Sunday, 17 August 2025
We made a lazy start to today with a leisurely breakfast in our room. Bernie read the newspaper on his iPad and I completed Friday’s quiz this morning. With a couple of early starts on Thursday and Friday, I was two days behind, so I was able to catch up yesterday and this morning.
Bernie then gave me some much needed instruction on some of the quick set functions on my new camera (Canon R10). We have both been learning on-the-job, so to speak, with this holiday being the camera’s first outing since it was purchased. What I/we have found is that some of the quick set buttons are almost too accessible with me managing to knock them, just through general handling of the camera. The other day, after days of me complaining that I was really struggling to focus the camera, Bernie took a couple of shots and discovered that I had knocked the slide that adjusts the viewfinder focus to each user’s eyesight or corrected eyesight if wearing glasses.
Bernie adjusted it to his eyesight and hey, presto, it was much more focused for me too! Fortunately, this is independent of the lens focus so the lens has still been auto-focusing, it was just that in the view finder it was all a bit fuzzy to me. D’oh! I didn’t even know the slide thingy was there under the view finder so I certainly didn’t consciously slide it out of focus. At least that experience taught me how to correct the viewfinder next time it goes fuzzy on me.
Anyhow, this morning Bernie showed me the quick set buttons that enable me to change the functions like: focus area, exposure compensation, white balance, one shot/servo, etc, etc. quickly via viewfinder menus, rather than using the screen on the back of the camera. It will be much quicker and easier to do these adjustments with a bit more practice. Fingers crossed? I need to get to the stage where I can do it by touch rather than needing to look at the buttons. The problem is keeping the skills between holidays when I barely touch my camera.
We finally stepped out our door at 10.30am, planning to walk down to the river BUT … it was raining. OK, change of plan, let’s do the couple of indoor things we had planned for this afternoon, this morning and hope for finer weather later.
We hopped into the truck with Bernie deciding that a quick trip to the car wash was in order, to jet wash the worst of the dirt off. With a little bit of rain, the red dust had turned to red mud, ugh! I was a bit concerned about leaving a muddy mess in the car wash bay but, when we pulled up, another bloke was washing the mud off his 4WD and leaving a chunky, muddy mess under his ute. Oh well, there’s precedent for washing the mud off so Bernie proceeded to do the same.
With a clean-ish MU-X, we motored over the George Chaffey Bridge to Buronga in NSW where we found the Mildura Holden Motor Museum. Weird, right? that the Mildura Holden Motor Museum is not IN Mildura. We made our way around a comprehensive collection of Holden motor vehicles both restored and in original condition. We found ‘our’ model, the EK Holden Special that was produced from May 1961 (when Bernie was born) until July 1962 (the month after I was born). Fun fact: this model was the first time an automatic transmission was offered in a Holden motor vehicle.
All the classics were there: FJ, Monaro, Torana GTR XU-1, the Sandman panel van and the Commodore. As we continued through the exhibits we thought the Kingswood was missing from the collection. Not the Kingswood! Finally, we were relieved to find a Kingswood, the last vehicle before the exit. We had even back-tracked, thinking we must have missed it back in the section featuring Holdens from the 1970s. It would have been disappointing if the museum had not featured the iconic Holden Kingswood, Ted Bullpitt’s beloved vehicle. Hmmn, showing our age with that reference!
We stepped out of the museum into sunshine and thought the weather had turned for the better, only for a sun shower to start. One of those sorts of days. Bernie asked Syri to take us to the BP Servo only to turn up and find that it is now a Shell Servo … again. Just how many BPs have been re-branded to Shell??? Determined to give his beloved truck a drink of the good stuff – BP Ultimate Diesel – Bernie decided to try again back in Vic.
As we drove back to Mildura/Victoria the rain worsened but, better to be caught in the rain while were in the truck rather than out of it. Fortunately, as we pulled up at Rio Vista House, the rain stopped again. Originally the home of Mildura Irrigation Settlement pioneer, W B Chaffey, the building was, for a time (1956-1966), Mildura’s first art gallery. In 1966, Sir Henry Bolte opened the newly constructed Mildura Regional Art Gallery. With the opening of a dedicated art gallery, Rio Vista has been, and continues to be, conserved and restored.
