We woke to a cacophony of bird song (and the gentle hum in the distance of various watercraft as they cut their first laps for the day). Jeff had a quick dip/wash in the Hume Weir and brekkie was served back at the stump – a cuppa and we were ready to roll. The ride for today was again to follow the Murray Valley Road to Walwa for New Years Eve.
We didn’t get too far along the road when we saw a sign to the Wymah Ferry, a cable ferry across the lake back into NSW. The ferry operator was more than happy to shuffle the three of us and our bikes across to the other side to what seemed to be pretty isolated caravan park, aptly named the Wymah Hideaway. We stopped in for a coffee. Mark and Johnno made the mistake of being lured by the offer of a ‘cappuccino’, which was straight out of a sachet! Jeff made the good call and ordered a tea. Still it was a nice spot and the owner was full of great information about the region and road ahead. Of particular note was his reference to the Granya Hotel again a ‘pub’ after a spell as an alcoholic’s refuge…seemed a good (if not a little tragic) business model we thought! Back across on the Ferry to Victoria and we were heading east and Walwa bound.
Mark and Jeff approaching the Wymah Ferry
The Murray Valley Highway was carrying very little traffic and again it was perfect for cycling. Our aim was to stop of at Burrowye for lunch thinking there may be a general store or at least somewhere to refresh our rapidly diminishing water supplies. It turns out that there is nothing in Burrowye beyond an old homestead and a Murray Grey farm. We happened upon the farmer and asked him where we might get some water. He generously pointed to his river water tap and offered us their ‘smoko’ table in the shade…so we stopped here for a good spell, made some lunch and had a cuppa …
It ended out as quite a gathering around the shed, our farmer mate was joined by the local garbage pick up fella and another bloke, fully equipped with his 22 rifle! We were convinced that they all thought we were completely bonkers riding in the heat of the day out here, but they also seemed to have some sort of appreciation for 3 guys out doing something a bit different. Sort of along the lines of f*&#ing idiots…but good on ‘em! This was to be a recurring theme!
Lunch spot at the Murray Grey farm shed in downtown Burrowye
Watered and fed we hit the road again and climbed up Mt Alfred, ‘the big pull’ that we were warned about back at the shed (which was completely overstated…it was a doddle really). Still it was getting really hot so it was a bit of a relief to roll into Walwa and given it was New Years Eve perhaps even a bigger relief when we found out there were rooms available at the pub.
Walwa is a nice little town – its got everything that you’d ever want…An awesome pub, and IGA, a gallery, petrol station, a mechanic, a medical clinic and a great primary school. We had a leisurely wander around town and headed back to the pub, which was setting itself for a big night! A marquee was erected out the back and the jukebox was rearing to go– It was a really nice night…Kids were running around the place – families doing their thing – The farmer that we met back in Burrowye was even there for a while and yep he was still looking a bit bemused at the three cyclists in town! We had a lovely meal – albeit with the limited vegetarian fare for Jeff. We took a mid evening ride a few k’s down the road to see the river which was also the site of the Walwa caravan park which was jam-packed and ‘going off’. Caravan Parks are often ‘interesting’ places –all of its humanity was well and truly on show New years Eve 2014!
We went back to the pub, had a few more NYE drinks but we didn’t end up seeing the New Year in and ended up hitting the sack at 11.30ish. Jeff not wanting to necessarily sleep on the noisy side of the pub picked the street side, away from the marquee (and all that noise) but guess what… at midnight you could have heard a pin drop in the marquee…all of the action was happening on the veranda of the pub only metres from Jeff’s room…The irony of which wasn’t lost to Jeff or indeed Mark and Johnno in the morning!
Made it to Walwa! 3 pots with our names on ’em
'Clack Clack' Classic 