What's the definition of depressing? ...the Murray Bridge Tourist Park. Pick the closest spot to an interstate highway, let the grounds become a dust bowl, leave the amenities in original condition (circa 1970's), cultivate all sorts of funky weeds, allow the 'permanents' to build lean-to's and other dodgy outbuildings attached to their vans, watch the residents walk around in a zombie state, staring disapprovingly at the 'tourists' who visit and, wake up to the aroma of your neighbour's morning cigarette....ahhh the serenity.
We needed a powered site to re-charge our depleted batteries and decided Murray Bridge would best meet our needs for a few days. The choice caravan park on the river was booked out so after checking the reviews on Wikicamps, we reluctantly enquired about staying at the Murray Bridge Tourist Park. Although the park itself was horrible, I can't speak highly enough of the new Managers, who only started the day we arrived! They spent all of 2015 travelling Oz with 2 kids the same age as ours so we were fortunate to be able to pick their brains about their experience of 'The Lap'. I'm not sue what attracted them to the thankless and unending work of caravan park management, especially this shithole in the Murraylands. I won't be surprised if they end up returning early to Ocean Grove! Jerrad and Shannon - you have a huge task ahead...good luck!
It wasn't all bad in Murray Bridge. We spent a day at the fantastic Monarto Zoo (SA's equivalent of the Werribee Zoo). Although it was another hot day (35+ degrees), we spent about 5 hours exploring and enjoying the massive zoo. The open range viewing platforms and insightful commentry on the tour buses were fascinating. The history of the farm land that hosts the zoo is as interesting as the zoo's inhabitants.
The kids loved the Murray Bridge Tourist Park as they had some new friends to play with (Jerrad & Shannon's kids). There was also a pool - always a drawcard for kids regardless of the size or condition of it. Needless to say, as we were doing a happy dance after hooking up the camper to move on, the kids were still trying to convince us to stay "for at least 6 months"!! I'd rather have poked my eyes out with a blunt stick than stay another night there.
Anyway...after much research and decision making, we settled on a mssive 300 watt solar panel to boost our current 220 watts. This will presumably provide excess power for our needs most days but it's peace of mind to have redundancy in our system for high load or overcast days.
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