Loxton to Wood Wood

{Written Thursday night but there was no Telstra coverage so no way to post it)

Click on images to see them in full size with captions.

As I sit here out the front of the Wood Wood General Store I am listening to Chinese music and occasionally a man joining in with the singing. Two men are enjoying their Iron Jack 6 pack which they bought for $15 before the shop shut at 6:00. We’re the only campers in the Caravan Park which has nice green lawns and plenty of trees. Although all the cabins seemed empty when we arrived this afternoon the occupants have gradually arrived home from work. There seem to be a couple of Pacific Islanders and the rest Asian.

 

Mural depicting the local area in the early days.

We were lovely and cosy last night at Loxton even though the temp dropped to 8 deg. Both of us enjoyed the Niagara Falls type showers in the immaculate amenities before we set off for Robinvale. At Merbein we stopped for a snack and came across a man trying to dig out a small car from a sand bog near the town toilet block. It obviously didn’t register with the driver that “If you’re not moving forward you’re going down”.

Never heard of this brand. – Merbein

Old tractor beside the vines. Merbein

We crossed the border into Victoria then went across the river into NSW and Mildura then back across the river again into Victoria at Robinvale. We were surprised by the number of Asian food shops in Robinvale as well as a Chinese medical practice in the main street but now we’ve decided a lot of the workers on the fruit blocks must be Asian. We’ve passed acres and acres (or hectares) of vines, Citrus, Almond and Olive trees.

White plastic covered thousands of grape vines, not sure how it’s protecting them.

Old tractor beside the vines. Merbein

At this time of year??? Yes, water Skiing comp. is on this weekend at Robinvale.

Robinvale visitor.

The lady in the Tourist Office informed us it was one of the busiest times of the year because it was a long weekend in Victoria for Labour Day! I decided on Tooleybuc as a place to stay because of the great name unfortunately the Caravan Park there wasn’t appealing to us. That meant we crossed back over the bridge again into Victoria and on to this tiny place called Wood Wood. It’s on a bend in the river and is a nice spot for a stop but I wonder what all the workers do avoid boredom when they’re here for probably months on end apart from sit outside the General Store and drink Iron Jack.

Idyllic River setting -Wood Wood

Beautiful old Gum, Wood Wood

Musing

Musing 2

Swallow, waiting for bugs, maybe.

On our way into Wood Wood we passed a Willow Tree plantation, (not Weeping Willows),  the wood is being grown to be made into cricket bats.