We made our way from the art gallery foyer/cafe into Rio Vista, continuing through the kitchen and dining room, before making our way down to the basement. Originally designed as a ballroom, this space is currently exhibiting ‘Stories in the Landscape’ abstract drone photography by Eamon Wyss. The amazing images are unmanipulated aerial photographs of salt lakes in Victoria’s Mallee Region. Although they are pictures of the natural environment they do resemble abstract paintings. Unfortunately, no photography allowed in the exhibition spaces.
Our self-guided tour around Rio Vista continued into the breakfast room, drawing room and morning room, which was furnished more like a study. The stained glass windows in the main front door and on the first floor landing were beautiful. These windows were handmade and imported from England and featured local imagery together with English cottages and country scenes. Although the Chaffeys were Canadian, it seems they chose these English scenes that were popular in the late nineteenth century. We completed our tour of the house with the bedrooms and dressing room on the first floor.
Time for lunch, so we drove down to Shippy’s Cafe right on the river. After a couple of days of falling two or three minutes short of our 30-minute Exercise goal, today we were determined to be more active. The weather still looked threatening but we set out after our lunch to walk along the river to Mildura Station Homestead.
We walked past Rio Vista Park and reached Lock 11, where the lock gates provide walkways across to Lock Island. We decided to walk over to the island discovering that the island is the location for Mildura’s ‘Trail of Lights’ attraction. Well, obviously it is an attraction at nighttime when it’s lit up BUT it only lights up on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights so … we’ve missed it.
Regardless of it being daylight, we decided to circumnavigate the island. Very helpful in trying to reach our 30 minutes of exercise! On the other side of the island is the weir which was discharging quite a bit of water. There were dozens of pelicans, seagulls and cormorants making the most of the turbulent water delivering fish to them, stunned after being washed through the weir. There were also some kites (?) flying around so I practiced using my quick set buttons to set up my camera to take photos of moving targets.
Crossing back over the lock we discovered that we had just missed a boat going through. Other spectators told us the lock operator had advised them that another boat was booked to go through at 3.00pm. Regardless of traffic, the lock was being emptied downstream, so we were able to watch the water being released and the downstream lock gates being opened. Another spot popular with the pelicans.
We continued our walk to the homestead and looked around the collection of buildings there. They are a combination of newly built replicas and relocated buildings that make up a collection of structures reminiscent of an early Mildura homestead. As we were finishing up at the homestead we spied a houseboat motoring along towards the lock. But, it’s only a quarter past two. The houseboat was hovering near Lock Island but must have been in communication with the Lock Operator who advised they could proceed into the lock.
We watched from near the homestead as the boat entered the lock and then walked over to watch the lock fill to raise the houseboat to the upstream water level. After watching the boat leave the lock to continue its journey upstream, we completed our walk back to the car with our 30-minute Exercise goals achieved.
As I buckled my seatbelt Bernie asked – It’s Delish or Royal Copenhagen? What? Which place do you want to go to for ice-cream? he said. Oh, OK, it’s ice-cream o’clock and probably our last ice-cream for this holiday. It was cold for ice-cream but, undeterred, Bernie asked Syri to take us to It’s Delish, which we found on Langtree Avenue.
Predictably, I chose a single coffee waffle cone but Bernie went a bit rogue and chose two different flavours on his double cone. That’s a first. Usually he confounds the person serving ice-cream by insisting on two scoops the same flavour – two scoops lemon gelato or two scoops vanilla ice-cream. As far as Bernie is concerned there are no other flavours, only lemon or vanilla. However, noticing vanilla gelato in the display cabinet, he decided to be adventurous and chose lemon gelato AND vanilla gelato. Luckily the lemon went in first and he was able to finish with the flavour he declared his favourite.
After our ice-creams we retired to our motel room which had lovely sunshine flooding in its window. Perfect to enjoy a late afternoon cup of tea in.
Last night fine dining, tonight the Mildura Brewery Pub. Last night table service, tonight order at the bar and collect your meal from the servery when the buzzer goes off. Last night five course set menu, tonight main course only. With generous serves at the pub, one course was enough!
We are finishing today with all our goals achieved. Pity that we’ll be cooped up in the truck most of tomorrow and won’t be able to be very active.
Steps: 12,853 (8.65kms)
