After checking out the Silo Art at Colbinabbin and Rochester we made our way back across the Murray at Echuca and headed north to Deniliquin. We checked into the McLean Beach Holiday Park and as they were not busy we could choose our site.
Our friends Jim & Chris were to join us on the Saturday and they had hired a caravan via Camplify. This van would be delivered to the park at 8.30am on the Saturday and would be all set up for them. Our other friends Kevin & Sally would arrive later on Saturday towing their caravan which they have recently purchased. Kevin and Sally didn’t know that Jim & Chris were coming as it was to be a surprise.
The friendly lady at the office said we could ‘circle the wagons’ if we liked so we could all have our awnings facing towards the middle. This was only able to be done because they were not busy and had plenty of room.
We picked a site where we could have our awning out and the hire van could be pulled in behind us with its awning facing towards us. That would leave enough room for Kevin to drive through and leave their van hooked up but still have their awning facing towards ours. This would make is easier for them as they were only staying one night.
That was the plan!
We set up our camp, put out the awning and I added solar fairy lights to it, put up the clothes line and got our chairs and fire pit out. I did a few loads of washing while we had access to water and got those hanging out in the sun while Richard used his MacBook to do some crypto currency research. Later we went for a ride on our ebikes to pick up some groceries and some wine. That evening we enjoyed a lovely little fire and a BBQ dinner cooked on our Bidgee BBQ.
McLean Beach CP is right next to a large sandy beach on the Edward River. It has a lot of permanents but also has cabins, powered and unpowered sites, a couple of glamping tents and all the usual amenities including a small jumping pillow and playground and an excellent camp kitchen BBQ area. It is $32 per night for a powered site and we managed to get a pay for 2 stay for 3 deal. So $74 for 3 nights. The sites are all grass and quite flat. Power, water and sullage is available for each site. Pretty good for a CP.
On Saturday morning the hire van arrived and it was huge. Caravans are measured on the inside and this one was a 21′ so by the time you add the A Frame drawbar at the front end and the rear bar with two spare tyres on it it was probably about 28′ long. Our motorhome is only 26′ long. Not sure what Jim & Chris were going to think when they arrived!
Jim & Chris arrived late morning and quickly unpacked and settled into their hire van. They also thought it was huge but quite luxurious. We were just sitting around chatting when Kevin and Sally arrived and they were surprised to see Jim & Chris. After Kevin & Sally were set up a few of us decided we would go and check out The Depot. This is a private car collection and motor museum. Richard and I rode our ebikes and met up with Jim & Kevin at The Depot. I’m not sure what I expected but I was gobsmacked after entering this incredible museum. It is HUGE and filled with glorious vehicles of every sort as well as other collections including children’s toys, 50’s household items, Elvis memorabilia and more. It is fabulous and well worth a visit. I’m not really into cars but this museum is more than just cars.
Back at camp we enjoyed a great night of socialising around the little fire pit.
Sunday morning saw Kevin and Sally pack up and depart and head for home. Deniliquin has a lovely paved walk along the Edward River from McLean Beach to Willoughby’s Beach and the four of us (and the two toy poodles) decided to get a bit of exercise and follow the path. It was a lovely walk that took us along the riverbank, past the Ute on a Stick, under the bridge and onto the Island Sanctuary. This is a great place to spot native animals and birds. Once though the Sanctuary you pass the first town water supply tower and Memorial Park sporting grounds. You enter the Murray Valley Regional Park before finishing the walk at Willoughby’s Beach. Then we turned around and walked back along the riverside. We enjoyed another night around the fire pit.
Jim & Chris had packed up and left before we got out of bed on Monday but we were up and heading out of the park about 9.00am and on our last leg towards home but not before we stopped to have a look at Deni’s painted water tower. Love this one with it’s Kookaburra.
We arrived home about lunchtime and it was good to be home after a month away. As we were unpacking the MH I commented to Richard that our house feels huge now after living in the MH for a month. Do we really need all that space?
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