The Manna House: The heat wave

I love a sunburnt country
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains,
I love her far horizons
I love her jewel- sea
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
Dorothy Mackellar.

Who remembers this from school? We had to learn it by rote and I still remember it. The countryside we drove through from Benalla to Yarrawonga ,reminded me of it. So wide and brown, not to mention flat as far as the eye can see.
We took a lovely lake cruise in Yarrawonga. Fascinating and eerie. There are dead red gums sticking up everywhere. (see pics)
We enjoyed 2 days in the local van park in a great spot over looking the Murray river and felt inspired to get into some free camping up towards Cobram. However, we don’t seem to have great success in that area, as the camps were badly sign posted and when we eventually found the one we were looking for, it was not really suited to a motor home , more like a 4 wheel track again. Feeling discouraged, we headed for Barooga and camped over night there. Happily they had a swimming pool, as the temp once more up to 36C.
My seat belt had a problem, failing to retract properly, so we took off for Shepparton, knowing there was a VW dealer there. And although it couldn’t be fixed on the spot, they were able to make a temporary adjustment so that it will work till it can be fixed. (a much bigger job than expected) Marnie also had a chance to see the chiropractor in Shepparton, and we had time to see the town (larger than expected)
The heat wave just keeps going and the fridge is once more a problem. We headed for Bendigo in 40C temps and by the time we arrived, most of the fridge contents had gone off. After a few hasty phone calls, we drove out to Kangaroo Flats and found a Jayco dealer who told us what the problem was (in his opinion) The fridge has been incorrectly installed with the vent about 8 inches too low, so that the hot air cant escape. That may well be the problem. However, he said he was booked out for months!! Thankfully, we were able to make an appointment with Jayco in Ballarat for 2 days hence then went out and filled the fridge with ice.
Bendigo is a beautiful city with an amazing art gallery, numerous attractive, historical buildings and a great way to see it all. They have a talking tram ride which takes you to the best attractions and you can get on and off at will and use the ticket for 2 days. Most enjoyable.
Vicki