20230412 Vic Hay to Nyah

20230411 We are now travelling along the Mid Western Hwy B64 with 150 klm before we hit the town of Hay, it’s the same view but different road. Passed a few vans heading north towards the warmer weather, unlike these pair of dummies heading towards the cold. We passed thousands of hectares of harvested crop’s as far as the eye can see, and once the crops cut the cattle are let loose to graze on what’s left, land is certainly put to good use in these remote areas.

Pull over Des I just have to get a photo, there were a couple of young girls from maybe Sri Lanka so I offered to take their photo but in return they asked for a photo with me, these guys always want a photo with the Aussies for some reason.

After stocking up on supplies we did a quick walk around the town then left headed across the Hay Plans towards Baladranalds.

We spotted a rest stop about 40ks from town so this is us for the night, we like these stops in the middle of nowhere.

While enjoying a drink under the awning a trucker pulled in and ended up staying the night so he joined me, but not before he checked under the seats, what are you doing I said, checking for spiders or bugs he said, I started laughing, we’ve been travelling for over 10 years and have never checked under any sets. He told me there spiders in Lebanon are tiny compared to ours and he was shit scared of them and snakes.  

The new and improved travel Shisha

Shisha but it cost much more than the one below. After setting up his Shisha he heated his charcoal on his little gas stove then packed his pipe and smoked it. OMG, he dragged on that pipe for over an hour while we sat a chatted about his country of Lebanon. Nader was his name and he’s only been in Australia for 2 years, he’s a trucker who does interstate trips. Apparently trucking is much different in Lebanon, you could work 3 days straight without any or very little sleep, much safer in Australia he said. We had a few laugh’s before he retired to bed and I couldn’t help myself as he walked off Des and I said watch out for those snakes and spiders.

The shisha is a smoking device also known as hookah, it’s made up of four parts: the head, body, bowl and hose. When Sharyn and I traveled in Turkey we tried it and wasn’t too bad, these pipes have been around for over 500 years and contrary to popular belief, it is not an instrument to smoke hashish or any other drug. The only products used are different flavours of (Turkish) tobacco, apparently it’s just a great way to slow life down and relax.

We woke to light rain so we had a light breakfast before hopping back onto the Sturt Hwy to Balranald, the council’s been busy patching the damaged road along the way.

20230412 Arriving in Balranald we parked in the free camping grounds behind the information centre, now I remember this town, it’s the town that adopted the Bull Frogs as the towns novelty. There are a few stores to browse and a RSL to quench your thirst or grab a bit to eat, in general the town is a clean tidy town that offers free showers for the travellers passing through and you can camp for up to 24 hours.

The Army, Navy and Air Force Southern Bell frogs outside the Services Club

20230413 It’s 10:00am and we just left Balranald after a nice hot shower, it amazing how just a simple shower can mean so much when you’re travelling and Balranald have just the place for you.  On our way to Swan Hill travellers along the Mallee Hwy and I’m thinking we must pass over into Victoria soon.

Passing many vineyards and orchids after leaving Balranald.

Just entered Tooleybuc and Lake Coomaroop that’s surrounded by a huge plantation and what looks like olive trees and many more. The town of Tooleybuc came to life just after the WW1 when the area became the scene of intensive agriculture, with fruit-growing being the main crop. 

In 1925, in response to pressure from fruit-growers, the lift span bridge present was erected just upstream from the old privately owned punt.

OMG Des and I just literally crapped ourselves, a truck coming towards us started swerving, man we thought we were goner’s.

Over the mighty Murray River

I was surprised to see such a huge orchard out this way and the Riverbend Orchard has 120,000 peach and nectarine trees, with an estimated $3 million crop this year.

Want a change of life, then check out “The Riverbend Orchard”, 161ha, for a mear $8.5-$9 million including land, water and improvements.

We almost drove past but Des turned around to check out camping in Nyah that sits on the mighty Murray and was settled in the 1890s

 

I’m thinking this is a carving of Mr William Lewis as below.

Wood carvings dedicated to William Lewis and son Arold Lewis for their dedication to the

district, William moved with his family to Nyah in 1894.

The old pump shed that Arold Lewis worked in as a young man.

The old pumps still remain

Takasuka made the first serious attempt at rice cultivation in south-eastern Australia. In 1906 he sowed 35 acres (14 ha) of rice on flood-prone land rented from a farmer in Nyah, on the Murray River. He struggled with floods, droughts and lack of finance in attempts to produce a viable harvest.

The End Of This Chapter