old house in Morgan; below, another historic building
Above, the road overlooking the river. Hotel and antique shop...
Below: leaving Morgan: kangaroos have free reign around flooded houses (some inaccessible by land due to flooding)
Final picture: Dirk proudly flaunting that he can camp wherever he damn well wants to! Note the fashionable "river shirt" ($3 from an Opp Shop)
On Day 55, we arrived in Morgan to a pattering of rain - the first time in ages. Even so, we managed to pass through Lock 2 early in the morning (which was closed incidentally and involved skirting through a construction site and paddling within the area closed off by yellow buoys) AND paddle 44 km!
Morgan, while small, is attractive. It used to be quite important historically as it was the end of the tracks for the rail to the riverland. Hence the cargo would be unloaded from the train and loaded onto paddlesteamers here. Although the day was cold and wet, it was a good day. It ended in the Terminus Hotel with a dinner that was relatively inexpensive and not bad for the price paid.
On Day 55, we took off rather late, dilly dallying (me) in walking around, shoping for a new book (I got one by Robertson Davies) and stopping again for Sunday Roast at the terminus. Mmmm. After that, we continued on the the face of wind in our faces and waves actually pushing us backwards, despite current moving forwards. We didn't manage many kms at all past the flooded "shacks" on the riverbank. (Some of the shacks looked like rather expensive holiday homes). We camped only about 10 km out as both of us were sufferent from freezing hands and feet.
As you can see from the final picture, Dirk has not strayed from his penchant for camping in places which should be off limits. It started ion Yarrawonga and continues. We left the campsite in pristine condition, however, and with a little gift left behind (a durable contraption for making coffee... since all our coffee wasfinished anyway). In addition, he also has persisted in his search for "short cuts". The short cut he took on Day 55 (only 6 km before Morgan) was designed to cut off a corner. I decided to paddle around and sat after the corner waiting for him as he paddled into pond after pond and had to portage between them.... 3 times! Glad I missed that one out.
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