Behind the property, the vineyard was being tendered by Vietnamese people. They snipped and twirled the brown spaghetti onto the out-stretched armlike wire structure. It was like taming Medusa's hair. Once the tendrils were neatened, the vines appeared to be rows of can can dancers.
Ella Mae found a walnut tree on the property. She was very proud and excited; and prospecting like a gold miner in the grassy garden patch. The children used bricks to crack the shell; and ate them with a deep sense of satisfaction.
We walked the Merbein Common with views across the Murray River. Then, we walked past an ancient scarred tree snag-clearing operation of the Murray River near Chaffey Landing in 1979. It was on display underneath a galvanised structure.
We learnt about the 1956 floods, red gum scarred tree, and William Blandowski's wicked sense of humour by naming new species of fish after Reverend Mr Blaesdale and Dr Eades. Dr Eades' namesake fish was described as "a fish easily recognised by its low forehead, big belly and sharp spine."
We had lunch at Banjo's. The pies were pretty good. We also found The Italian for cannoli. Best cannoli we have had so far.
At Orange World, we met Maria and Mario (the owners) and Lenard (our guide). They had the best orange juice I have ever had. The tractor train ride was very informative. They shared with us the best citrus variety to plant. Imperial mandarins, Washington naval, and Chinotto kumquat. If and when we find Kurra oranges, we should try them as they have pink flesh and are very sweet. It is best to have winter fruits as there are less pest in the fruiting season. A good tip from them to control fruit flies is fill a bottle with vinegar, vegemite, orange juice.
Woodsie's Gem Shop was interesting but it was not a place that I would like to go back to. Perhaps of my lack of knowledge and interest in gems. The highlight was the Selenite crystal encrusted log discovered and excavated from Nowingi; and the machinery used to clean the gems.
I am glad we went to Lambert's Swamp, a small salt lake. It was very pretty at sunset. We had the whole place to ourselves. Magical and serene place for contemplation.
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