The whole country celebrated the Australia Day public holiday today and Faith and I decided it would be cool to go and see some of it, Australia, instead of going to the beach like usual.
It started as an overcast sort of day but not too hot so we decided to head to a place on the Murray River called Waikerie where there was some silo art we wanted to see. It would be a long day but we were up for it so saddled up the big dog, my Landcruiser, and hit the road...Much of which looked like that below.
With some county music keeping us company the big dog ate up the kilometres taking us further from the big smoke and closer to the Riverland.
This area, South Australia's Riverland, is renowned for vineyards and citrus fruit production and our final destination, Waikerie, is considered the gateway to the region. It's fertile ground and covered with vineyards, orange tree plantations and general farming land for crops and stock. It also follows the Murray River, a popular spot for water sports, houseboat holidays and holiday homes.
With the lucrative industry of fruit production being so prevalent in this area there are some very strict rules around bringing fruit and vegetables into the region. It's all about mitigating the risk of fruit fly which can easily devastate the industry.
We actually have a fruit fly outbreak in Adelaide at the moment making it even more important to obey the no fruit and vegetable law.
Above you can see the quarantine bin on the way to Waikerie. That yellow thing is just the top of the bin; Below is a large holding tank for the stuff people deposit and it contains any fruit fly that may be in the produce.
One simply pulls in and deposits any fruit or vegetables that may be in the vehicle. One can eat them of course, but cannot transport them past this point - Big fines apply. On the roads into this region coming from the other States there are actually checking stations where they search cars. I am not joking.
We had no contraband to deposit but we stopped for these photos anyway and then headed on to Waikerie and the silos.
On the way to Waikerie I saw the sign below, Griffens Marina, and took the dirt road down to the river to find a houseboat berthing area. The boats are floating houses, some are huge with six double bedrooms and six individual bathrooms! People live on them and they can be hired for holidays. Of course they're not all massive as you can see. Some are medium sized and some are downright tiny! All the tourists ones are large though.
A houseboat holiday can be as relaxing as one likes or, if one has a ski boat for instance loud and raucous too. They are fully equipped and anyone with a car license can drive one; They give you a one hour lesson before they turn you loose. At night one needs to tie up on the bank where people will often have a BBQ and a camp fire. Of course not on private property, and that's where these marina's come in handy. Of course there's hundreds of kilometres of river bank to tie up on that isn't private property too.
We took some snaps, checked out some of the boats and then were back on the road bound for Waikerie and the silo art.
Here you can see Faith standing at the base of one of the silos for perspective.
The silos are for holding wheat. Farmers would usually transport it here, off-load and get paid. That was before Viterra took over. That massive company closed many of the silos, many around the country, forcing the farmers to transport their grain directly to the docks, and other massive Viterra holding areas, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away adding a lot of additional transport cost to the farmer. Of course they would then not pay as much knowing the farmers had nowhere else to take it. It's called monopolising I guess.
So, the silos generally sit unused and the small rural towns in which they stand loses precious income. That was until someone decided to start painting them and now all over Australia grain silos are being transformed. It brings people into the towns to view them and, like us, they spend money. It works nicely and the art work is amazing.
I'm not a huge fan of the one of the left but on the right is a cool looking piece of art!
It depicts a Regent Parrot which inhabits this area; They fly in very noisy flocks and make nests in tree hollows along the river. Unfortunately their numbers are in decline so if you get a chance to see a flock of these flying around, consider yourself fortunate.
The artist was Jimmy DVate from Melbourne. He has done other silos and you can hit his Instagram page at if you're keen. jimmy_dvate or dvate.
Above you'll note the silos are painted on both sides. Jimmy did a big yabby and a Murray Hardyhead fish on the opposite side of the parrot, both are found in the river nearby. Again the Hardyhead is in decline due to loss of wetland area and river regulation.
Oh, another cool thing he incorporated is shown above in the top right image at the base of the tree; It's the Spin Daisy. This plant was believed to be extinct but now blooms across parts of South Australia's Riverland. It is one of the rarest plants on earth and work continues to replenish the endangered plant.
