Merbein was an absolute gem! This amazing spot beside the Murray near Mildura was such a perfect place to relax and enjoy a few lazy days. A 'beach' style swimming area was only 10 metres from our camp site, allowing easy access to the river for the kids and dogs. The river bed was far more sandy here - no sludge between the toes!
We survived what i think may be the hottest spell of our trip (at least i hope we don't get too many more 50+ degree days!). Check out the pictures below of my thermometer reading throughout the day on January 13. The top reading is the temp INSIDE our van. The bottom reading is the temp OUTSIDE IN THE SHADE. At 7.53am, the temp was already 38.6 inside and 36.5 outside. By 1.17pm the temp inside the van was 43.5 and had climbed to a balmy 51 degrees outside!!! Michael took the kids into Mildura to spend a few hours at the local pool while the dogs and I relied on the cool waters of the river to keep us from overheating. The afternoon threw us another curve ball when the 'cool change' hit and 80km+ gusts of wind accompanied an old fashioned Mallee dust storm. Gandalf did us proud, surviving the lot!
The heat meant the wildlife was also struggling to keep cool. We awoke on the morning of the 13th to find a massive goanna lumbering past our van. We raced outside to take a closer look (and a few pics). It was almost robotic in its pace and unfazed by us or the dogs (leashed!) admiring its size and sense of ownership of the bush track as we watched it slowly disappear into the distance.
The other 'exciting' part of our Merbein stay was that I got bitten by a scorpion! I had no idea scorpions were native critters along the Murray. It was a little unnerving at first but the sting was less painful than a bee and the symptons certainly didn't last as long as a bee sting! I've since discovered that, thankfully, none of the scorpions in Australia are poisonous (thanks Peter).
Merbein...we'll be back!
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