We booked in at Riverside Gardens which is a Top Tourist Park. Very nice park that backs onto the Murray River. We got a couple of nice large sites with grass to setup on. The amenity blocks were lovely and clean with some ensuite units for showers. I'll give them 4.5 Stars as they were always spotless. The caravan park owner/manager was very friendly as well. Would highly recommend this park for staying in the Mildura area as was somewhat more reasonable as well.
We had three days planned in Mildura as was time to catch up on our shopping and cleaning. The Ransleys joined us at the park around lunch time with all their appointments done. Sandra and I went for a drive/shop after lunch. Numerous loads of laundry were done during the day as well.
Friday morning saw a few more loads of laundry being done by both Carol and Sandra before we set off for some exploring.We drove West from Buronga along the North side of the Murray River. Our first stop was at the Botanical Gardens but sorry to say we didn't even get out of the car. Didn't look like much of anything and the highlight were Rose Gardens that weren't out in bloom. Drove through the car park and kept heading West towards Wentworth.
At Wentworth we stopped at a viewing platform where the Murray and Darling Rivers meet. Currently there is a lot of water flowing through both these rivers which was good to see. Water was again very muddy due to the strong current and high water levels.
The girls did a bit of shopping at a couple of antique/gift/clothing stores. Rans and I played the bored husbands but did manage to buy ourselves a meat pie. Lovely little town! We also took a short drive out to the Perry Sand Hills. Large sand dunes that just appear out of nothing. We climbed to the top to have a look around.
From Wentworth we retraced our steps back to Curlwaa where we crossed to the South side of the Murray River. We traveled along the river passing through Merbein before stopping at the Old Mildura Homestead. The river side area between here and the bridge is quite lovely with lots of public use areas. We returned to the campground for a late lunch. The girls were able to get their laundry dry and off the line.
Saturday morning saw us on another road trip with the Ransleys heading North East to Mungo National Park. We hadn't heard of this one before but decided to explore while we were in the area. The drive out took us about 1.5 hours and most of the road was unsealed. However, the unsealed road was very wide and quite smooth. Only a few wet areas which we were able to drive around quite easily. There is a nice campground just as you enter the National Park. Well ahead of most National Parks we have seen with picnic tables, fireplace, and firepits at each individual camping area. A number of spots had covered table areas. Flush toilets were also available. We took a drive around and used the facilities before heading out for our tour of the Park.
Our first stop was the Visitor Centre which is quite modern and has a multimedia museum enclosed. Also has free toilets and showers for campers. There are historic woolsheds and overnight accommodation at the shearers quarters as well. We had a quick look around before we paid our entry fee for the day and set off to explore the Park.
To gain access to the main park you drive across the dry Lake Mungo. Quite a large area at about 6 Km across and some 30 Km long. We saw lots of emus and kangaroos as we crossed the dry lake bed.
Our first stop was a boardwalk where you could view the "Walls of China". The area has unusual rock formations called Lunettes. It is also of great significance because some of the oldest traces of Aboriginal life are found in the park. For this reason you are not allowed to walk through much of this area without being with a registered tour guide. We had chosen to do a self drive tour so didn't have access to these areas. We were all a bit disappointed with the boardwalk offering at this location. While we understand that they don't want people wandering through we all felt the boardwalk area could be greatly improved. Could be much closer to the actual structures while still maintaining their safety and security. That being said the landscape was interesting.
Our next stop on the self drive tour was more interesting as we did get a lot closer to the sandstone structures. A nice viewing platform at Red Top lookout.
The drive carried on to a number of rest stops and a bush camping area. The road was one way from the Red Top lookout but good quality.
Our next stop was the area called Vigars Well. This was a very interesting stop and was historically a meeting place for people and animals alike because of the natural soak located there. There was a nice picnic area and toilets as well. However, the highlight for us were the massive sand dunes. We enjoyed a long walk up and over the sand dunes to where they back onto the Wall of China. Quite amazing that it seems to come out of nowhere and end just as quickly. We saw lots of animal/bird tracks during our walk so can attest to the well being a central meeting area. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed a good walk in the sand.
From here we completed the loop around the lake and made our way back to the Visitor Centre. Had a quick stop here again before returning to the main campground where we enjoyed our picnic lunch. The only downside to the campground is we had to share lunch with numerous flies! Funny because we hadn't noticed them in the rest of the National Park or even the campground before.
We completed the return trip to the campground with no problems. Mungo National Park is quite an interesting area with lovely rest and camping areas. As with some other locations along our journey it was quite a surprise as you don't hear much about it. We may return one day to enjoy the campground which is one of the best National Park ones we have seen. A caution though that the road into the park is closed if they receive significant rain. It is actually closed as I write this post so you need to do some planning and keep an eye on the weather if you visit. We would probably recommend the tour as well for future travelers to get a better look within the Walls of China.
The girls did some organization for our upcoming trips during the afternoon while Rans and I enjoyed a quick beer at the local pub. We enjoyed our stay in the caravan park and in Mildura which is quite a large regional centre.
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