Tocumwal Town Beach

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It felt like we were coming home as we drove back into Tocumwal Foreshore reserve. Vans and buses come; vans and buses go from popular areas such as this. The maximum stay allowed is 6 weeks. There were quite a lot of vans and buses camped here – more than usual for this time of year according to the local hairdresser.

Our days were spent reading, relaxing, swimming in the river and exploring the surrounding countryside. We devoted some of the time to investigating the history of the Air Force Base, since Wendy's dad had been stationed here in the early 50's.

Our friends from Hunter Business SWAP, Dave and Jenny Keegan had been travelling in Tasmania. We suggested that they might like to visit us on their way through to Broken Hill. They arrived right on time for a camp oven “roast” – or should we say “cremation”? The fat in the camp oven actually caught fire in the early part of the cooking process. The result was a blackened – but cooked-to-perfection leg of lamb. The meal was shared between 8 new friends and many jokes and stories were told around the camp-fire. Dave and Jenny moved on after 4 nights and then it was time for us to consider our departure from this wonderful spot. The weather is still quite warm here; the nights are cool, which makes it easy to sleep at night. The water in the river seems to be cooling down too so the frequency of our aquatic adventures is diminishing. We have enjoyed eating succulent, tender country meat, and fresh fruit and vegetables from local growers. We also visited the Hot Rod Show and Shine, the monthly market which was very good and quite big, and a 1000 year-old River Red Gum!

More photos below

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Photos

The Big Strawberry - near Tocumwal
They grow them big down here!

Great food and new friends
From Left to right Jenny, John, David, Jenny, Wendy, Michael and Christine

Hot Rods at Tocumwal
Enthusiasts come from far and wide to show off their dedication to bringing these old relics back to life.

The delicious lamb roast
Eat your heart out Tom Cruise.

The 1000 year old River Red Gum
It has been dated between 800 and 1200 years old. Peter is standing alongside a branch that had fallen, killing several people camped beneath it.

The Murray River at Tocumwal
Perfect camping and relaxing in perfect weather

Our first campfire
We had been waiting a long time for the opportunity to have a fire. It has been Summer after all.

Great camping spot
Despite it being a long weekend on the other side of the river, Dave and Jenny were able to park quite close to us.

Comments

[Gerri Koelma]

Sounds great!
What a wonderful Aussie adventure. The simple joys of life: countryside, a change of seasons, great food, lovely old friends and enjoying meals with new friends!

[Jenny]

Great to see your whereabouts!
Hey guys, it's lovely to see your pics and catch up on what you are doing and where you are! Xx