Day 567 | Jingellic River Reserve: some company for the night

89 km | zzOz total: 18,706 km

It’s high tide in the Hume Weir, a startling contrast with the situation four years ago when I was around these parts previously, the water level seems right under the bridge, there’s been plenty of rain in the intervening years.

One guy comes over for a chat, a bike tourer in South Africa in the 1980s, just laughs when I ask him if he would contemplate a big tour here, I sense it’s a very low priority these days, he tells me he used to drive his 4WD out to where is now the middle of the lake. I saw it when it was 6% capacity but it did get lower.

Last time I crossed on the Wymah ferry, it was more or less a creek, any lower and cars would have problems getting on and off the punt, basically you got on one side, went across the 2 car ferry and got off the other back then, it didn’t move much. This time I had to summon the ferryman from the other side and it took some time to putter across, a car arrived on my side so at least he had a real load, but it didn’t seem to bother him, that’s my job. Next week a new ferry arrives, big enough to take a truck or an emergency fire crew which are beyond the current ferry’s carrying capacity.

So I cross the Murray for the last time, there is an asphalt road all the way on the Victorian side but I’m avoiding traffic and being your standard dirt road hound, I prefer NSW’s more solitary and dusty roads.

I had stayed in Jingellic back before I left Melbourne for a couple of nights, it’s a free campsite, room for 40 tents but there’s plenty of capacity left, it’s a shady spot between the historic pub and the river. There’s a terrific swimming hole, the water above the dam has returned to feeling warm and I remove much of my suntan with my splish.

I’m not staying another night, the temps are moving up, 35ºC today with 39º predicted for Saturday and Sunday, I’m intent on getting up Australia’s longest hill climb, Tom Groggan to Dead Horse Gap, before then.