Aussirose Travel and Photography: Picola, Barooga, Cobram, Koonoomoo, Tocumwal & Berrigan

~~oOo~~

WATTLETREE BEACH CAMP, BAROOGA

~~oOo~~

We had just come from Echuca and a nice 5 Star Caravan Park and decided to free camp along the Murray River at Barooga. Barooga and Cobram are sister towns on either side of the Murray River. Barooga is in NSW and Cobram is in VIC so we crossed the border a few times.

Wattletree Beach Camp was a great choice. It's funny, most free camps along the Murray River (and there are heaps of choices) are called Beaches. Well there is sand so I guess technically they can be called beaches, and it'll be the closest we get to beach camping anyway so I was lapping this up.

🤩

Waking up to this every morning along with the thousands of cockies was pretty darn good. You had to be self sufficient though which was no problem for us. It was very hot in the day, so we were glad that we were this close to the river. Having a dip was easy and the water was clean. Although a bit hot for hubby, I was absolutely in my element. I swore to never ever complaign about the heat, after living in Tasmania for 3 years! I was glad to kiss the cold goodbye.

We saw a few ghost camps here with no one camping in them during the time we stayed. The Ranger turned a blind eye too saying they are just locals. Huh?.. It was obvious they were setting up early for themselves & friends for Australia day in a week's time. Wouldn't be surprised if they have other ghost set ups at other camps too. After all, it's just a $6 booking fee so they wouldn't be much out of pocket if they chose a few beach camps to set up at and then last minute, just stay at the most appropriate one on the day. Ranger should be doing is job, but.... mmmm, probably looking after his mates.

~~oOo~~

COBRAM

~~oOo~~

Every morning we drove over the border to the nice loos in Cobram. They are very clean and had classical music playing. The park here is well kept.

Across the road is a nice little cafe if you feel like a coffee & sweet treat.

~~oOo~~

THE BIG STRAWBERRY, KOONOOMOO

~~oOo~~

On the Map below, you can see our day trip. This encompassed three Australia Big Things.

First is the Big Strawberry at Koonoomoo, a great noval tourist attraction. The food reviews here are not that good, so we steered clear of the waffles & pancakes and decided to order scones instead. We were happy with our devonshire coffee with nice strawberry jam and fresh cream.

Well worth a stop.

~~oOo~~

TOCUMWAL

~~oOo~~

We both agree that Tocumwal is a lovely, clean and neat little town with a lot going for it. And of course the Big Murray Cod. It's the second Australian Big Thing built, first being the Big Scotsman at Menindie SA. Well I reckon it has stood the test of time. Very well made and looking good. 😁

The Information Centre next door to the cod is a must. They lady there was super helpful and pointed us to heaps to do in the area and neighbouring towns.

It looked like the campers here on the Murray River had a great spot, again surrounded by a stack of gallahs.

~~oOo~~

BERRIGAN

~~oOo~~

Our lovely information lady in Tocumwal told us about this amazing bookshop in Berrigan. It's good to give back to the locals in this little town so I spent $10 on 2 books. You can see them in the video below.

You could get lost in this place. There were little rooms everywhere chocka full of books. They have over 100,000 books and I believe it! Absolutely awesome!!

Hubby found another Australian Big Thing here in Berrigan just up main street from the Bookshop.

See pic below.

😉

~~oOo~~

BAROOGA

~~oOo~~

There's not much in Barooga, just a Pub and a pretty good looking Golf Course.

We shared a pizza at the pub. Looked and smelled good and was wood fired, but that's about it. It was just ok. But the beers and wine are cheap so all in all, a cheap meal.

We also visited the day before for a quick coldie and there was a guy playing a double neck guitar. He was pretty awesome on the guitar and had a fantastic voice with a wide range of song choices including a well known Opera song sung with the guitar.

Check out my video below.

Just on the other side of Barooga heading into New South Wales, you will find the local dump point. It is easily visible and has a nice big pull up bay.

~~oOo~~

PICOLA

~~oOo~~

How could I forget little Picola?

Yes, another Silo Art to add to my Australian Silo Art Trail Blog. Still have to find time to write that.

Picola is a little town in between Echuca and Cobram. Blink and you will miss it.

I knew that there was Silo Art here through so I was on the look out for it. Well you can't really miss the Silo located on the main highway. We also saw a couple of horses being led by a country farmer up the main highway. That's the way to do it matey.

😀