Moorook Camp on the Murray

 Moorook is a very small town located on the Murray River between Loxton and Barmera. A Social Club that opens for three nights a week and a General Store that must struggle to keep open is about all there is - except for the citrus and grape farmers.

BUT - what Moorook does have, is one of the most comfortable camps on the Murray River with green lawns, riverside sites, bins, toilets, water, dump point and all this for $12/van/night.

We finally got the kayak off the roof of the car and spent a lot of time trying to catch the elusive (very) Golden Perch (known as Callop in SA) - lots of birdlife but no fish (except carp). The new outriggers on the Kayak worked a treat (thanks Aaron) and we are now both confident on the water. Hopefully we are now ready to land those big Murray Cod when we get to Lake Mulwala is a weeks’ time.

We did some touristy things around Barmera, Berri, and Loxton and fitted in yet another counter lunch at Loxton Pub.

As usual in SA it’s pretty hard to find firewood, but I was lucky to hunt some down nearby. Not sure everyone knows this but apparently it is illegal to cut wood on the side of the road in SA and when the farmer living near where I was cutting wood drove over to see me, I was thinking that might be in a bit of strife – but turned out “Wayne” the farmer,  was just dropping by to say hello 😊

We didn’t do much while we stayed for just over a week – just chilled out on the lawn, caught a few carp – batteries recharged and ready for the next camp.

Short video is HERE

Mannum South Australia

Free and on the river

 We decided to stay at a free camp on the Murray River (Wall Flat) near Mannum for a few reasons:

·        We wanted to spend a day at the Monarto Safari Park and do the Lions 360 Experience (where you get up close and personal with the Lions). The Park was just 23km from our camp.

·        I had to go to Adelaide to get a new radiator put in the Pajero as occasionally (once since leaving Perth) on steady long inclines the temp gauge started going up and we knew we had some hills to cover on our trip to north of Brisbane to Portland in Victoria and home again in the next five months. Adelaide is only 90kmn from Mannum.

·        We were also keen to have a look around Mannum and Murray Bridge as these were our first stop on the Murray.

Wall Flat is a very small free camp about halfway between Manum and Murray Bridge. Probably room for 3-4 Vans. We lucked out and found a nice grassy spot by ourselves. It was a peaceful quiet spot on the river and perfect for our five-night stay.

Feed me!

The Monarto Safari Park is a well set out Park on a huge area where you either walk through or take the bus and jump off at various attractions throughout the park. The “Lions 360 Experience” at Monarto is, as far as I am aware, the only place in Australia where you can get within touching distance (without being on the menu) of adult wild lions. A tip- if
 you’re standing behind a male lion who is about to mark his territory – dodge quickly to the side!

It was great to take the bus trip around the park but the Lions 360 made the day and was the discriminator compared to all other Parks/Zoos we had been to over the years. Lots of photos on the video at the link.

Tough out here?

So, a bit of sightseeing mixed in with laundromat, a counter lunch or two, a long day in Adelaide getting new radiator, a great quiet camping spot, and a unique experience at the Safari Park made our stay a most enjoyable one,

Link to video is HERE