Murray River: first sighting

We’ve made it! Garry has finally spent a night on the banks of the Murray River. We’re currently in Euston on the NSW side of the river near the Victorian town of Robinvale. When we first planned our itinerary, we mapped it out in such a way that it could be driven in its entirety without ever crossing into Victoria. While the border had reopened, we thought it prudent that we always stayed overnight in NSW – just to be safe! As a result, we’re staying in several towns where the NSW destination is often a sleepy twin of its nearby Victorian neighbour.

Euston is one such town. It’s basically one street village on the banks of the Murray River. The biggest venue in town is the local community club. We’re staying overnight in one of its riverside motel units. Here we can sit on the porch and look out over the mighty Murray. Sadly, our first river vista is somewhat marred by the presence of large power pylons spanning the river in this location.

Earlier in the day, we stopped at the Shear Outback centre. Located outside Hay, this venue celebrates Australia’s iconic sheep shearing traditions. Here we watched them shear a sheep and toured its interpretative centre filled with all manner of shearing paraphernalia and outback farming exhibits.

Today's scenic lunch spot was the Swing Bridge in Balranald on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. This proved to be a picturesque location filled with wildlife including plenty of Rosellas and Kookaburras. The area also has a scenic walking track. However, recent rains have flooded the area so this excursion was off the table today.

We’re also patting ourselves on the back as we enjoy some much-needed COVID-free outback air. With more than 11,200 new cases in the state of New South Wales today we think it’s the best place to be.