SHERLOCK RA TO MURRAY BRIDGE

SHERLOCK RA TO MURRAY BRIDGE = 67KM
CUMMULATIVE TOTAL = 641
AVOCA DELL CP (TOP TOURIST) = $27 (powered and with discount)

We woke to a fog and no wind - crikey compared to yesterday it was a complete opposite day.  So again we got up early due to it being light early and was away by 7.30am.  It was a breeze cycling    along with no wind!  We had decided to stay at a caravan park about 10km from Murray Bridge  as they are all a fair way out of town.  So we were going to get our food from Tailem Bend ...
About 5km before Tailem Bend the Mallee highway ends and joins with the Dukes highway which then goes into a freeway after Murray Bridge, here is Neil at the end of our highway ...

This is a busy highway but there is a good size shoulder but not a good quality one!  I tell you I have been on dirt roads that are smoother than the highway shoulder we went on today!  We got our supplies at Foodland in Tailem Bend ... a little pricey but the camp ground is before Murray Bridge.  We go down to Jervois ferry crossing and here it is coming across with cars to our side ...

and here is Neil on the ferry ...

The Murray is still very high and compared to last year in Feb when we came through this area the paddocks are now very lush and green whereas before it was just one or two paddocks that were green!
So we take this quiet road that goes to Murray Bridge and our campground is around 15km along it.  It starts our flat and then begins to undulate and the closer you get to Murray Bridge the more you encounter cars. 
We get to the White Sands caravan park and it is down a step hill and we realise (once we are down there!) that it is more for permanent holiday homes rather than the travelling public.  So we decide to push on and continue into Murray Bridge and stay at the one that is on the North east side of the town on the other side of the river.
Neil was not happy about the caravan park and having to do another 15km at least to the next caravan park (we expected to be set up and relaxing by lunchtime!)
The quiet road we were on became very busy about 5km out and the condition of the road became quite rough.  Going through Murray Bridge itself (it is quite a big town) on the main road was okay as there was a wide shoulder for all of it and most of the traffic was courteous to us.
At Murray Bridge, since it is a big place, they don't have ferry to get across the river instead they have a bridge ...

which is only a lane each way and no shoulder so we had to go on the pedestrian path of it and it was narrow - you tended to get the wobbles a fair bit along this part!!!

Once across the bridge you follow the signs to the caravan park and I tell you it seemed like eternity as you went through a rabbit warren of back roads before we got there.  We got here and it is a Top Tourist park and off course it has Top Tourist prices - normally $30 powered off peak but since we are a member we got it for $27.  It is an okay place - very expensive and busy with kids and damn noisey ones as well.

We will stay here overnight and push on to Mannum which is only 30km away but it is a smaller town and I don't think we have to cycle 6km back to go to the supermarket!  in fact we cross the ferry to do our shopping - woo hoo!!!

Oh one thing I forgot to mention and I suppose this is the case for anywhere along the Murray is that the tap water generally comes from the Murray and it is BROWN! but your drinking water comes from the rainwater tanks.  I did a little handwashing and at first I thought OMG my clothes are dirty and then I did the rinse water and that was just as dirty and realised that it is the tap water that is brown and not the dirt from my clothes!