We walked around the silos and grabbed a few pictures and then took a stroll on the cliff-tops along the river as there's a walking trail. You can see the river which is very narrow right here and in the background is one of the many lagoons that dot the riverside.
After we were done with our walk Faith wanted to check out a garden centre we'd seen on the way in. I've done a couple of collages to try and show it to its full extent but I'm not sure one could understand what it's like without going there themselves...There's just so much in there!
Faith found some hand shaped fly-swatters. I'm not sure they're designed for boobs though...That's what my hands are for! These images give you an idea of what this place was all about...Stuff everywhere.
Surprisingly this is a working plant nursery and Faith wandered about for almost an hour looking at things and taking notes. We bought a couple things, plants, and then headed away after a good chat with the lady that ran the shop.
From here we were on the way home although considering that drive home was 200 kilometres we stopped on the way at a couple of interesting places.
Before we could hit the road we had to hit the water though.
That's the Waikerie ferry below. It carries cars across the river between Rowe Street on the Waikerie side and Taylorville Road on the northern side of the river. It is cable operated as are all of the ferries that cross the river and it is operational 24 hours a day, for free.
Below you can see us waiting to get on, middle right image, and then on the ferry with the lower centre image being a shot out my side window as we were crossing. In the lower right corner is the road up and off the ferry.
We turned for home and hit the gas once off the ferry. The road was a fairly minor one. It was a bit bumpy in places but was far from the worst I'd been on. It was 110kp/h all the way.
Before long we came to Lock 2, a place I had never been; We decided to take a look and were glad we did as it was pretty cool. Below you can see Lock 2, those grey gates, and the weir above and to the right.
This second image below shows the flow indicator and a marker showing flood levels. See that one at the top? That's the 1956 flood level. You can see Faith standing there for perspective.
So, basically the river is contained by a series of weirs that keep the levels at the right height. If you look in the image you'll see the water on the left of the weir is higher than on the right. Of course boats can't go up or down the weir and that's where the lock comes into play.
The lock is a large holding pool with gates on either end, up-river and down-river. So, if you want to go up-river they equalise the water to the down-river level, open the gates and you enter. They then equalise the water to the up-river side, open the gates and you exit and carry on up-river. Easy.
Above you can see the down-river side of the weir and the up-river side (top left and right). There's some sign boards with information which I might do a separate post someday and a closer shot of that flow indicator and flood-level meter.
We didn't stay long here although right beside the weir and lock is a really nice picnic ground, lush green grass and really well maintained so we'll probably be back.
Our last stop was Morgan. We hadn't planned to stop here but I was thirsty and pulled in for a drink. We headed down to the river for a look around and came across the old Morgan wharf. Just a ruin now.
This wharf used to be 168 metres long, the largest on the South Australian stretch of the River Murray. (The Murray flows through three Australian States beginning in the Australian Alps and travelling 2,508 kilometres to meet the sea in South Australia's south east near Goolwa.)
Building on the wharf begun in 1877 and two more stages helped make it as long as it was with the last stage happening in 1912. This is the portion you can see with the rest of it being deemed too unsafe to remain; The rest was dismantled in 1994.
The wharf was constructed from redgum wood sourced locally and was built at varying levels to accommodate passengers and cargo from different types of boats. There was four steam-operated cranes which were used primarily for hauling wood and grain, two of these are still on the site. The wharf predated the rail line so was vital to the economy of the area.
Alas, all things come to an end and the wharf is a sad remnant of a more simple time. These days it's not safe to stand on it and hundreds of people water ski past or float by serenely on their houseboats and probably don't give it a second thought.
Speaking of coming to an end, Morgan was our last stop before home.
Our day trip was a 420 kilometre round trip and we had a really nice time. Sure, it's a lot of driving but we interspersed it with walks and, of course, we hit a bakery in Waikerie called the Waikerie Bakery for lunch. Ok, it wasn't really called that...I just liked the synergy of that line. We did have lunch at a bakery, in Waikerie, though and it was nice.
Overall we had a really nice day, a different sort of Australia Day this year but enjoyable just the same! Thanks for scrolling through and looking at my pictures and if you read the text I really appreciate it.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
You forgot to mention the golf course, that’s all I liked about Waikerie, but your article makes me want to back for another visit.
