Milang to Goolwa and Murray Mouth

To the Mouth of the Murray

Heavy rain was forecast in the morning and afternoon, so we were up and out reasonably early to beat the rain as best we could. The first option was to at least get to Finniss where we could dry ourselves with coffee by the fire should the rain start early.

With the wind on our tail, we made it to the Finniss turnoff very quickly and decided to keep going to Goolwa whilst the weather was still fine. We flew past the wineries at Currency Creek and crossed causeways that were free of water (we later found out they had been under water the week before).

The rain started as we climbed the main road into Goolwa. At times the road was narrow and cars and trucks passed a little too close for comfort. We were damp but not soaked when we arrived at Goolwa and propped our bikes outside the Motherduck café for a well-earned coffee. The only free table was near the door, and we suffered from the draught as people came and went from the café, seemingly unable to ensure that the door was closed. I ducked into the library next door to put on some leggings which made a big difference.

We had arranged an early check in from midday at our accommodation and decided to explore a little and find another café for a hot chocolate whilst we waited. Jack’s Place served an excellent hot chocolate and was a much warmer environment so we lingered there a while. As we were staying a few kilometers out of town, we wanted to stock up on food we could reheat for dinner. Garden of Nang was a relatively new Laotian restaurant and an ideal lunch stop. As we really enjoyed our lunch, we bought extra for dinner.

Our ride to our accommodation at the Gumnut Getaway was relatively dry but the rain came again as we settled in. We kept a close eye on the rain radar and once it appeared to have largely passed, we headed out for the Murray Mouth. We crossed the bridge onto Hindmarsh Island and made our way past open fields to Sugars Beach. We walked across the dunes and could see dredgers on the horizon that are used to the river mouth free of sand, allowing the river system to connect to the sea.

It started to rain as we headed home but fortunately didn’t last too long. We were quite dry when stopped at the Corio Hotel for a quick beer. The sun was out as we cycled back along the river to our accommodation, just in time for a quick shower before my French course started.