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Weds. In Benalla We spent 2 hrs with Al.He is of course very subdued and at times upset but Joe and he reminisced about their childhood in Euxton and the youth club. We didn't suggest lunch with him as he looks after an elderly neighbour and she rang twice to see when he was going across and he didn't suggest seeing us again later in the day.We ate in Benalla and had a look around the town which is a significant Ned Kelly site.There is also a renowned art gallery.It started raining about 5 this afternoon and more rain and cooler temps are forecast for a few days.Tomorrow we turn north and follow the Murray River to Mildura stopping at Swan Hill for a couple of nights.f.a.q.well,1 person asked about our vehicle.It is a Ssangyong Rexton XDI 2.7.Built is Korea under license from Mercedes.It has all the bells and whistles including heated seats which sounds ridicules for Queensland and which we thought we would never use but we have actually used them because we never wear a coat here and sometimes if we are out at night in winter it is very pleasant to have your bum and back warmed.It is also very comforting if you have aches and pains.Thursday on the roadWe had a good journey between Benalla and Swan Hill where we have booked in for 2 nights.It is called Swan Hill because when Major Thomas Mitchel discovered it in 1836 the black swans kept him awake all night.All swans in Australia are black and all swans in Britain are white, just a bit of trivia for you.We stopped at Echuca which is on the Murray River and had a look round.The river frontage has been left more or less as it was in the 1800s which to our eyes is rough.There are lots of cruises on the Murray River from there but we decided to wait until we got to Swan Hill or Mildura.Swan Hill has a settlement village and river cruises so there should be enough to fill a day.We should get to Mildura just after lunch on Saturday and we are hoping to park the caravan next to Kathy and Peter's cottage.Kathy is our daughter in law's sister. They live in Ballarat but they a cottage in Mildura which they visit every 2 weeks and where they hope to retire.Luckily this is the weekend they are up here and it will be good to see them again.The weather forecast was wrong.It has been a beautiful sunny day with the temperature over 30 degrees.FridayThomas was right about the swans they are noisy at night but now they have humans and traffic noise to compete with. They didn't keep us awake our fellow campers did that.Guess what?Not one cruise on the Murray from Swan Hill but we did spend most of the day at the pioneers settlement village and it was all right but we are finding that once you have seen one historical village you have seen them all.I still think the best is Sovereign Hill in Ballarat .Much cooler today and odd spots of rain.Now it is evening, there is a very strong wind.The flies here are unbearable and it is impossible to eat outside at teatime.Mildura the following MondaySorry we have been remiss with our blog but we have been too busy being spoiled these last two days.Peter and Kathy are a lovely couple who have a great gift for hospitality. .They have extended and renovated the old cottage which was on the land and when they retire here they will builda traditional Victorian house overlooking the large Billabong opposite which as yet is totally unspoiled Saturday when we arrived we sat around and caught up with news, had a bbq and at night we had a tour of Mildura.Sunday we woke up to find a bowl of food on the van step with everything we needed for the picnic lunch.We went to Lake Mungo national park which hasn't been a lake for thousands of years but is still surrounded by cliffs and sand dunes.It is a very significant Aboriginal site and is now controlled by them so as you enter the area you have to buy a permit to visit.This area is where Mungo man and Mungo woman were discovered.They have both been dated to about 30,000 years ago.After the scientists had finished examining Mungo woman she was returned to the Aborigines in this area and the info. I was reading didn't say where she is now, I presume they have re buried her and are not saying where.Our hosts go back to Ballarat today but we are staying on for a couple of days to explore the area and finally have that cruise on the Murray
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