Waikerie to Renmark, 82k
Renmark to Mildura , 139k
Mildura to Euston, 78k
Euston to Baltanald, 80k

After leaving Wakerie it was a short 80k hop across to Renmark. You spend most of the day crisscrossing the Murray river and her flood plains. You come across some amazing views, again completely different from anything I have seen so far. The land in between still bears fruit and grapes. Some of the vineyards I cycled past go on for kilometre after kilometre. This area must make up the vast majority of grapes used in the big brands like Jacobs creek and Wolff blass. This landscape and the regions wine exports are completely dependant on the Murray river for water. So next time you are sitting down to an Australian wine think that the grapes used to make it are fattened by water from the ever depleting Murray river (not trying to make you feel guilty, it's just really interesting) So, Australia with all it's water problems spends a mammoth amount of water, time and effort to export it out of the country in the form of a nice fruity Shiraz. Typical Australians trying to get everyone pissed. Anyway, the ride was really nice. The area is what I expect the Caribbean to be like, plantations of fruit and vineyards, palm tree lined street and tin roofed towns. The Caribbean is probably nothing like this. The roads are much busier than I'm used too which is pissing me off. I have truck radiators breathing down my neck every couple of minutes, think it will be like this to Sydney so need to get used to it. I camped just past Renmark, again really expensive, 30 dollars! In WA I was paying 9 dollars a night but I'm right on the banks of river so the views make up for it. The next day I passed into Victoria and immediately fell in love with it. Look at the beautiful roads, the Tarmac, the wide hard shoulder! It was love at first sight. The vineyards gave way to massive arable fields which laid empty. The hard shoulder meant I had a really quick and enjoyable day. I didn't have to worry about traffic as I had my own personal lane. WA and SA have a slither of a hard shoulder, normally it's eroded and just got old tires and loads of other crap in it. I entered Mildura, on the way through I managed to stock up on some decent BBQ food and had a feast at my campsite later. On the way to the campsite I crossed the Murray again and had passed into New South Wales. Come on NSW be like Victoria have decent roads! That's a big NO then! I pitched up, ate my food and enjoyed the views of the river and then got shat on by a bird, a big bird? why is bird poo white?
The next day was a bit rubbish, NSW roads are officially the worst, my hard shoulder has shrunk and at some points disappeared altogether meaning I have to concentrate like orange juice. Oh how I long for you victoria. The bush has returned and it feels like I'm back in WA, weirdly it feels familiar and reassuring. I finished the day in a tiny town called Euston, no trains here though, saying that there are normally no trains at Euston because London Midland are s***. Even 10,000 miles away I still have a deep deep hatred of London Midland. The caravan park was tiny and was again on the bank of the river, it was lovely. I fell asleep on the bank of the river under a tree until I was rudely awoken by a sniffing hound. A lady at the campsite warned me about the rising river and said Balarand, my next stop, could be flooded. Like a lot of people in Oz they like to exaggerate the danger, like the whole snake thing. What I did find interesting is that the high water levell was due to heavy rains that hit 6 weeks ago, it was about the same time I left Perth, due to Australia's hugeness it takes ages for the water to make its way down river. I left Euston, on time, and had another short hop to Balranald. It was the most run of the mill day so far, In fact it couldn't get any millier. I entered Balranald and could see the river, you could see it looked high but my feet weren't wet. At the campsite they have a temporary dam in place, some of their land is under water but they recon it won't go any higher. It's all very exciting, it's all people are talking about, mainly because there is not much else to talk about in these parts. Anyway, making good progress. I have got around 850k and 9 days so all my days are manageable and quite relaxed. Here's to not waking up in my tent and finding all my gear floating around me tonight.