Tumut itself is ok. Nothing much there this time of year. I’m sure it is bustling during ski season. We moved on and headed toward Jingellic NSW, after just one night in Tumut.
I’d read about the Pub at JIngellic and the fact you could free-camp on the banks of the Murray behind the pub. So off we drove!
We thought we’d use Google Maps instead of the chart maps that I prefer. Yeah that was interesting. Never again. Clearly the fastest route is the preferred for google. Well the road we ended up on was some kind of old logging road - deep ravines on our left - nowhere to turn around - we were in deep poo. Finally found enough room to risk a three point turn. Back to the paper maps for me!
We found our way to Jingellic…There is nothing at Jingellic but the Jingellic Pub and free camping behind it.
It was Sunday and the Pub was jumping. Really lovely food. We decided not to free camp at the back of the pub as it was soggy from rain the day before. So, we went in search of Walwa.
Just so you know- I spend a lot of time on camping sites and looking through free camping tomes. So when something sounds interesting I add it to a journal that I keep that has a bunch of places I/we might visit, depending on the direction we plan to travel. Once we decide on a direction I check the journal for possible stopovers that others have recommended. Jingellic and Walwa were in the journal, so we went in search of these places with strange names. It is a tad remote in this part of the world.
Walwa is a tiny town in Victoria just over the border (the Murray) from Jingellic. In need of people. It needs residents and visitors. Quite a few of the buildings in the main street are empty, closed up and derelict. The pub is for sale, and the general store sells petrol from bowsers a half a block away. Its a bit sad. However they have a golf course and a golf club that is still open.
Down on the Murray river behind the tiny village of Walwa is the Riverglade Caravan Park. Its a rustic little park, but quite lovely. They’d had a lot of rain the day before so it was a little wet under foot, But nothing Whimsy can’t handle. It was windy the day we arrived with 50 klm gusts. Did I say I don’t like big winds? Well I don’t like big winds.
Jayne told me the next day when we were leaving the she’d been speaking to the owner and he’d told her that in early December ‘21 that winds came through the park at 150 klm’s an hour and the river rose by 8 meters - which would have submerged Whimsy. I’m so glad she didn’t tell me when those winds were howling at 50klm’s the night before - I would not have slept.
I did take a few lovely photos there - I’ve put a couple on FB but ill try and load them here too.
Next stop Corowa via Holbrook.
I do love this coddywompling thing we are doing.