2 Geckos Travelling Australia: Sun, 29th November, 2015 Quicks Beach, Murray Valley NP, Barooga to Finley Beach, Tocumwal Regional Park, Vic side (sightseeing)

Warmer night, 20 degrees at 8am. So nice to be able to sit outside for breakfast enjoying the sunshine, the river and all the birds – and a few flies!!

The duckies popped in for breakfast – they like Cornflakes too.

The blue sky is getting covered in a thin cloud layer as we pack up.

Short drive to Tocumwal ‘Playground of the Murray’ – saw this plume of black smoke as we head into town. We are keeping an ear out for fire warnings. NSW have a total fire ban from 1^st October without a permit.

Drove through town past the old bakery.

Lots of cars around the fire station so they must all be off fighting the fire.

Over the bridge across the Murray and back into Victoria.

Turned off into the Tocumwal Regional Park where there are a few beaches to choose from. Headed down the track to Finley Beach where there are lots of vans and tents but we found a great spot by the edge of the beach. The locals set themselves up for the summer with their old vans etc and then just come and go as they please.

Set up camp and had some lunch. Watched a glider leave it’s host plane and then glide across the sky. A sprinkle of rain fell as the clouds went over.

Headed off to explore. Back along the road we turned off downstream to check out the old bridge. It was built in 1895 and had the lift up bit like the Cobram-Barooga one. Then it became the train bridge.

Walked across back into NSW.

A few boats downstream fishing as the fish ban stops at the road bridge here, so downstream you can fish.

Drove down the track to check out Apex Beach. The 4knot zone finishes upstream of here so they can waterski here.

Back onto the main road and over the bridge into Tocumwal – looking at the old bridge.

Drove down to check out the historic railway station. It has been restored by the Lions Club and is open by appointment so we just had a walk along the platform. In January 1905 the Victorian Railway reached the Murray River at Tocumwal. Transfer of the railway line from the Victorian side to the NSW side was considered. Discussions took place in June 1906 and Mr GF Sugden offered five acres of land for the railway station. The Victorian Government agreed to the cost of laying the rails and strengthening the bridge. The morning of the 9^th July, 1908 saw the historic event of the first stock train with 24 trucks of sheep crossing the bridge. A passenger train followed later that afternoon. In December, 1911 a daily train service to Tocumwal commenced. Tocumwal remained a Victorian station until 1941, when it was transferred to the NSW Railways. Due to the different gauge sizes, NSW Railways set about extending the Tocumwal Station to become a major trans-shipping port with spur lines in both gauges being laid to serve increasing traffic, particularly the need of the military. In 1957 both the Railway Depts employed nearly 80 men in Tocumwal. The Railway Station at Tocumwal was for many years cattle and sheep trucking yards, moving the stock from the Southern Riverina to saleyards at the now closed Newmarket Saleyards in Melbourne. The yards were also the scene of a large cattle selling centre during the 1940s and 50s.

The old flour mill near the track.

Next was the Terminus Hotel and then the Old Railway Store.

Drove along trying to find the dump point but found where the fire was instead. Looks like they lost their home.

Parked next to the big Murray Cod – Steve doing a ‘Rex Hunt’. In 1967 three foresighted women who made up the auxiliary of the local Chamber of Commerce decided that Tocumwal needed ‘something different’ to put the town on the map. For many months they gathered support and raised 3 thousand pounds (the cost of the fish). It was the second ‘Big Thing’ to go on display in Australia.

Tocumwal Granite taken from ‘The Rocks’ quarry is used extensively for exclusive buildings and decorative projects. Will have to find The Rocks as it is supposed to have a ‘Blow Hole’.

Unfortunately the Info Centre was closed today so will have to come back tomorrow. Walked down to the boat ramp. It is the Corellas they are trying to scare off with their explosions we heard.

Fish information – the Murray Crayfish we saw a Jingellic.

On the map it said the sign with the big number on it is the distance from the Murray River mouth as you would travel by river. At Quicks Beach it was 1922 – we thought it was houseboat markers.

Walked around to the new boat ramp and pontoon. Lovely mural on the wall.

Onto the pontoon to stand in the middle of the Murray River – Steve thought about going for a dip!!

Looking across to Victoria and Pebbly Beach.

Followed the river walk reading all the signs about the birds. Heaps of Corellas here so their scare tactics aren’t working.

Looking back to Pebbly Beach then looking upstream towards Town Beach (on the left) and then around the corner would be Finley Beach on the other side of the river.

River Red Gums.

We walked out onto another platform over the intake pipes which were pumping water into town.

A group floated by.

Someone cut a hole in this tree.

Silver Wattle. You would think it would be called Golden Wattle by the colourful bloom.

Will have to keep an eye-out for these guys. Roz put a photo on FB of two cuddling.

Haven’t seen one of these – they aren’t as cute as the other kingfishers.

Came out at Town Beach camp area, $5 per person per night here but you get water and a dump point for the money. Plenty of room.

Great trees but no koalas but found some Easter Rosellas.

The willows that the old captains planted to aid their navigation during flood times.

Went to the end of the beach where we could look across to the end of our beach area.

Found the distance marker – now we are 1888 kms from the mouths.

Further along we could see across to our van.

Finley Beach.

Evidence of the falling limbs that do a lot of damage.

Steve’s collected a few free-loaders.

Back to the Info Centre where we saw a glider on top.

Cute hot rod.

Back across the river into Victoria and back to our camp. People were looking up the tree so I checked it out – mummy koala with her baby. So cute. Took a couple of videos as she started to climb down the tree. Amazing they want to be here where there are so many people and dogs. A dog came so she climbed up again a bit and settled down for a while.