May 8/10 (256 km)                   GAWLER CP ($A21)

Down the Clare Valley for a Birthday in Gawler

A long drive southwards on the Main North Road, through a series of little rural towns – WIRRABARA, LAURA, GLADSTONE – all looking like delightful places to live. CLARE, a name known to wine-lovers, was larger but very quiet, despite this being Australian Mother's Day (8 May). Lunched in the car park and walked the high street – easy parking and clean toilets are always free in Australia (except for car parks and meters in the busy capital cities, which we try to avoid).

Continued towards Adelaide, joining the Barrier Highway and coming to rest in GAWLER, 25 miles short of the State Capital (which we had explored in 2002). Gawler's only caravan park, a short walk from the centre, was almost full. The North Para River, on whose bank it stood, was empty, despite signs warning of flooding.

Enjoyed a break for Barry's birthday, with an excellent pub lunch in the Kingsford Hotel (though the waitress didn't understand what 'half a bitter' was). There was free internet access at the Visitor Centre for 15 mins, and unlimited time in the splendid library and reading rooms. Here we finalised booking our NZ motorhome, to be collected in Auckland in July, and confirmed flights on the phone with Air New Zealand.

Barry got some good leather Nike sandals to replace the disintegrating plastic pair bought in Thailand – ironically, found the Nike ones are labelled 'Made in Thailand'!

Asked the post office assistant how to get our mail redirected from Alice Springs to Bendigo, since we've changed our original route, and were instructed to complete a change of address form (in duplicate) and pay $A11. Instead, we rang Alice Springs PO, chatted with a helpful woman and were told 'both items are on their way'. There are always 2 ways in this country: the official way and the reasonable way. Just a matter of finding a reasonable person.

May 11 (193 km)                      COBDOGLA Station CP ($A19.8) – Top Tourist

Sturt Highway through the Riverland, to meet and follow the River Murray

Gained and lost one thousand feet exiting the Barossa Valley (vineyards), driving NE on the Sturt Highway. About 20 km before Blanchetown, we reached the border of the 'Fruit Fly Excusion Zone' (which stretches across State boundaries into Victoria and NSW). We lunched in a handy rest area – complete with quarantine disposal bin - finishing our forbidden fruits and tomatoes. All fruits are taboo except pineapple, or those purchased in SA 'for which you have a detailed purchase receipt' – we hadn't! Talked with a pair of retirees from Melbourne, taking their caravan home, who had also stopped to consume their apples. They explained there was no roadblock, but inspectors could make spot checks (and spot fines).

Reached the Murray River, minus fruit (wondering if these fruit flies can actually fly, which would defeat the object?), at BLANCHETOWN. Viewed the No 1 Lock (the first in the series, counting upstream from where the river tries to reach the south coast via Lake Alexandrina). At least the lock system ensures there is water in Australia's principal river, albeit slow and brown, barely flowing. Stark dead trees stand drowned, parallel with the banks where modern houseboats are moored. Pelicans and water fowl glide effortlessly, flying with equal ease, making all our modes of transport seem so clumsy, so noisy, so dangerous. Until the concrete bridge of 1962, the river was crossed here by ferry. Now a newer bridge carries the highway across and on through the Riverland.

Driving through orange groves, we met the river again at WAIKERIE, the country's citrus centre, perched on the limestone cliffs the Murray has cut (or was it the giant Murray Cod of Aboriginal Dreamtime?)  Difficult to follow the line of the river across the land, with its many lagoons, oxbows, splits and meanderings. The Sturt Highway runs pretty straight, the Murray anything but! It irrigates a vast area of fruit, veg and vineyards.

At COBDOGLA (known as Cobby), we spotted a quiet caravan park on the shore where the river forms Wachtels Lagoon. A good place for the night, wooded and grassy, with just 2 other tourers, under a new crescent moon trying to outshine the stars. In the 19thC, the huge Cobdogla Station had 500 km of riverfront – all that remains is the stone chimney end of the homestead ruins, in middle of the caravan park.

NEWS: Yesterday, Tony Blair held on to power with a reduced but more than adequate majority. What was the alternative?

May 12 (208 km)                      MILDURA, Sunraysia HP ($A15)

Through the Central Riverland and into Victoria

Leaving Cobbie, we soon turned off into BARMERA for coffee by Lake Bonney and another pleasant half hour in a library, checking our email.

