"Birding" at Milang, breakfast at Wellington, on a glorious morning

The railway used to come to Milang in the days when this was a busy freight port. The track is disused now...

...the station and remaining cars are a standing exhibit, with Devonshire Ceam Teas serves on Sundays!
You find historic railway exhibits in many rural places, often with a retired steam locomotive.

Main street Milang in the early morning light: the wetlands and lake are on the right...

Milang wetlands; main street is right behind you.

The long jetty, where barges and paddle boats would unload freight. The old crane is still in place.

A brilliant morning on Lake Alexandrina. It'd be a great day for sailing.

The view from the jetty to Paddlesteamer Drive.

Lake Alexandrina -- the shoreline, with Paddlesteamer Drive just ahead. A major caravan park is on the right.

Paddlesteamer Drive in all its glory. For years, Alexandrina Council tried to get rid of these "shacks," but
the folks who live and/or holiday down here are grandfathered in. Well, would you sell out?!

Pelicans next in the reedbeds opposite the shoreline -- see two pictures above.

Gulls, egrets and pelicans gather on the short jetty ... on your doorstep, if you live on Paddle Steamer Drive.

Turn around, look in the other direction: the sky is changing.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s Milang was as busy with trade as today it's drowsy and laid back with
boaties, fisher folk and people like us just staying overnight to share the peace and quiet.

Where you find water, you find gnats, and where you find gnats -- swallows. These are welcome swallows,
common in all coastal and watery areas in South Australia.

Welcome swallows are tiny and rarely sit still. Lucky to get this shot!

Lake Alexandrina is one of the best places in this region for "birders," and especially camera-happy birders. We sometimes try the Goolwa Bird Hide, which is a timber shed with benches and long windows, nestled in the reedbeds just short of the Coorong; but in a half dozen visits we've yet to get really good pictures. The reason is, the water is a long way off, and the birds usually so distant, they're specks in your camera lens.

At Milang, quite a number of birds are not so shy of humans. They'll hang out on the shore and jetties, and it's fairly easy to get good pictures. One of these days I'd like to go to the Bird Hide with a massive 1000mm lens attached to a DSLR camera, on a glorious blue-sky day. But till then, Milang and, just up the shore, Clayton, are the places to be.

The plan was, we'd hit the road early and head over to Wellington for breakfast. And here we go...

The Old Courthouse is exactly that: the original 19th century building that was once used as a lockup and regional
court. Its recently been renovated with B&B rooms added, while the original building houses a museum...

In the middle of the Courthouse facilities was the most fantastic indoor/outdoor courtyard dining facility.
We absolutely loved this ... sad to say, when the building/business changed hands a year or so later, the new
owners redesigned everything. It's not like this any more. Dang. See the sunny archway? Go through it, and --

--you find yourself on the lawns behind the building, with a view of the car ferry. The ferry runs about every ten
minutes, and its free. Across the Murray River is Tailem Bend, and the Duke's Highway.

Above: As you eat breakfast, look out over the river at the flocks of cavorting little corellas which swarm around Wellington by the thousands. Earplugs might be a good idea. These guys are loud even one at a time, and when you get a hundred ... whoa. (Pictures uploaded at full size: click on them to view.)

Back to the courtyard for breakfast, which ought to be just about ready by now --

There's little to add to the picture captions! Milang in the morning light was glorious -- though it was rather cold, which you can't tell from these images. The day warmed up rapidly, however, and by the time we were in Wellington it was almost hot.

The Wellington Courthouse is a great cafe/B&B, with a nice line in breakfasts and a fascinating local history musem. We haven't used the B&B yet, since we always stay about 45 minutes up the road at the Milang Lakes Motel, but we've had breakfast at Wellington Courthouse many times. It's a great place to stop and fuel up for the day before taking the ferry over to Tailem Bend. Must do the B&B there one day.

Today, we were just meandering, and birding. The whole object was to see what species we could find and photograph, and we lucked out on the shore of Lake Alexandrina, as you see above!

After breakfast we were headed for Rusticana at Langhorne Creek, and the Goolwa Barrages, and then we'd swing home in a northbound loop via Mount Compass. One more post will wrap up this trip!

Riverlands 2014 Part 1: Murray Bridge, Captain Proud and the river

This is where we're headed: South Australia's lovely Riverland ... the "mighty Murray" itself...

...but like any trip it all starts on the road. Early. Here's the South East Freeway with long morning shadows,
and we're headed for Murray Bridge. First stop: lunch on a genuine paddlewheel riverboat!

Being a sensible Mitsubishi Magna, Lola decides to take a pit stop not far out of town --

-- and as you wheel over the crest of the final hill, and leave the freeway, there's the flatlands laid out before you,
and the rural city of Murray Bridge itself.

First priority: stop for a cup of tea at Mobilong Precinct, a lovely park area with a view of the river --

-- and from Mobilong Precinct, you can actually see the riverboat at her moorings.

