Day 5 Monday 20/12/21 Chiltern, sunny 25˚

Rather than join the highway traffic we take the back road into Albury. We stroll the full length of Dean Street and back. Gosh it’s a long street. There are some superb buildings and the shops are busy and seemingly back to normal after the last lockdown. I buy a T shirt and jeans before we go out to North Albury and buy smoked meats and kransky from Murray Valley Smoked Meats. This shop is in a quiet leafy residential area and has been selling smallgoods for generations.

It’s getting quite warm, we buy a couple of roast rolls and head to Noreuil Park on the Murray River to eat lunch. A friend rings with Xmas wishes and to tell us that through DNA he’s discovered that his father wasn’t his father, whoops, and a wartime dalliance means that his paternal line is Italian American not Scottish. He’s thrilled. Now we know why he never became a butcher like his Dad. Down on the river we watch enviously as teenagers jump into the river and float downstream to the boathouse to cool off*.

Back at camp we chat with our Qld neighbours P & K who have chosen not to risk this 3^rd attempt at getting to Tasmania, they’ll stay on in Chiltern until Boxing Day then make a dash to the ship at Port Melbourne. That way they’ll avoid any red zone contact.

The park is busy with through trade, it seems that there’s quite a rush between Sydney and Melbourne for families to get together.

We have a mushroom risotto for dinner with what’s left of the mushies after Woody’s breakfast.

We have another new neighbour who spends the evening telling us about his work in Aboriginal Affairs. The problems are complex but we now know why successive governments haven’t been able to find a solution. We were almost comatose by the end of the evening.

Accom: 36.00

*Sadly, a young lad drowned in the Murray River at Noreuil Park just after Xmas.