s largest red gum forest. River red gums are enormous trees providing a very hard and heavy sort of timber, very popular with loggers and for making charcoal. No wonder most of the red gum forests, which once used to grow all along the Murray River, are gone by now. River red gums need periods of flooding for survival and reproduction. If it is too dry for too long, they start to shed the branches they are not able to support any longer. For this reason you should never pitch your tent under a red gum tree, especially on a hot day. Every year several campers are injured or even killed by falling branches of red gum trees.
Of course the red gum forest is home to a vast array of wildlife, mostly birds, but also kangaroos, koalas and emus. Helen and David booked a boat trip with Kingfisher Cruises for us hoping to catch a glimpse of the diverse birdlife in Barmah Forest. Benita our skipper is also a very knowledgeable naturalist, who can teach us a lot about the forest’s ecology and its inhabitants during this two hour cruise on the river. So far so good. There is only one problem: We are cruising the wrong time of the day! A river cruise starting at 12.30 pm might be convenient for a bunch of lazy tourists wanting to sleep in, but it is certainly not the best time to spot any wildlife. For birds and other wildlife you are far better off in the early morning or late afternoon. Unfortunately it is still off-season and the 12.30-cruise is all there is today. Therefore our bird-spotting-experience is limited to a few pelicans, some ducks and darter birds, as well as one lonely kingfisher crossing the river in a split second and disappearing in the bushes right away. Of course to some extent spotting wildlife is always a question of luck, but I really feel we would have seen much more at dawn or dusk. Although slightly disappointing from this point of view, we still had a good time: the river and the red gum forest are beautiful and Benita taught us a lot about this special environment.
Instead of heading the same way back to Moama we take a little detour to the town of Nathalia. After a late lunch at the local bakery we visit the Barmah Forest Heritage & Education Centre. Here we learn even more about the ecology of the place, the ways the forest was used by the Aboriginals and the pioneers in this area and the methods the park management uses to protect this unique environment. After this visit we drive back to Echuca taking the road on the south side of the Murray River. We stop at the wharf to take a closer look at the paddlesteamers moored here. Unfortunately the actual wharf is part of the Echuca Port Museum and can only be visited with a valid ticket. Because it is already 5 pm and the museum is closed for today, all we can see are the paddlesteamers moored further downstream and the old buildings behind the wharf. But no worries, we still have two more days in Moama and we will certainly be back in Echuca for a proper visit of the town and the port’s museum.
Back at Helen and David’s place we show them the pictures we have taken so far. We are so busy, we almost forget to have dinner. The rest of the evening is spent searching the internet for an affordable cabin or motel room in Bright. After Moama this will be our next port of call and as the weather forecast doesn’t look too good for the weekend, we don’t want to camp. While we don’t have too much trouble to find something for the first three nights of our stay there, for some mysterious reason Bright seems to be packed with tourists on Sunday night. As we can’t decide what to do just yet, we decide to postpone the booking till tomorrow and go to bed.
Tuesday 11th of November: Moama (Echuca)
This morning we continue the search for an affordable cabin in Bright. On Pine Valley Tourist Park we finally succeed in finding a standard cabin for the first three nights at a reasonable rate. We want to stay four nights though and for this last night, it isn’t possible to book online. We have to call the place to make a reservation. We are lucky and manage to get the very last standard cabin available on the campground. Seated on a bench in the garden the rest of the morning is spent updating our diary and writing articles for our travel log.
Around noon Helen and David take us to the restaurant at the Best Western Plus Madison Spa Resort for lunch. Armed with hats, caps and sung-glasses we enjoy a delicious lunch on the sunny veranda by the pool. After lunch our friends give us a quick tour of Moama, before we cross the river and head over to Echuca for a proper look at the old port. At the visitors centre we board the paddlesteamer PS Pevensey for a one hour cruise on the Murray River taking us downstream to Morrisons Winery and back up to the wharf of Echuca. Seated on big balls of wool, the freight PS Pevensey used to transport, we enjoy the scenery passing by. Back at the wharf we visit the adjacent Port of Echuca Discovery Centre, the museum telling the port’s history. After a short stroll across Echuca’s old town and a refreshing ice cream we cross the bridge back to Moama.
