Mildura and Pinnaroo

I thought about buying some souvenirs but....

A paddle wheeler on the Murray.

A blue tongued lizard.

I stayed in the room just to the above and to the right of the front door.

The bar of the Pinnaroo.

The bar in the Golden Grain Hotel.

Saturday,  October 29^th

Today I decided to drive to Mildura in the north eastern corner of Victoria. I had heard it was a nice area to visit. I knew it was a long way and headed out anyway. It turned out to be a 750 kilometre drive through the country and a variety of regions. I stopped a couple of times along the way for a rest, including at Wycheproof where I saw a sign for the world's smallest mountain and decided to hike it. Turned out to be a nice short walk for a nice view of the surrounds. They also had a tourist shop that sold all kinds of large pieces made of metal and railroad spikes.

I enjoyed the drive. The last hundred kilometres before Mildura was all farm land and vineyards. When I got to the town, which is right on the Murray River, I found paddle wheel steamer similar to Echuca but not much else. There was a touristy area by the river with things to do for families with kids, but nothing that really interested me. I was planning on staying in town, but it was the middle of the afternoon and I couldn't find enough to keep me interested so I decided to drive south again and go to two desert regions that I had seen on the map, Big Desert Wilderness and Little Desert National Park. So I drove a hundred km south and then turned west across the top of the Big Desert and into the next state, South Australia and the rural town of Pinaroo. This is a really remote, isolated area of the country.

I came across a lizard on the road and stopped to get him off so he didn't get run over. He didn't seem to appreciate my effort and lunged at me with his mouth wide open and his blue tongue hanging out. I tried several times to get a photo of that, but he was too fast for me. Anyway, I got him off the road.

After all the driving I was looking for a 'typical' rural hotel/bar to stay at and have a couple of drinks. When I arrived at Pinnaroo I found a small town with a dilapidated main street, with two old style hotels, beside a rail line that is obviously not used any more. I checked out both bars and hotels and decided on the Pinnaroo Hotel. The hotel looked shabby and tired but the rooms had been very recently renovated, and the bathroom was new. After I checked in I went down to the bar to order 'Slowly cooked lamb shank over mashed with veg”, which was very good. I had a beer as well and talked to the bartender as there was no one else there. After a while more people showed up and I fell into conversation with a farmer of 200 000 acres of wheat and barley. He told me that the harvest was three weeks behind because of the cool, damp spring this year. He hoped that it would be a good crop but said that they never know until they get it in.

Later, I walked down to the other hotel to see what was happening there and when I sat down at the bar I found myself in the middle of a loud discussion between people on either side of the bar who were talking about the men snoring and having to wear sleeping apparatus to control it. Looking around I saw a sign that said: “Sorry no free wifi talk to each other and pretend it's 1994”.

Again I was engaged by these people who turned out to be farmers again, as they were interested in who I was and why I was there. I wish I had asked to take a photo of them, but one was a large guy with a full grey beard and a pony tail, another was a 'straighter' looking guy and the woman showed how few teeth she had when she smiled. Interesting group and we talked about farming and the state of the world, particularly the US. After a couple of beer I wandered back to my hotel for a well deserved sleep.