I didn't forget, just omitted it as golf doesn't rate for me.
Madre mia 😁 This is a wonderful, colourful post full of information ✅
I like the most the parrot silos as well. Good idea they are painting them, at least someone come and make tourism.
Hahaha, the hand shaped fly-swatters and it's use in the photo 😂
Such nice landscapes and the photo of the road so good, gives some nostalgic feeling.
Thank you @galenkp for this amazing post!
Hi Gabrielle I hope you're well, it's nice to hear from you.
It was a nice day, a lot of driving but enjoyable. We like driving though and the distance isn't a problem; Aussies are used to vast distances, the ones that travel anyway.
Faith was messing around with the fly-swatters...She's like that with me, but wouldn't do something like that in front of anyone else. She hates attention from other people. I think it comes from her being so tall, 6 feet tall, from a young age. She always stood out and so she doesn't like attention. With me she's ok though, and plays around.
That garden centre sure had it all though, and even after an hour we hadn't worked our way through it all. Well worth a visit!
We had a great day really; We love each other's company and so days like today are a pleasure.
In eight hours I'll be back in my office though, 7am early start tomorrow as I have a lot to do. (It's 11pm here). It'll make today seem like a distant memory. A distant enjoyable memory. 😉
Your comment is much appreciated.
!ENGAGE 25
I am ok, thanks, I just couldn't make participate in the weekend topic. However I read through some answers and I was happy reading bigtom's and papiloncharity's good days. It made me happy so I mentioned a bit your weekend events in my post I wrote on Sunday.
I like those full days as well, driving, exploring and enjoying the time with the loved ones.... That makes it a round, heartwarming time that will turn to a memory, yes. For the work day :)
I think you are already sleeping now , so if you read this in the morning, have an energetic, successful and funny day!!
Yep, I was asleep...Not that it was very good sleep mind you...Too much on my mind. Don't worry about the #weekend-engagement topic, just come by when you can. :)
ENGAGEtokens.Wow, those silo's look stunning, that's a very cool way to make industrial areas look a little less industrial, depressing and unwelcoming, I would love t see that idea rolled out everywhere, the photo of Faith standing at the foot of one shows a staggering scale I could not have imagined.
The situation here is so dire that these pics allow me to remember what time away from home was like, a simple day out at the coast here is a heinous criminal act again... Thanks Boris! Although now that I think about it, snow blizzards are more of a risk than fruit flies here and a day at the coast may not be the most enjoyable, and skinny dipping is definitely off the menu...
This is uncannily like the description my kids use when describing me. Sadly so many things steeped in history that have literally thousands of stories to tell have been relegated to the past nowadays, if there is not a clear profit to be seen, renovation is not even considered as an option.
Oh damn, I loved the idea of the 'Waikerie Bakery' and was actually disappointed that it wasn't so lol.
May your good self and Faith be heading through the gateway of a year that holds much promise my friend and one that sees much of the pains of the year that must never be mentioned eased immensely.
Most importantly, may the year be filled with opportunities to love, laugh, hug and smile, good to connect again Sir, you have been missed, I promise you that :)
Pretty cool artwork right? You probably missed my post about the silos at Wirrabara as you've not been around. It's pretty cool too. https://peakd.com/hive-163772/@galenkp/a-big-canvas
We had a pretty good day yesterday, even though the Waikerie Bakery was closed. Yes, there really is a bakery, in Waikerie, called the Waikerie Bakery which we wanted to go to but couldn't.
Thanks for dropping in today, I'm sorry my reply was delayed...Work you know...Gets in the way!
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.We barely reach that speed - roads are so occupied here. Looks like you had a lovely day out - it would be nice to take those floating houses and spend few days..
Yeah, I'm not surprised you cannot drive like this. Australia is different to your country though, loads of wide open spaces and so driving at high speed for hours on end is not unusual. 95% of the population lives on only 5% of the land and in between towns and cities is a lot of open road, thousands of kilometres of it.
