River Murray, South Australia

 

I hope you find these photos interesting, of the River Murray in Mannum, which were taken in December 2022 prior to the peaking of the flood.

In December, before Christmas, we did a day trip to Mannum to see what the River Murray was like as the water was reported as rising and predicted to peak some time after Christmas. 

  

 These photos were  taken just north of the town of Mannum on the road to  Purnong, a small community along the river.                                                                                                            

The seats beyond the tape are submerged

Preparing to install one of the levy banks near the caravan park

The main street of Mannum being prepared for a levy bank

One of the cabins at the caravan park is looking like it might have to be removed

The levy bank will help some of the businesses

The Dry Dock is not so dry

The Murray Princess in Mannum 

Today, Tuesday 10th January, we had another trip to Mannum and some of the small towns nearby as we had some things to do in the town so afterwards we drove around to see what was happening with the river as it was supposed to have peaked.  The 4 photos below were taken in Murray Bridge and it is amazing how the water has spread across the flood plains, inundating some of the farms and river shacks.

Sturt Reserve, Murray Bridge

Murray Bridge

Murray Bridge

More photos along the river in Mannum.

Calloote, a small community along the River Murray where there are quite a few holiday houses

Mypolonga, where we used to waterski from the river bank

Many roads now closed to traffic

Cattle near the river

The Indian Pacific in Murray Bridge

The Bunyip (under water) ,Sturt Reserve, Murray Bridge

Signs everywhere, alerting people to the dangers

Swans enjoying the River

We do wonder how these small communities will ever get back to normal, as the damage will be enormous and the clean up after will be hard work too.  These small communities are going to struggle, but I am confident that people will help each other and I know many from Adelaide are going to these small places and are spending money at the businesses to try and help them as much as possible as without the businesses the towns will also struggle.

Fun in the Sun in Farina

Winter has arrived here and it is cold and wet, and I am not a happy winter camper.  So, to keep me happy we decided to head north where it should be warmer.

On a cool and cloudy morning our first stop was at a rest area near Brinkworth,  about 2 hours from Adelaide, where we stopped for a break.

The sky is looking better

After Brinkworth there were quite a few stoppages due to roadworks, some for as long as 10 minutes which made a difference to our travelling time as in between the stops we were limited to 40 km/hr in places and even down to 25 km/hr in some. 

When we left home the weather was cool at 12C with some light rain and overcast.  By the afternoon we had warmer weather and even stopped at the small town of Laura to buy the famous Golden North ice cream which is made locally and sold all over the country.

We stopped overnight at Melrose, another small town, at the Monument camping area.

Goyder's monument

Goyder's Line is a line that runs roughly east–west across South Australia and, in effect, joins places with an average annual rainfall of 10 inches (250 mm). 

North of Goyder's Line, annual rainfall is usually too low to support cropping, with the land being suitable only for grazing.

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We had a good night's sleep and when we woke up the sun was shining so that was a pleasant surprise.  On the road we again encountered  more roadworks but soon arrived at the small town of Quorn, where we have stayed a few times, so we just did a quick drive around, took some photos but after we had driven around twice we got a few odd looks from the locals so decided to head north before they ran us out of town!

More roadworks

It is apparent from all the ruins around this area that Goyder was correct in his surveys, and many families had to walk away from their homes and properties because of the many years of droughts.

Ruins near Mt Brown Creek

Ruins of hotel at Itali Itali ruins

Scenery along the way

Entrance to Quorn

Savings Bank of South Australia 1890's

Quorn Railway Station

Quorn is home to the famous Pichi Richi Railway, a restored steam loco, which is run by volunteers and chugs through the beautiful Flinders Ranges countryside taking tourists on a half day trip in the comfort of restored carriages.

 Pichi Richi Railway: Authentic outback railway in the Flinders Ranges

Our next stop was for fuel at Hawker.

Jeff Morgan panorama gallery in Hawker

photo from Jeff Morgan website

We left Hawker after filling up our petrol tank and our water tank.  Many of the towns have Dump Points for caravans and motorhomes to empty onboard toilets, so that is a bonus when travelling because when we first started our caravanning trips it was not always possible to find Dump points.  

And then it rained

We spotted this Eagle on the road but could only get a photo after it flew off into a distant tree

Finally, we arrived at Farina where we camped for a few days in the almost desert but very beautiful country.

Farina

 

Finally, we arrived at our destination of Farina and after paying our entrance fee for camping we drove around and found a nice spot for our stay.  There are toilets and a "donkey" shower, but we like to get away from the crowd so found a nice area with  no big trees or branches so we felt a bit protected from any wind that might come up during the day or night.

We love a campfire

Next morning we drove around the ruins, some have been restored and others just left or renovated to stop them falling down completely.

A railway sheep wagon next to the old Ghan railyard 

 Thanks to a lot of volunteers and some very generous donations the ruins of Farina are being restored if, when and where possible.

The owners of Farina Station run a working sheep and cattle station.  They have allowed a portion of the property  for camping.  There are toilets and a "donkey" shower for the campers.  As many caravans these days have their own shower and toilet, and we are lucky that we have our own, it is for us an enjoyable camping trip without too many "inconveniences" in the middle of the night!

The ground is very rocky.  It's amazing that they can farm it at all.

Patterson House is a new building built in a similar style to the original and is now the Information Centre and Cafe

The Bakery is open for a couple of months during the winter season and it is good to have fresh bread and other pastries each day.In the last few years, the volunteers have restored an underground bakery oven and campers can enjoy the great woodfired bread which is baked every day

The Royal Exchange Hotel

The camping area is open all year round, but the weather is really too hot during summer and people wouldn't be camping then, and also water is always a problem and most people bring their own  drinking water.

 

     The following description of farina provided by the Farina Restoration Society:

"Farina is located within the Lake Eyre Basin, on the old alignment of the Ghan railway, 600 km north of Adelaide.   It is 26 km north of Lyndhurst and 55 km south of Marree.
No longer inhabited, it was originally surveyed and proclaimed a town on 21 March 1878.  It was first known as ‘Government Gums’ because of the mature River Red Gums in the creek to the north of the town but later its name was changed to “Farina” (Latin for wheat or flour) by farmers who optimistically hoped to turn the vast flat lands here into fields of grain.

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