Now Let's See

Caravan Parks in General

Caravan  parks are all different but they all have something in common.  You might say 'Sure. Of course.'

Big ones have location and features; small ones have charm and reverse snobbery. That's when someone says 'Haven't you stayed at Boologery Creek Park?? It's so special.' Boologery Creek? What?
As long as the park is clean, neat and tidy and things that you leave out at night are still there in the morning, that should be enough. How about the clientele? Especially the vans?

Well, the vans are similar; they all have draw bars at the front, wheels underneath, and windows of a smaller size rather than larger. A van without windows is a trailer or a horse-float, though I have seen windows in floats for flighty fillies. Flighty? Now, flighty. Not in a caravan park, mate.  Flighty is what the clientele  are not. Sex is VI, a Roman numeral denoting the model of a van maker who has been in it for years.   Not one van I have ever seen (and you can join in the chorus here) has a sticker that says 'If the van is rockin' don't bother knocking.'  The names on the vans rarely suggest flighty, though many are clever. Most no longer bother with any stickers, not even from out-of-the-way places because nowhere is out-of-the-way anymore. Not even Boologery Creek.  Just about every place out-of-the way in Australia has a gaggle of grey nomads gently parked in it anyway and stickers are OUT. We looked up a nothing-here place and discovered it had not one, but three caravan parks. It was listed in mags and articles as having a free camping area as well. Not camper vans, not Off Roaders. Just the ordinary caravans. I mean, like, mate, they're everywhere. Crikey.

Run your eye along the row of vans in any park and the majority are white. So are  the majority of the the owners. The vans are longer than fifteen feet, in the old money, and shorter than twenty six.  They have awnings, many with extra bits of canvas and vinyl for  privacy. Privacy in a place where your neighbours sleep two point nine metres from the head of your bed. Yep, some will park so close you can hear each other's kettle boiling. And that is about the most exciting clientele-based heat to be found there.  Until Drinkies. Then the quality of the clientele becomes a factor in the discussion.

Around sunset, the Vanners come out to play,  a bit. They bring a chair and a glass and sometimes, after being properly introduced, a plate of nibbles. Most evenings are very enjoyable for all concerned, given that everyone is tactful and considerate; after all, most of the Vanners  are successful humans who have learnt that open conversation is great but conflict is no fun for anyone. So the banter is neat and tidy, like the vans.  Most of it between blokes is in statistics. Not female stats any more - it's all litres per hundred, tyre pressure, tare weight. And the blokes are neat and tidy. How many absolute messes of vans or vehicles or people have you seen? Very few.  In fact, the Permanent Parkers are a more eclectic lot. The Vanners on the road  are pretty well heeled. Their vehicles rarely break down because they are often expensive luxury 4WDs and they are in good nick. The reason for this is that they are basically a well organised group of people.

But I digress. Drinkies  at Sunset is a movable feast but there are rules.
A: wait to be asked, and listen for polite refusal. (Rare.)
B: bring your own everything.
C: conversation begins with who and where-froms and everyone gets a go.
D: be nice to each other.
E: no really rude jokes for a while.
F: leave before you feel you should.

As a rule, there are only the Park rules, all of which you and I have heard and we've all seen  trashed by some but  NOT the Grey Nomads.  GN trespasses are minor; leaving the Air on too long; parking too close to my site; getting ready to leave too early. Stuff like that.  All tolerable and compared with living next to some urban neighbours, a breeze. Who enjoys this life?  We do.

The Edwards River- Murray junction, Vic

So enough of the Thinking. Today, Zan had a great idea. After examining Google Maps she decided we should find the junction of the Murrumbidgee and the Murray. We've seen the Darling junction and most of the rest of the Murray, up to the source. So off we went. Too far as it turned out but that gave us a look at the Edwards River junction first.  After some 4WD exercise we found a two-family plus a couple group camping and having a ball. Their cooking fire was classic. Mr Five was wearing a life jacket. The whole place typified the best of Australian family camping folklore.

Zan loved the whole campsite but the sun was shining and I bet she would not if it was cold, wet and freezing.

This is the junction of the Murrumbidgee and the Murray. See the different colour of the water?  There was nobody there but us, and the road in was no worse than any other road leading to a remote bush location. There was a campfire set up, and chain-sawn logs showed the effects of past campers. We loved it all.

This joins onto the above photo, on its left.