Yep, those houseboats are great fun. There's some amazing places along the river too, some best seen from the river itself. They are very relaxing holidays generally and so much fun.
Thanks for commenting, it's appreciated.
!ENGAGE 25
Damn. That's under the speed limit on the Freeway! 75 mph (120 kph) and some people occasionally cheat on that...
That road is a minor road and at more than 110kph one would be taking risks. Of course, 110 is the State limit here so it is what it is. In the Northern Territory there's a few highways that are 130kph (81Mph) but typically the limit is 110 all over.
ENGAGEtokens.Sounds like a fun trip! The parrot on the silo is pretty cool looking. And I always find it fun to look at some locks, they are pretty fascinating pieces of technology.
Yeah, a great day trip for sure, some driving and tunes and a few interesting things to look at. We really enjoyed it.
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Nice way to spend the day :)
All silos should have cool art on them XD
Yeah, a nice day...I know many might call it boring, but I'm not them. Anywhere I go with Faith is enjoyable. People probably think I'm pathetic for thinking that way, but I'm comfortable enough to say it and couldn't really imagine my life without her in it. Sappy? Yeah, I don't care. 😉
Which parts of the day were boring? o_O
Well aside from the driving part but only because I hate the transit part of travelling as you know XD
Everywhere you've been looks interesting!
No parts of the day were boring, although I assume some may not be into days like that. That was my point, and also that we enjoyed our day. Driving isn't boring for us...We rock out to music, have all sorts of conversations about stuff, laugh and just enjoy each others company....That's when old Faithy isn't sleeping. 😂
P.s. Don't tell her I call her old Faithy ok? The Faithy part would be ok, the old...Not so much! 😀
What a way to spend your public holiday! You and your wife really had a good time, from all the photos attached to this post. They are lovely, kinda makes me wish I was there than slaving away in my office, lol!
I particularly like those silos and the painting on them. They look huuuge! How did you take the pictures from afar on foot or in your landcruiser? Thanks for sharing your day with us. ☺️
I'd rather have a day like I did today than be in an office, but I'll be back in the office tomorrow myself, slaving away too. 🙄 I have to work unfortunately.
We were on foot at the silos. That's my Landcruiser parked in front of them in one of the images though. People can walk right around them and because of their size it's best to see them from a little further back.
Thanks for commenting, it is appreciated.
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Looks like a great day to be out. Love that Silo art. Very cool.
It was a nice day, relaxing and we saw some cool stuff. Who doesn't like a drive in the country now and then...Oh that's right, city slickers. Lol.
I grew up in Wheat country (on a wheat farm, matter of fact :)) so am very familiar with grain silos. I do not know of a one that has artwork on it. That's some pretty cool stuff right there.
I went and looked up the Murray River. Damn, that's some kind of long. Longer than the Columbia I grew up around. Columbia is a bit bigger though.
Here's a pic at John Day Dam. The Dam is 56 meters (184 feet) high. That's a grain barge string entering the Lock.
It appears that I don't have a digital photo of either of the ferries on the Columbia. They are fully powered and driven and the state of Washington says a lot cheaper than building even one bridge :)
Looks to me like a really good day.
Yep, that's a bit wider than our Murray, nice and blue too!
Do people do recreational activities on that river like on the Murray?
Oh, yeah. People recreate (and occasionally procreate :)) on the Columbia. My brother's house is right above the Columbia and he can take his boat (9 meter) all the way to the Pacific if he so desires. The pools between dams are really popular boating spots.
Hunting and Fishing. Literally billions of dollars spent on and around the Columbia (and Snake which runs into the Columbia just down stream from my brother) Just upstream is the last bit of free running river, the Hanford reach, which is enormously popular with canoes and kayaks. There is a jet boat service there too...
There's a picture of the reach. This side is obviously used, the other side is Hanford Nuclear Reservation where they shoot people for going ashore (at least they used to). This picture includes the old C and D reactor sites, the last electricity producing reactor sites. This might be the death of the entire river, the most polluted area in the US is right there. Nuclear waste from the Plutonium program dating back to WWII. There are several one million gallon storage tanks that are hot as hell and leaking. The government is desperately trying to figure out how to move it and store it. LOTS of it.
