The Mighty Murray

I love going up to the Murray. In this dry land with few water courses, the Murray stands out as a whopper.

The Murray River near Barmah

The murky brown colour and the swift current are all a delight to me. Its familiar, reassuring and such a striking smorgasbord of life in what seems like a surrounding dry landscape that is being damaged and deforested at a rapid rate. The bird life was incredible, water birds of all sorts, endless amounts of parrots, Galahs and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, Pelicans and Swallows .

We unknowingly camped under the nest of a bird of prey, the parents came and went with various morsels for the chick. They didn't seem at all concerned about our presence. We found the remains of a fresh Galah head on the ground under this nest one morning, all edibles carefully extracted from the skull.

Raptor nest

The environment shows the wear and tear of human activity. The banks are all terribly eroded. Trees have their roots undermined and topple in. The speed boats going up and down in this section cause large waves that further erode the banks.

Eroded banks

On the other hand floods in recent years means that the floodplain has been having a fairly 'normal' and healthy cycle. For the first time in a long time the native grasses are out numbering the weeds.

Native Poa thriving after floods

On the subject of introduced species, I paid my $6 for a 3 day fishing license and caught 1 carp. Which is exactly what I wanted to catch. I've been itching to cook up a carp for ages to find out what the bad eating reputation is based on. It was a fishy flavour (but it is a fish) with a rather soft and mushy texture, not unpleasant at all. I baked it in foil with slices of lime and salt (I forgot to bring garlic) but think frying fillets might be better... hope i catch another carp soon.

November is 'Movember', with the aim of promoting men's health and the entrance banners to the towns of BendiMO, ElMOre and Mochester (Rochester) were a hoot.