Before heading back to our friend’s home we make one last stop at the Horseshoe Lagoon. The lagoon is formed by a couple of old river bends cut off by a dam from the actual river bed. A nice board walk crosses the lagoon, leads to the banks of the Murray River and back to the parking lot. It is late afternoon and birdlife at the lagoon is abundant: ducks, galahs, a kookaburra, corellas and even a kingfisher are crossing our path.
Back at our friend’s house Helen prepares a wonderful dinner for us consisting of quiche Loraine, salad and a pavlova with berries and ice cream. Mmh…! Yummy! After another pleasant chat with our friends it is time to go to sleep.
Wednesday 12th of November: Moama (car club excursion)
Today we can’t sleep in as long as we did the past two days. Helen and David are members of the Echuca & District Historic Vehicle Club and they have invited us to join one of their club meetings today. The event will take place on the sheep farm belonging to two of the club members and will involve a sheep shearing demonstration, tea and a picnic barbeque. David and Helen own two historic cars, a fancy Austin Healy sports car and a somewhat less elegant Toyota Corolla, nevertheless called “Fancy Nancy”. Today we need both of them, as the four of us won’t fit in one car. It is a short but pleasant drive out to the shearing barn, where the owners John and Carol give us a warm welcome. Although we are the first to arrive, our two cars are soon joined by about a dozen other historic vehicles of all shapes and sizes, turning the paddock next to the barn into an open air car museum. Once everyone arrived, we enter the barn, where John and Carol give us some insight information about sheep farming and the production of wool followed by a sheep shearing demonstration. Although I can hardly imagine anything more typically Ozzie than that, this demonstration is something not many tourists to Australia will be able to experience. After a good old cup of tea in the shade of the barn we move back outside for a real Ozzie barbeque. The juicy sausages and delicious salads Helen brought with her taste wonderful out here! But with the sun shining all morning and hardly any shade around us it is also steaming hot. While our sunny boy David enjoys his meal seated in the full sun, Klaas and I stick to the tiny strip of shade remaining next to the barn wall. And these are only ‘moderate’ spring temperatures! I don’t think we’re made to visit this area during the summer.
Once we have cooled down in the air-conditioned environment of our friend’s home, we are ready for another little excursion. Our hosts take us out to the Torrumbarry Weir, a dam regulating the flow of the Murray River and thus providing enough water for agricultural purposes all year round. A visitors centre next to the weir tells us the story of how the barrage was built. Next to the weir is a fish ladder attracting a lot of pelicans, cormorants and other birds waiting patiently for an easy snack.
In order to thank our friends for their extraordinary hospitality, on our return we take them out for dinner at Nik’s Sunago Restaurant in Echuca. Although the sun has gone by now, it is still warm enough to dine outside. After a delicious Greek feast we return to Moama for a cup of coffee at the Moama Bowling Club. While clubs might be the most common thing in the world for people living in a Common Wealth country, to us Continental Europeans it is a completely new phenomenon. We simply don’t have this type of institutions in our country. The closest thing to a club we do have in the Netherlands is probably the golf club. But as golf is still considered a rich men’s sport over here, most people in our country have never been anywhere near to a club. If it wasn’t for our friends Helen and David, we would probably have missed out on this experience here too, as obviously you have to be a member of the club to get in. As our friend’s guests we are provided with a temporary free membership card consisting of a scan of our driver’s licences. Once inside the first thing we learn is, that you don’t necessarily have to be interested in playing bowls to be a member of the club. There are tons of other reasons to become a member. Originally built as a sports venue, the bowling club is much more than that today. Besides for bowling people come here to have an affordable meal at the club’s restaurant, to meet their friends at the café, to get married, to attend a show or to gamble at the club’s pokies (poker machines). So most of all the club is a place to socialize. And that is exactly what we are doing tonight: before we know it, we are surrounded by members of the car club, most of whom we have met this morning at the shearing hut. They had been participating in a bowling tournament earlier tonight and are now sitting down for a cup of coffee and a chat with us. After this fun, new experience at the bowling club we return home for the last night at our friend’s home, before we move on tomorrow.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
