Winter has arrived with the maximum temperatures struggling to make it into double digits in Melbourne. Showers have been sweeping over the state with farmers hoping for even more rain to break the drought.
We have packed the Tvan with perishables and those things that don’t have a permanent place there. The fridge in the Tvan has been filled with items that won’t survive in the home fridge while we are away and / or are part of our meal planner that will keep us well fed on the drive north.
The mail has been put on hold and the rubbish bins have been taken out. The dishwasher has been unstacked, washing hung on the drying rack and things that might go off relegated to the rubbish or compost bins.
Wendy finished work at 4.00pm and Chris was waiting with Tvan in tow to make a quick getaway. These days it takes about an hour to join the Hume Highway north of the city and a bit longer to clear the majority of the traffic as the northern most suburbs now extend beyond the Western Ring Road either side of the Hume Highway for about 20 kms. We joined the convoy of trucks heading north on the overnight Sydney run while others, like ourselves peeled off at the Shepparton turnoff.
With the winter solstice two days away, darkness descended quickly as we pushed north. Nagambie came and went, then it was Shepparton and the last of the major towns for a while. The final leg of the drive into Tocumwal meanders through the heavily timbered flood plains and dry billabongs of the Murray River. We slowed as the track into our riverside campsite approached. A break in the Armco was the telltale sign we were looking for and we were off the main road an onto a rough potholed bush track.
The track to the riverside camping area was through muddy sections that followed a path around the larger of the trees, eventually delivering us to an open area that in daylight hours, would have commanding views of the Murray River. In the dark and with our driving lights on, it was difficult to make out where the river was. We found some flat land with signs it had been host to campers in the past and proceeded to set up and get dinner ready.
By now, our set up routine is very well rehearsed and it was only a matter of minutes before a thick Moroccan lamb and lentil soup was heating on the stove. A cob loaf of sourdough multigrain bread cooked earlier in the week by Hunter and Chris was retrieved from one of the under-bed storage lockers and the makings of a hearty meal was complete. Dinner was consumed hastily as the temperature had dropped considerably since sunset and threatening to fall below zero before morning.
Puffer jackets were the fashion accessory of preference around the dinner table but it wasn’t long before we retreated inside the Tvan and cranked up the heater for the cold night ahead.