Barry and Rhonda arrived on Wednesday and we had a good time around the campfire, Deen had bought 1/2 a cubic metre of red gum firewood so we had plenty to keep us warm, although the nights were not too cold. The next day we went for a picnic together at Reed Bed Wetlands near Mathoura. It was a beautiful spot with a 200 metre boardwalk out to a dual level bird hide with great views over the wetlands. Every five or so metres along the boardwalk was a round sign giving info on the birds we could see here. If you spun the sign around a few times a speaker would broadcast the sound of the illustrated bird. Here are a couple of examples, the one on the left is a Great Egret.
There were a few birds about on the wetland but it was quite relaxing sitting watching for activity which included a two foot long fat catfish.
It was great to catch up with everyone who had arrived while we were out and we spent most of the time sitting around chatting about what was going on in all our lives. On Saturday we all went to the Barmah pub for lunch which was good quality pub grub, it was a scorching hot day so we all enjoyed the air conditioning. After lunch Pete & Barb headed home and the rest of us went into the National Park and enjoyed exploring what we could, as most of the park is still closed with flooding. For example the waterhole near the cattle yards was full, I’ve never seen it with more than a puddle in it, or dry!
The group photo below was taken in the camping area which has only one of three toilet blocks open as the others are still full of water.
On Sunday most of us headed off with only Davo and Cheryl staying until Monday. We were going to stay, but Cam & Mel have just bought a new farm so we wanted to call in as Cam could meet us there on Sunday. The property has plenty of potential with wonderful views but needs lots of work as the previous owners had let things slide. The three of us did enjoy sitting around the fire together for the first time for a while, but the wind was freezing. Cam took the tractor out of the shed so we were able to get some relief from the wind. Davo and Adam may recognise the fire bucket.
Deen and I camped there for the night to awake to a brisk morning with mist on the hills. The view is from the top of the drive near the house. The view in the other direction is even better, but I had to walk to see that one!
After our goodbyes Deen headed home to collect her precious PJ, Cam headed home to be with Cooper in his exam week (Mel is in Aruba on an assignment), and I headed for Yarram to check out the street and silo art. More on that to come. I think I will head home on Thursday as the weather outlook is for mild weather but the chill wind makes being outdoors not enjoyable.