We had lunch in idyllic surroundings with Great Egret, Great Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Pelican and unidentified fish jumping out of the water for company.
We did the tourist thing and took a paddle steamer ride down through Lock 11 to Apex Park and back. Fascinating being propelled by the original wood fired steam engine. The crew have some difficulty getting a regular supply of good wood not so much because it is hard to get permission to harvest it but rather because no-one wants to cut timber for a living any more.
The view of the weir and the lock were also interesting. The weir is the only surviving example of a unique design by an Australian engineer named Dethridge. It is made up of many steel sections and can be winched right out of the river to allow flood water un-impeded passage.
The heights of past floods is of considerable interest to the locals and are recorded on buildings and signs. Their building code requires that all houses are 750mm (2ft 6in) above the 1956 flood level which is 8 metres (27 ft) above the normal level of the river.
Each mile of the great River Murray is pretty much like every other mile so we were more than happy to return to Mildura Wharf after two hours.
We did see Welcome Swallows (which nest on the paddle steamer), Darter, Great Cormorant, Whistling Kite, Silver Gull, Galah, Crested Pigeon, Wood Duck, Little Pied Cormorant, Sacred Ibis, Great Egret, and Noisy Miner.
Visited Woody in the afternoon. He seemed somewhat less exuberant than yesterday. He had sneezed during the morning and had coughed up blood and experienced a sharp pain which persists. The medical staff have told him there is nothing wrong!.
The hospital is talking about his early release but he doesn't feel it is right to be discharged until he is fully able to look after himself. Since the only accommodation available to him would be the floor of his brother's living room and since he can't lie down comfortably, roll over without severe pain from either his ribs or his pelvis, or stand or walk for any length of time I feel he is right.
To find some peace and quiet, we decided to stay overnight at another caravan park by the river.
This one was next to the local private zoo and it was not machinery but animals which disturbed the tranquility.
We took one of the tourist drives to a town close by called Merbein.
This place is notable because Charles Sturt, the explorer, passed by and because the town was supposed to be called Merebin, a local aboriginal word, but some bureaucrat misspelled it and Merbein it is. We will, of course always think of the place as Merebin.
The local Rotary Club has set up an unusual memorial to the pioneers who settled and developed the area. On a cliff top overlooking the river, they have planted many native trees, each one dedicated to a family of settlers with the date of their arrival and the number of the Block they settled. In time this will become a truly impressive place with deep shade so welcome in this sun-drenched climate.
We visited Woody in the afternoon, finding him in low spirits. He has been thinking dark thoughts about his future and about doctors, the government, and insurance companies. We will stay on here until he is more his normal self.
Visited Woody in the morning and took another tourist drive looking for an unusual picnic spot for lunch.
We found ourselves on the "River Road" which is really a 10 kilometre dirt track with deep ruts and with trees overhanging and, in places only 2.5 metres (8 ft) apart, a very exciting drive in a 5 tonne truck! It does provide superb views of the river.
We had lunch in idyllic surroundings with Great Egret, Great Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Pelican and unidentified fish jumping out of the water for company.
When we eventually reach the objective of this journey, the Psyche Bend Pumping Station, we found that it will be working and open to view next on 12 April.
When we got back to the hospital, we found Woody's Uncle Bob and Aunty Pat had driven up from Adelaide to see him.
Happily Woody was in better spirits so perhaps his speedy recovery will continue.
Spent the morning mending the awning which had suffered a minor coming together with a tree yesterday.
The temperature was over 40degC so we slept most of the day.
Woody seems better today.
Today, we headed for Wentworth, the site of the confluence of the two great rivers, the Murray and the Darling.
On the way we visited the Australian Inland Botanical Gardens. This is an extraordinary place, located in the farthest corner of New South Wales in the midst of artificially irrigated citrus orchards.
The collection is very new and only a quarter of the 160 hectares (400 acres) is presently in development. There are sections representing each of the major climate/soil types of Australia.
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In the centre is a Rose Garden with a stunning collection of roses laid out in a very formal, circular arrangement with each sector of the circle containing a different colour, whites, yellows, pinks, reds, crimsons, and purples.
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Each bed has many specimens of the one variety so there is a mass of colour, a heady perfume, and, at close range, individual examples of the most magnificent blooms.
All this, set in a dry, red-soil semi-arid environment, is a tribute to the gardeners.
We visited Woody in the afternoon. His condition has certainly improved. He said he had had a good day because he had coughed up some more blood during physiotherapy and had been able to show the doctor and have him agree that he was indeed suffering from something even if they didn't know what. He is still some way from being self-sufficient but he makes progress.
Woody demonstrated his oddness in a big way. When offered his antibiotic capsule he peers at it intently, twists the two halves and then swallows it. "What are you doing, Woody?" I ask. "Making the words line up" he replies.
Walking around the island formed by the lock cut at Lock 11, we were amazed to be able to observe at close quarters a flock of more than twenty Whistling Kites. They were perching in a tree close to the river bank and we were able to see them from all angles as they flew around us. There is no doubt they were Whistling Kites rather than Little Eagles. We spent quite some time watching them and marvelling at our good fortune.
Woody has improved yet again. He has some way to go yet but I think his recovery is now assured.
This morning we washed the Motley in the local carwash. It now looks well loved.
We returned to Lock 11 for lunch today. In addition to all the common resident birds, Wood Duck, Crested Pigeon, Silver Gull, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Noisy Miner, today we sighted Glossy Ibis, Sacred Ibis, Galah, and Grey Butcherbird.
Woody has been told that he will be discharged from hospital before the weekend. He says he wants to stay with his brother until he is fit enough to drive. He will then decide whether to go back to Sydney and find work or to go to Adelaide to see his mother and then resume his journey to Perth. Apart from the persistent chest pain and bleeding, he seems OK.
Today we went to Bottle Bend for lunch.Twenty kilometres up river from Mildura, the picnic area is on the banks of the river in a mallee forest.
"Off the Beaten Track" says there is a saline water pumping station nearby but we couldn't find it.
We did see Great Egret and White-faced Heron as well as Adelaide Blue-cheeked Rosella.
We went to the hospital to visit with Woody only to discover that he had just been taken to theatre for a bronchoscopy. At last someone is trying to find out what is wrong with him.
He had his test and the result was no injury found. He expects to be discharged tomorrow.
He said today that he doesn't think he can spend much time living at Tony's where there is no bed and was planning to seek alternative accommodation.
Woody was discharged from hospital today. Eileen drove up from Warnambool and Tony took the afternoon off work so we didn't visit.
Instead, we went to the Arts Centre which incorporates the home of W.B.Chaffey, the founder of Mildura. Clearly Chaffey was the Brian Quigley of the town.
On exhibition was a collection by the Bogside artists. This is a statement in paintings and photographs of the Catholic position regarding the war in Ireland. It is very powerful stuff.
The other collection on exhibition, called Palimpsest, was a statement by local artists concerning the changes in the land. The words of the artists in the catalogue seem so trivial compared with the strong images from the Bogside artists that we decided not to see it. Perhaps we should have viewed it first.
Outside the building is a collection of sculpture so uninspired that we decided to keep a near perfect pine cone we found near one of the sculptures as a demonstration of the beauty of nature surrounded by, and surpassing, the crass efforts of the so called artists.
We went on to the Old Mildura Homestead, a recreation of the first farm in Mildura. Some interesting things there including a poster entitled We are Survivors.