The Captain Proud is just beginning to take on passengers. But first --

-- being gardening enthusiasts, we couldn't resist photographing some of the gorgeous roses
at the Mobilong Precinct park. They had every kind imaginable...

On the riverfront wharf, where the Captain Proud moors, stands an original steam locomotive,
a relic of the days when the Murray River was a major freight mover.

Today, the Murray River doesn't move freight, but it's busy with recreational vessels of every kind...

...while the sky is just as busy with pelicans, welcome swallows and many other birds.

Water skiing is popular on many parts of the river, especially closer to Murray Bridge. And speaking
of welcome swallows (as in the previous caption), one got into this picture: bottom right corner!

The riverboat Captain Proud is taking on passengers in earnest now, so --

Time to board. Here's the view from the stern; and --

The dining room, where a great lunch will be served in about an hour's time; and --

The Captain Proud's salon, right on the waterline, down below.

The view from the upper deck, where passengers are welcome up beside the wheelhouse...

From a compartment down below, you can look out and see the paddlewheel turning.

And we're off! The Captain Proud has cast off moorings and is heading out into mid-river --

On the way out, you get a closeup view of the supports under the railway bridge. Check out that sign!

The riverbanks throng with houseboats, most of them for rent as holiday homes. Now, there's a thought...

From mid-water, you get an impression of how big the Murray River really is. Okay, it's not in the same
league as the Mississippi, but it's by no means small ... and it's the biggest one we have!

The Captain Proud headed downriver on this trip, toward Goolwa. On other trips, she heads north,
past Murray Bridge and toward Mannum.

Soon enough, she leaves behind the town and the riverbanks become lightly wooded, a little swampy,
a paradise for waterbirds.

Many bridges cross the river. Freight doesn't move on the river any longer, but it sure moves over it!

At this time in 2014 the water levels are pleasantly high. If we'd done this cruise a few years ago, it
would have been a very different story. Due to the drought, the river was dangerously low.

It's difficult to believe, from images like this, that only a couple of years ago South Australia was on
serious water rationing ... and the state was so worried, we built a desalination plant. Then it rained.

The course of the river has moved a little -- as you can tell from the dead, submerged trees.

All parts of the Murray River are paradise for pelicans, cormorants, herons, cranes, ducks, gulls, and more...

...and for humans too. How'd you like to be living in one of these places, with a boat landing right
at the bottom of your driveway? Whoa. That's some serious cash. But --

Right opposite, on the other bank, the river supports wide-scale agriculture...

-- including dairy, which is a thirsty industry indeed, and --

-- someone's having a go at olive growing here, which is a very smart move. This state is
tremendously proud of its olive oil, which is touted as the best in the world.

The wake of the Captain Proud. She's headed back to Murray Bridge now, but --

-- watch out for water skiers and power boats!

In fact, on this trip there was a "near miss", close enough to bring an officer from the river authorities
out to confer with the pilot of our riverboat. Some powerboat drivers are ... insane.

All along the river, thousands of willows were planted. The root masses of these trees stabilize the
riverbank. Without them, the wash from boats -- especially those powerboats -- would destroy
the bank. Willows have been used since the days when the river moved mass cargo.

And here we are back at the Captain Proud's moorings, after a great lunch, and with a long drive
ahead of us this afternoon --

We're headed out of Murray Bridge, next stops Mannum, Swan Reach, and Blanchetown.

The road goes ever on, as Tolkien said!

There are not too many places left in "accessible South Australia" that we haven't visited. Barossa, Clare Valley -- done. Mount Gambier, Keith, the limestone coast? Done. Fleurieu ... well, that's our backyard. But we hadn't "done" the Riverland yet, and we'd been wanting to, for years. So --

We booked a cabin at one of the tourist parks in Blanchetown, for overnight; we knew we'd be arriving very late and leaving very early. And all we needed to do was get a very early start on Saturday, and plan to be home late on Sunday, and we were in business.

On previous trips to Murray Bridge we'd seen (and photographed) the riverboat Captain Proud going by, loaded with passengers for their lunch cruise. Dave had been wanting to do this for some time, and since this was our 15th wedding anniversary trip -- why not? So we had to be in Murray Bridge for a certain time, to meet the riverboat, but after that the schedule was wide open.

Lunch aboard the Captain Proud was very good: traditional food and plenty of it. Roast and veggies, with apple crumble for dessert. Compliments to all the staff for a lovely experience all around. We'd like to do it again some time!

The cruise is three hours, then you're back on dry land -- in the car, in fact, and headed out for the next leg of the trip. This would take us from Murray Bridge in the late(ish) afternoon, to Blanchetown in the gold of the evening ... dawn on the river next morning, and then east, waaay east, into parts of the state we'd never visited.

That's where we'll be going in the next post in this series.