Continued east on the Old Sturt Highway, through GLOSSOP (biggest winery and distillery in the country) and BERRI (fruit juices and the Big Orange). On the Murray riverfront at Berri, found the 'special place for Jimmy James' – a footpath with granite boulders, engraved with animal tracks by his artist nephew. Jimmy was a legendary Aborigine tracker, who worked with the police to trace missing or runaway persons – quite a character judging by his photograph.

Met the floundering Murray again at RENMARK, where we stopped to sample McDonalds new low-fat 'Lean Beefburger' (a slight improvement) and to feed the Maui with 55 litres of Woolworths best diesel. The Sturt Highway crosses the river to PARINGA and soon enters Victoria. The vineyards, orchards and riverside towns give way to dry, empty outback scenery as the highway heads due east. Only one place to pause, by the lakeside at CULLULLERAINE, until the outskirts of MILDURA. (The Silver City Highway runs due north for 300 km to Broken Hill, a landmark on our trans-continental cycle ride of 2000, but not on our route today.)

Mildura, a busy city on the Murray near its confluence with the Darling, has at least 10 caravan parks. We chose the first we came to, opposite the airfield about 5 km before the city, used mainly by workers and grape-pickers. Only one problem – our cassette toilet is full and very few caravan parks have dump points (none in Gawler or Cobdogla). Problem solved, 'no worries' – we were directed to a public dump point in the city itself.

May 13/15 (263 km)                 SWAN HILL, HP ($A19)

To and at Swan Hill on the Murray – a good weekend's work

South down the Calder Highway from Mildura, through national park woodlands as far as HATTAH. Turned east along a very quiet minor road through the mallee (bushland). Lunch on the banks when we met the river, then along the Murray Valley Highway through the state forests at PIANGIL and so to SWAN HILL, a surprisingly large and busy town after the tiny farming settlements we'd passed through.

The Murray is about 2,500 km long (over 1,500 miles), twisting and meandering its slow course, forming many lagoons and lakes on its flood plain. Here it is the border between Victoria and NSW to the east. It irrigates vines, fruit and vegetables and provides fishing and leisure, but is no longer used for transport this far inland. The paddlesteamers which led Mark Twain to call it 'the Mississippi of Australia' are now just pleasure boats.

At Swan Hill, it is joined by the Marrabor (or Little Murray). The town was named by the explorer Major Mitchell (1836), and there are still black swans on the river (not sure about the hill?) The railway came in 1890. Much more about its history if you visit Australia's first Pioneer Settlement Museum, complete with horse-drawn carriage rides, river cruises, an evening sound & light show, etc (we didn't).

We shopped in Swan Hill and booked an hour's internet time at the Library for tomorrow morning. There is a choice of caravan parks in the town, including a Big 4 and a Top Tourist right by the river, but 3 km south along the Murray Valley Highway is a much friendlier (and slightly cheaper) park, run by Peter and Judy Dowell.

After dark (of course) there was an electrical fault in our part of the park, so cooked supper on the gas (no microwave). At one point, the mains voltage had risen to 300! Next morning we moved alongside 'Stress Relief', the splendid 5^th-wheeler occupied by Cliff and Joy, temporary assistants on the caravan park. (Their towing vehicle has the rego 'BCOOL2'.) Cliff, a retired uranium miner, was a great help and we were able to use the broadband wireless internet connection supplied for park residents, including ex-accountant Jimmy who once set out to cycle round the country. (His bike now rests against his caravan.) Barry made good use of this unusual concession, catching up with emails and MMM enquiries and making great progress on developing our website, with a lot of support from Bec in Cairns, chatting on-line.

Margaret had time for letter-writing, domestic chores and talking to the neighbours. The local chapter - Murray Goldfields - of the CMCA (Camping and Motorhome Club of Australia) was holding its monthly gathering here: about a dozen campervans and small motorhomes, complete with a banner. On Saturday evening, they went for a meal at the Murray Downs Golf & Country Club, which was preferred over the RSL as it sent a courtesy bus to collect and return them. Sunday morning saw them playing disc bowls: a very sociable group – and great knitters!

In the Office, Judy Dowell (whose late father was Latvian) was keen to talk about Europe, as she and her mother were about to make their first visit. In turn, she talked to us about Tasmania, where the family had spent their last summer holiday, with 4-WD and trailer tent.

An excellent weekend where we felt 'at home'.