Apr 17, Paringa, Renmark, Berri, Barmera, Kingston on Murray

Up early this morning to watch the Paringa Bridge go up. It only lifts twice a day at 9:30 and 2:30. One section of road on the bridge raises straight up by means of wheels, pulleys and counterweights, very interesting.
Driving through Renmark we came upon a Greek Orthodox Church. It was close, but as fate would have it, 2 men drove up in a truck to do some work and they let us in. It was a beautiful church with magnificent chandeliers and paintings and icons. It was built in the 1970, but looked new.
Renmark is home to the southern hemisphere's largest rose garden, so we stopped for a look. It's autumn here and the roses weren't at peak, but there was enough in bloom to see many of the over 4000 varieties there. It was laid out in several sections with tea roses, climbing, etc. and was quite overwhelming.
Outside of town we found Almondco, an almond grower, distributor, exporter. They had a sale room, so we bought some slivered almonds and tamari almonds, but we tasted salt & vinegar, cinnamon and smoked. Loved the salt & vinegar.

Outside of town we went across the Murray on a ferry - this one had a wooden deck. It took us to Lyrup and on to Berri. Under the bridge was an Aboriginal mural of the local people's dreamtime story. Unfortunately the text was illegible, but the mural was beautiful. Then we went to 'A Special Place for Jimmy James'. It was a memorial to an Aborigine who was an extraordinary tracker. He worked with police departments all over Australia and found criminals, escapees and people who were lost. Some of the stories of his expertise were amazing.

There was a 4 km walk along the Murray in Berri, so we decided to take it. The Lions Club had made it and all over Australia we have seen the work of Lions and Rotary Clubs. The projects range from parks to walks, zoos to campgrounds. They're extremely active and do much to enhance their towns. This walk was measured in steps, I suppose to encourage people to walk. There was a marker every 250 steps and at the end a 4500 step marker!

Outside of town there were several fruit stands. These were large and had people manning them. Earlier we came across fruit & vegetable stands with produce in bags, marked with the price and a box for money - all on the honor system.

In Barmera we had wanted to go to Rocky's Country Music Hall of Fame, but it was closed. So we climbed the lookout on the town Water Tower. Then we drove around Lake Bonney and decided to do something we almost never ever do - go backwards. We went west to Kingston on Murray to find out about an ecotour in a game reserve. It took some doing, since our cell phone just doesn't work in remote areas, but with the help of the general store owner we contacted the tour operator and set it up for tomorrow.

Now we're in another campsite on the Murray, watching pelicans float down the river.

Pictures - Paringa Bridge, Greek Church, Jimmy James memorial, Jeanne and mural, Samson & Water Tower Lookout