The Sauce of the Murray [volume 7: Mildura to Renmark]

G'day from Renmark everybody, it's awesome to be here!

Arriving in Renmark brings us under 600 kms to go until we reach the Murray Mouth; we're well and truly on the home stretch now. It is really surreal to think that over one and a half months ago Chris and I were perched atop of the Victorian High Country where the River was only a tiny little stream that we could literally jump across. Now, over 2000 kms later, it has transformed into a truly majestic body of water that is over two full pool lengths wide; we can now really appreciate why it is the lifeblood of so may great towns and cities here in Australia.

The trip from Renmark to Mildura was particularly spectacular one. In this section of the River we passed the junction of the Darling River and the Murray, crossed the border from New South Wales and Victoria into South Australia, and saw some of the most amazing scenery and wildlife of the whole trip as we paddled through the Murray Sunset National Park. We also stumbled across a place called 'Ned's Corner Station' where we were lucky enough to be put up for two nights. Here we were able to experience the true isolation and sparseness that the desert in this part of the country has to offer (plus we had a real bed, toilet and shower for a few nights which was a huge bonus).

Here are some the many photos we took from the past seven days. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much we enjoyed paddling through them!

Where the Darling meets the Murray. The Darling is on the left and the Murray is on the right.

After being misdirected by a couple of canoers, we managed to get ourselves lost in the Wallpolla Creek System on the second night. A few desperate phone calls later, and with our prides well and truly in tatters, we finally managed to get out of there the next morning.

Ned's Corner Station. A great change from sleeping in tents for a couple of nights.

Baby birds in their nest overhanging the River.

Desert plains in the Murray Sunset National Park. Red dirt as far as the eye can see.

The River has started to get very, very wide. Huge trees on the banks form canyons for us to paddle through.

One of the many cliffs we saw in this section of the River. There were a lot of different colours, sizes, and formations, but they always managed to leave us in awe.

More cliffs...

Just one more.

We've finally made it to South Australia! After spending the past two and a half months traversing West on the border between New South Wales and Victoria, we will now begin our final journey South to Goolwa.

That's it for now. Tune in next time for our final instalment from Goolwa; a spectacular end, to what has been an awesome adventure so far. See you all very soon,

Ian