Wednesday 29th December 2010

Left Tumblong and stopped at Holbrook to see the Submarine and the affectionately named “Ducks Arse” which stores the torpedoes.  Next stop was lunch at the Ettamogah Pub just North of Albury.  We meandered along the Murray via Corowa and Yarrawonga and arrived at Echuca for our second night’s stop. We looked at one of the rest stops but thought it looked pretty ordinary so we explored the option of camping at another stop on the Murray River which looked far more picturesque and inviting.  This spot was pretty full but Linz and Shaun explored and found a spot along a track where we could both fit.  We all got out, ready to set up for dinner only to be attacked by hundreds of mozzies! It was definitely time to use the Bushman’s with the 40% DEET (only to be used in the direst of situations) and this was definitely one of those times.  A tip we learned was when someone from the Murray River area tells you the mossies are bad, then the mossies ARE BAD!!!!  We doused ourselves in Bushmans and Aeroguard but there were literally hundreds all over each of us even biting through shirts and denim shorts.  We decided to move on out of fear of being carried away by the vampire like insects.  Just when we thought we’d be out of Mozzie central in a minute or so, The Harris Expanda was facing the wrong way and manouevering it to turn around on a narrow bush track proved to be harder than we thought!  Eventually, thanks to Linz and Shaun’s brilliant driving skills, we were thankfully fleeing Mozzie Central.  When we arrived back at the original rest stop, that looked ordinary before, it felt like Utopia because it was free from Mozzies!  Or so we thought, until about 9pm when we were once again found by the blood thirsty proboscus wielding insects.  We were forced to head for the protection of the caravans but at least we’d all had dinner by then.  Both families had to go on a killing spree of Mozzies before going to bed, it was not a pretty sight with blood on hands and caravan walls!!