Lake Bonney is a freshwater lake located in the Riverland and the town of Barmera is located on its shores. The lake was discovered by Europeans in 1838, when encountered by the overlanding party of Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney, who were the first to drove livestock from New South Wales to Adelaide. Hawdon named the lake that day after Bonney, while recording that the local indigenous people named it 'Nookampka'. At that time it was a fine sheet of water, but was dried out and muddy three years later in 1841 when the police expedition led by Thomas O'Halloran passed by on its way to rescue other overlanders. When Charles Sturt passed by in 1844 on his expedition into the interior of Australia, he surveyed Lake Bonney for the first time, as well as the creek connecting it to the River Murray.
Lunch in Renmark one day, and Renmark is also located on the Murray River.
As we were sitting and having lunch on the riverbank these wonderful corellas came and landed on the riverbank nearby.
Docked at Renmark this day was this very special "houseboat" (?). It is the home of Frank Turton, a.k.a. "The Chookman" who sails the Murray River on a houseboat that looks like a rubbish tip, all the while singing with a chicken on his head. (Just in case I haven't said already, chickens are also called 'chooks' here in Australia). There are small veggie gardens on the sides of the boat, a lopsided dunny and a double bed inside an old water tank. There is a wood-fired stove in the middle, next to a TV that is mounted inside a frame the shape of the nation. Also onboard there's a chook house with a chandelier, a papier-mache gopher, and a 'kitchen of the future' - all of which were created by Frank and hold a special story. It definitely is quite the creation.
Later in the week I went on a mini-cruise along the Murray River. We went about 15 kms along the river, from down river up to Morgan and back again. The boat we went on is a decommissioned pearling boat from Broome, Western Australia.
The boat just came and tied up along the bank of the Murray... sort of in the middle of nowhere... but at least there was a loo for those who needed it before we got on the boat.
And then for the following two hours this is the scenery I just sat there and enjoyed.
These shags, or cormorants, were watching us pass by
These are "shacks" along the river...a.k.a. a cottage
The ferry crossing at Morgan
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