It's shameful how our waterways and lakes are destroyed by industry...There's much wrangling over the cotton farmers up-river in New South Wales taking so much water out of the Murray to irrigate. It creates rising salt issues through lack of flow and other very serious issues like excess silt etc. Humans don't seem to care enough I guess.
Hanford (the project) made the plutonium for the bombs that ended WWII. They were feeling their way along and didn't even come close to realizing how dirty they were making the environment. They also continued Plutonium production until the cold war ended. The government got a lot better about handling the waste, but the damage with some of that early stuff could be just catastrophic.
The Colorado River Compact comes due in 2024. The pressure is on with 7 states and two countries involved in the negotiations for the finite amount of water in the Colorado. 40 million people get their drinking and personal water from the river which is a lot more the size of the Murray.
Water management is a thing...I mean there will come a time when people who have clean drinking water will not. There's only so much of it. This was in the news a few days ago in Yass. https://www.yasstribune.com.au/story/6875572/residents-want-a-solution-to-yass-water-quality-issue/
Also, because of drought conditions parts of Australia were on restrictions...I don't mean they couldn't water their lawn, I mean they had no drinking water and had to have bottled water trucked in. Crazy! It's a sign of the times though, and will get worse. It'll end up like that movie Book of Eli.
And I don't know about you, but we 'mericans aren't doing a real good job with the water in the west at all.
There's a difference, you see. Our nation was settled (seized?) from east to west. Water is different on both sides of the Mississippi, and all the laws and compacts were written before we knew how water worked in the west. Had the US been settled West to East the Missouri River would be the longest in the world and water retention would be completely different.
The Colorado has a couple of obvious fuck ups that are going to become apparent in the next 50 years and I do not have any idea what people are going to do, or more importantly what they are going to drink. I actually suspect that a canal will be dug between the Columbia/Snake and the Colorado to 'add water' to the Colorado. That ought to be a pretty fancy public works project...
And the Missouri would not be named the Missouri. Snake maybe? Montana?
I was just talking about these silos a couple days ago with a colleague. We were joking how no one knows what silos are anymore, other than from the perspective of information.
Yep, they mostly sir there unused these days due to the Viterra monopolisation situation. People drive by and see these monoliths and take no notice these days where in the past they were used, and a hive of activity at harvest time. The art works are giving them some presence and the town's some much-needed income though tourist dollars.
Looks like it was a full day trip with some choice stops along the way. I love the big art, been a fan of that for a long time and the parrot was great looking. Of all the pictures you took along the way I would have to say my favorite is the open road view one, that bit bumpy in places road. It looks like it would be a nice road to drive, to see where it goes and what secrets it holds along the way.
Ah yes, that road photo. I was going to lead off with it but changed to the silo image at the last moment. This one is typical of rural Australian road although is wider than most. Some are barely suitable for two cars to pass whilst on the bitumen and so many are still dirt of course. This road wasn't too bad but had a lot of undulation so at 110kph the Landcruiser felt them. I've had a suspension lift done on the Landcruiser, set it up for towing so it's not as soft as factory trim. Still, it rides ok and when towing will be a dream.
We had a great day and enjoyed seeing some new things. I liked the weir and lock...Cool engineering. Of course, those silos are always pleasing on the eye.
Wow that's a great day out.
Yeah man, it was cool. I probably should have broken it up into two posts but I figured one would be ok, despite the fact no one will probably read the words. 🥴
Wow! What a day! I can’t believe you got it all in. But it truly looks gorgeous. If we were ever in that part of the world it would be the type of thing I would want to do too.
We get around, Faith and I. It was a big day though, for sure. We still found time to relax and watch the world go by, it wasn't all driving. It was an enjoyable day. 😉
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I like the silo art, it's really creative to beautify such a thing!
!ENGAGE 10
I'm going to answer in a poem:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Silo art is lovely
Ok, not my best effort but you get the idea.
😂
Hahaha Oh you little Shakespeare😂
What can I say Mary, I'm a man of many talents...Clearly amazing poetry is one of them.
ENGAGEtokens.