6/23 Murray River Walk

On Tuesday, June 22 we returned to Calperum Station. I took the opportunity to relax a little and get caught up on some things. I also made plans for what to do on the 23rd, which, I had decided, would be to walk to the Murray River. I've read before that the Murray is "the Mississippi of Australia." Now, however, its flow is completely managed by numerous dams and locks. Ill effects of human activity in the environment is plentiful around Calperum. I wondered if their were any similar signs with the river. More than that, I wanted to see the force that helped shape the area long before people existed here.

Cedra joined me on this extraordinary walk. It is approximately 3 miles from Calperum Station traveling south-east. Like my walk to the salt lake a few days before, it featured several changes of scenery — from cess pools and dead trees to sun-parched mud and mammoth bird's nests and finally to the surprisingly serene Murray River itself. Once there, Cedra and I broke for lunch. It was truly peaceful and quieting. Not quiet — things rarely are — but the sounds we heard, primarily occasional bird calls, had that effect. I took a little nap by the riverbed. After about an hour and a half or two hours, we started back. The pics don't do it justice, but here they are anyway.