Ride me a River.

dougman1

Part of the furniture
Late January, feeling the need to get away.
60th Birthday looming.
Where, what and I knew the how.
Loaded up the little BMW and set off for the RIVER!
The Town of Berri in SA to be precise.

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The journey took me up the Calder through Sea Lake, and on to Ouyen. Then to Pinaroo, Loxton and finally Berri.

Check out some of the summer storms encountered en route.

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I foolishly thought the road went straight ahead between the storms. But no, the road curved in the distance and took me right through it.

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Rather forboding eh. The lightening and thunder that accompanied these storms was truly Enlightening/frightening.

The temperature drop from 37 to 24 deg C was welcomed though.


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Obligatory Silo Art.


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Arrived at my destination around 5.30 pm , peeled off the leathers and sought solace in the Air condition Bar.

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With views of the Murray River from the second floor.
A bar and restaurant on the 1st floor, there was a lot to be happy about.

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dougman1

Part of the furniture
I took a walk before breakfast, the Sun was already peaking!!

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Today was going to be another hot one.

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A peaceful view from the Hotel room.

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I set off without a destination in mind. Stopped at Waikere for breather and some shade.

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Then followed a back road which led me to this Vehicle ferry.

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The mighty Murray River

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Then onto the Port of Morgan

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After a look around Morgan, I decided to head back to Berri. The Temp was nudging 39 deg, which is way too hot for me.

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dougman1

Part of the furniture
Safely Back in Berri, I had a chance to cool down.

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A group arriving for dinner.

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The evening was producing some spectacular colours. It was nice to be here.

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Accolade Winery in Berri. Over 220 tonnes of grapes per annum used here. Sheesh.

I haven’t seen vines like whats around here. Massive! Then as the water runs out, like 1km or so from the river, its an abrupt stop from fertile well watered Vineyards, to craggy scrub.

The River gives life!

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dougman1

Part of the furniture
The next morning I headed for Mildura, again another super hot day.
Late lunch in Mildura.

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And then I had to find shelter from the heat, honestly this saved me.

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Mildura has been affected by covid too. Many shops up for lease in the town.

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I had to press on. Next day i was heading for Bellbridge to visit Sir Francis.

Recent heavy rains had left their calling card on the NSW side of the river.
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Then there were the dry bits as well.


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The 1250 R which can boogie when it needs to. Returned 4.3l per 100km. Range of around 420 km

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A whole lot of nothing on the NSW side of the river. Just B grade roads with no shoulder, lots of bumps.

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dougman1

Part of the furniture
Deserted country roads.

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A clever feature on these newer bikes.

An app that’ll calculate a winding adventure. This is the BMW Motorrad Connect App

Displaying turn by turn instructions on the dash. For luddites like me, I can tour the surrounding area without finding a dead end.

Country water channels near Finley NSW

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Then it was on to Bellbridge and out for dinner at a fantastic Mediterranean Restaurant.

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A fine and warm evening, enjoyed the cake too!

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Next morning we were off to Nagambie to meet up with The Open Road Tourers for lunch.

Silo Art at Devenish.

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The Nagambie Brewery and then home for me.

The journey was about 2100km. It was hot, sometimes wet yet very enjoyable.

Thanks for reading!


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Sir Francis

Displaced person
The entire staff came out singing for Doug.

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Nek minit everyone was in on it.

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Happy birthday old boy!
 
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Williamson

Part of the furniture
Happy 60th (you sure?) birthday Doug. Thanks for the words and pics. :clap: :clap:

How's the foot? Come on, post a pic for the others.
 
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nev

Super Térrarist
Great photos. Especially the Sunset pic. WOW. Happy Birthday, Doug. How good is it to be out on the bike, and able to cross state borders and everything !!
 
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