Camping in Overland Corner

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Overland Corner is on the Murray river, 3 hours drive north of of Adelaide. This is as near to bush as we are ever going to get.

Stopped for coffee on the way up at Watumba - an old mining village that was originally populated by Welsh and Cornish miners. It was not a surprise to see cornish pasties on the menu - we settled for a long black and capuccinio. Locals were very chatty and I convinced a young girl to try a cornish pasty, in respect of her ancestors. Tactfully we left before her food was served.

Setting up camp by the river, we were enjoying comparative luxuries - toilet tent, sleeping beds, solar panel driven fridge, battery driven light in tent, etc. Kate & I quickly picked up the essentials

Keep the fly sheet on the tent closed at all times

Tuck your jeans into your socks - otherwise the insects get in

Cover up everything - protection from sun and insects

Smoother yourself in insect repellent

Look where you walk

Washing in river water is good

Paul cooked us steak, sausage, onions and fried potatos for dinner, and this was following by a sit (luckily without camping songs) around a open fire. We retired to our tent at 10.30pm, closed the fly sheet and got tucked up into our sleeping bags. Our sleep was only disturbed by a wombat smelling around the trailer and sound of the occasional logging truck rumbling past in the distance.

Next morning we were pleasantly surprised to note the effectiveness of the insect spray and enjoyed a hearty bacon and eggs for breakfast. We launched the boat, Paul sorted the outboard and we pottered up and down the Murray,before and after lunch - this time catching a kangaroo on camera!! The wildlife on the Murray is indeed spectacular - in fact, as we were to find out later it can be too spectacular!!

...because later we saw a tiger snake swim up the river and wriggle to its nest adjacent to our camp. Now, unfortunately, tiger snakes are not only very aggressive but also extremely poisonous, so we erred on the side of caution and decided to break camp and head off home - in any case we were going to leave in the morning. It soon become became apparent that we were clearly swapping one danger for another - driving at night up country one runs the distinct risk of being hit by a significantly large kangaroo. These randomly appear from the bush at speed and cross the road - Paul/Janette had one close shave, but Kate and I were OK. Just after midnight we arrived back, had a shower each (river water washing is not necessarily effective), drank a noggin of whisky and fell asleep shortly after our heads hit the pillow.

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Photos

Kangaroo
Kangaroo

Camping
Camping

Murray River
Murray River