The Weekly Wrap-Up 8
Days 64 - 72, 1,075 - 1,260km Boundary Bend to Cabarita, past Mildura
Hmm, maybe I should stop calling these posts the Weekly Wrap-Up, when I seem unable to keep to a weekly schedule... perhaps the Tri-Monthly Treatise on Horse Travel? Or the Randomly-spaced Roaming Ramble?
I digress.
This past horse-week (my new term for whatever interval of time has elapsed since my last update) could be summed up by three phrases: Mallee country. Not much feed. Small acts of kindness by folks I've met along the way.
From Boundary Bend, we headed off along the river bound for Robinvale, with new boots for Smicko and feeling all warm and fuzzy when I found a little gift pack waiting at the shop, dropped off by Angela who I'd met just briefly the day before. For there it was two days up to Robinvale, with not much feed and Mr Richard displaying his displeasure at such by emotionally manipulating me with his sweet soulful starving eyes and constant little whicker as soon as I started rustling around in my tent every morning.
Also, highway. Have I mentioned how much I hate riding along the highway? It sucks. Trucks, cars, Richard gets panicky (not at the traffic but at the thought that Mick-Mac might get startled whenever a truck comes past and ram the pack saddle up his arse... which amounts to the same thing.), I spend the whole time looking for little tracks along the nature strip. Luckily there usually are some. But we made it to Robinvale, set up a great little camp by the river, and were made to feel so welcome when local farmer Phil dropped us off two bales of lucerne and some route tips, and then lovely local Sally dropped by with her daughter and very kindly ran me around town the next day so I wouldn't have to take the boys shopping with me.
After a rest day we headed off again, crossing and then leaving behind the Murray Valley Highway B400. This was a pretty momentous moment, as we've been following, crossing and avoiding this highway ever since Corryong, all those many weeks ago when the grass was always green and spirits always high. I'm joking, about the spirits part anyway; going off Mr Richard's behaviour, we're definitely in higher spirits now than we were in Corryong.
Leaving the distant roar of the B400 behind forever, we continued along the river to Wemen and the delectable delights at the store there, then onwards through Hattah-Kulkyne NP to Nangiloc. The three days along the Murray here were very pretty, nice easy riding with no traffic and lovely camping spots, some of which even had grass!
Out of the park we were back in irrigated orchard lands again, the boys very happy to stuff their faces with green grass by the roadside. From Nangiloc we put in two big days, scooting around the south of Mildura, and arrived this afternoon at the safe horse-loving haven of Cabarita Lodge.
Tomorrow the boys get a break and I get to go shopping in Mildura, buying up provisions for the barren stretch of ground from here to near Renmark. We'll be following the old mail road on the Vic side of the river - no trucks, no feed, but lots of water. Wish us luck! Yee ha 🏇🏇
My little haystack on legs
A FIVE-leafed clover at Robinvale
Campsite by the Murray
Lover boys…. Also the thinnest they got on the whole trip