Wentworth

Sunday 10^th April

Today we decided to head 30 km west to the small town of WENTWORTH, most famous for being at the junction of the Murray and the Darling Rivers.  For those of you who lack a better understanding of the geography of Australia, the Murray is Australia’s largest river, while the Darling is Australia’s longest.  The Murray also has the distinction of being the third largest navigable river in the world after the Amazon and the Nile.  So where the two rivers meet is of course quite a significant place for Australia.

On the way to WENTWORTH, we called in at ‘Orange World’. Another well advertised ‘Tourist Attraction’.  Basically it was just a Large Citrus Orchard offering free tasting, and a $30 tractor ride around the property.  By the time we left, we knew enough about bloody oranges and how to grow them, to keep us from eating them for the rest of our lives.  Another well over advertised so called attraction. Never mind, we did come away with some very nice Orange Blossom Honey.

On arrival in WENTWORTH we went down to the river junction.  Unfortunately the recent floods had left a lot of the riverside a muddy bog, and access to the lookouts and good photo spots was impossible.  However we did manage to see this rather important part of Australia, and enjoyed our lunch in a nearby park.  There was a pole showing the height of the highest recorded flood, which occurred in 1956.  At its peak the river was 13 feet above normal, and apparently the whole town of Wentworth was in serious danger of being literally, swept away.

This is where the Fergie 24 tractor became famous. Apparently there were several in use on nearby farms and they were called in to help.  Mounted with a rear scoop, they were used to help build stop banks and fill sand bags.  The locals were so impressed with their performance, they erected a statue of one mounted on a pole, in the park.

After lunch we drove out to the PERRY SAND DUNES, a sort of wilderness area where for some unknown reason a series of red coloured sand hills has accumulated.  During the war the Air Force used them for bombing practice, but nowadays it’s just a great place for kids to run, jump and explore.

Back in WENTWORTH we called into the local Sports club for a beer and chips.  From the street their building looked pretty impressive and we were more curious to have a look at it than the need for a beer.  For a small town this was a huge facility.  Walking into the dining room come lounge bar area, was a bit like walking into the Auckland Casino.  It just seemed so out of place to have such a huge upmarket facility in a small town, but their beer was cold, and their chips absolutely delicious.

It is from WENTWORTH that we will head north to BROKEN HILL, a distance of 265 km, with nothing in between.  This will be our first experience of the outback.  While we were in HORSHAM, we had rung the Mitsubishi Dealer in MILDURA and booked the Pajero in for its 60,000 km service.  Although we are only on 55,000 km, we thought it best to get the service done before we ‘go outback’, so tomorrow we will be carless for at least half a day, but at least we will have the peace of mind of knowing our wheels are all in good working order.