We started our Murray-Darling adventure in Khancoban, which is the start point for The Great River Road trail, that covers the Upper Murray. Seated at the foot of the Snowy Mountains, Khancoban was established in the 1960s to house workers from the Snowy Hydro Scheme.
The drive in was picturesque, as we wound our way through the mountains after leaving the freeway at Gundagai, passing through the Batlow orchards.
Our campsite was alongside the Khancoban pondage, a beautiful peaceful location; until we discovered we were sharing it with about 50 year 7 school kids on camp.
The first night we had the obligatory settling in fire, and then enjoyed the stars. So many, and so many Satellites as well!
The following morning we gave our new inflatable kayak a test run on the Khancoban Pondage. It was about an hour paddling and exploring, whilst also testing out the e-fin that gives it a bit of of a boost. It all went great until we hit a submerged stick/log that tangled itself in the power cable, and made paddling back twice as hard.
After a picnic lunch we headed out for another paddle and were much more wary of submerged trees. And then spent the remainder of the afternoon with a quick exploration of the town (it’s very small).
Next, we were on the Great River Road trail. First stop was Corryong, famous for the Poem – The Man From Snowy River.
After a visit to the local Museum and a coffee and sausage roll, we headed to the Towong race track – its claim to fame was the grandstand used in the movie Pharlap.
They were setting up for their big race day whilst we were there, the Towong Cup, and we were very tempted to book in but it was all booked out. Would have been a fun day!
The next few stops were information sites and lookouts along the trail that typically had sculptures of local fauna.
After a lunch stop in Walwa, we arrived at our next camp (across the border) mid afternoon; a free camp along the Murray, right next door to the Jingellic Pub. Perfect!
It was a great camp area and very busy due to it being a public holiday in VIC, along with the big raceday in Towong. They were running a free bus from Jingellic to the races for the campers.
The next morning we packed and headed to the only shop in town, a general store and cafe, for breakfast. It was packed, with everyone frocked up for the races. Most of them were driving utes, 4-5 per car, with eskies and swags in the back. It was going to be a big day out.
We then crossed the border back to Victoria and rejoined the trail.
Once we reached the edge of Lake Hume it was amazing to see the river travel across the flood plain. The water level was very low so you could see the natural course of the river of old as you head towards the dam wall.
The finish point for the Upper Murray trail was Bethanga Bridge, the crossing point of Lake Hume, heading to Albury/Wodonga.
There was much more water here, and a lot more activity. Particularly speedboats with doof doof music blaring, as well as jet skis terrifying everyone. We had a site booked it the caravan park but once we saw it and the activity we realised it wasn’t for us and hit the road in search of another free camp, and the next stage of our journey.