8-9 June 2026 – 0 kms – Mildura
Latji Latji, Barkindji, Nyeri Nyeri, Ngintait Country
The to-do list is composed. There is food restocking to do. There are scripts to fill. There is bike cleaning and maintenance checks to do. There are people to ring. And there are sights to see. We fill the two days in Mildura with touristy sightseeing and all the errands and purchases on the to-do list – this is the last town of any size for the next 11 days.
I’m happy to report Mildura has a small health food shop that is owned and run by a young woman. I’m able to restock lentils, rice and nutritional yeast in quantities that are conducive to carrying on the bike. Normally I buy a lentil packet and leave half behind.
I’m perplexed to report that methylated spirits are hard to come by. Neither of the two Coles or two Woolworths carried it. I found it at an IGA – thank goodness, because I didn’t want to have to go all the way out to Bunnings.
We also have a walk around Mildura and have taken some pics to share below. Mildura is a large, regional town of 35,000 people on the Murray River, 540 kms northwest of Melbourne. It’s kind of a long way from anywhere though there are regional flights from here.
Its renowned for its sunny and warm climate with more than 300 days per year. It became popular as a tree-change destination during COVID for Melbourne folks. It gets dastardly hot out here in summer, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen signs in public car parks and on the sides of buildings reminding people not to leave children in cars. For all its warmth and sunny-ness, it also has a high crime rate.
It’s considered the heart of the Sunraysia region and is famous for producing around 80 percent of Victoria’s grapes and supplying around 90 percent of Australia’s table grape exports. The irrigation industry extends to citrus orchards, olive groves and local wineries, as well.
The town was founded in 1886 when Canadian-American irrigator George Chaffey came to Australia and chose the area as the site for his first irrigation settlement (he had a lot to do with Griffith/Leeton in NSW, too). He signed an agreement with the Victorian government to spend at least £300,000 on permanent improvements at Mildura over twenty years. He’d met one of Victoria’s Ministers, Alfred Deakin, when Deakin went to California to inspect its irrigation districts as part of a Royal Commission into water supply following extensive drought from 1877 to 1884.
There is nice parkland and a walking path along the river. Even with a rail line between the parkland and the central business district, the city has done a nice job of connecting the two (unlike Swan Hill).
In 1901, the club moved to the Mildura Cultivator building on Deakin Avenue. By 1918, membership growth prompted plans for a new, purpose-built home. Completed in December 1919 and officially opened in 1920, the new premises at the corner of Deakin Avenue and Ninth Street. It only started allowing women inside in 2018!!!!
Built in Queen Anne style, the house features original furniture and fittings such as Italian marble fireplaces and Victorian leadlight and stained glass windows.
Rio Vista was first occupied by WB Chaffey and his family in 1892. It stayed a family home until the 1950s. The house was built during the height of the Chaffeys’ success, but the Chaffey Brothers Ltd Company went into liquidation in December 1895 and the brothers suffered financial ruin, causing Rio Vista to fall into a state of disrepair.
WB Chaffey moved into Rio Vista with his second wife Heather (Hattie) Sexton Chaffey and lived here until his death in 1926. Hattie Chaffey lived in the house until her death in 1950 at which time the house was purchased by the Mildura City Council for conversion into an art gallery.
I did not do the tour of the Rio Vista House, but I did go to a free exhibition next door at the Arts Centre about Lake Mungo. I really enjoyed this. It’s finished now, but here’s some info: https://www.milduraartscentre.com.au/whats-on/mungo-and-country
On Tuesday, I drop the bike off and then head over to the information centre. I’m hoping for local knowledge on roads and what that “Open with caution – 4WD only” might mean, but the women there are friendly but useless. They don’t know anything beyond, “well, it’s just recommended for four wheel drives only right now.”
When I go to pick up the bike, I chat to the bike shop folks. I ask what sort of riding is around and they say, “Not much, there’s some road riding out to Merbein and the like.” I ask if they know anything about riding out to Lake Mungo. Nope. They think a lot of it is sealed now, though. The owner has a lot of family out that way, however. He gives me a business card and says to ring him if I get stuck and he can get in contact with one of them to help me. Thanks, that’s much appreciated. I’m thinking the mobile phone reception might be a sticking point on that plan, but I appreciate the gesture of kindness.
So all of that means I will go to the National Parks office over in Buronga tomorrow and see if they might be able to help me.
What I’ve managed to suss out so far:
It’s 130 kms of riding to get out there. You are supposed to bring your own water. However, the old Shearer’s Quarters has been turned into accommodation and it has potable water (rain tank with filter on the kitchen building). Mungo Lodge is just a couple kms from the park and you might be able to buy water there. Camping is more expensive there than the national park and perhaps not as nice. Reviews of the place are not great. The NPWS campground looks to have some rain tanks on the amenities block that I assume you can filter. They’ve had plenty of rain, so the tanks should have water.
I also figure this out:
Tomorrow, Wednesday, is meant to have strong northeasterly winds (it’s been strong out of the north both days I’m in Mildura). That is, of course, the direction I need to go. On Thursday, the northeasterlies should lessen. I’m confident I can make it out there in two days if the road conditions are okay for a mtn bike. If the road conditions are good, I’m confident I can fight into a 15-20kph headwind for all 130 kms in one day.
To ensure I can get water, I book accommodation in the Shearers Quarters for several nights. I want to spend a few days out there to take it all in, so this will mean I know I will have water. It’s $75 a night. I can manage that – and then I don’t have to buy water from the Lodge.
The next round of rain is due Saturday/Saturday night – 5-10 mms. There is more rain forecast next week. Even a few mms of rain can close the roads. So the plan is to ride out Thurs/Fri, be out there already when the rain comes, hope the rain is not as much as forecast and the roads dry out on Sunday and Monday. I do the aboriginal-led tour of the lunette on Monday (next time it is offered) and then head on towards Pooncarie on Tuesday and get back to a sealed road before the next lot of rain forecast on Wednesday.
But first, we need to know what the road is like to see if any of the above is feasible. Hopefully we can get that information tomorrow…..