Cohuna would have to be one of the best town based free camp sites anywhere. Well that's my opinion of course. So exactly where is Cohuna? It is situated on the banks of Gunbower Creek, n important branch of the Murray River just 65km north west of Echuca on the Murray Valley Highway.
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| The lovely water fountain and if you look at the enlarge image you can see the fish sculpture behind it |
Obviously it really depends upon what you are looking for from your free camp of course.
Some might prefer the peace and quiet of the open country with hardly a soul in sight. Others want a busy little town with a half decent shopping centre.
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| Looking from the town side across the river at the free campers on Flora Park |
At the moment this little town has grass underfoot which we have found to be rather rare on this trip.
We also have water views from our doorway as we are alongside the weir which directs water up the various irrigation channels.
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| Grass not quite so green but still it is grass and that is the town across the water |
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All this is within walking distance to the town shops. So how’s that for a free camp?
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| Sunset across the Gunbower Creek from the campsite |
A very generous 72 hours stay allows us plenty of time to relax and explore the town and surrounding area. We believe towns would benefit a lot more by allowing longer stop overs. See our post on this topic
here.
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| A short drive takes you to many areas |
So what is there to see in the area?
Well the camp ground itself is located on a separate island, Gunbower Island which is claimed to be Australia's largest inland island. It has a water frontage of 130 kilometres and is mostly covered by native forests and wetlands. Tent camping, picnics, fishing, boating, birdwatching & bush walking are all common activities on the island.
Along with some friends, we went for a long drive around the island. We didn't really appreciate the island though as it was very dry. It is hard to imagine it as a wetlands from our drive around the area. It is just so dry here as just about everywhere around western Victoria is at the moment. We could see that we really could get bogged during the wet season, however a bit more green colour to be seen would have been appreciated.
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| A pelican is one of the birds found in the wooden statues |
Another thing we did was to use Cohuna as a base and go for a pleasant drive through the countryside and we ended up at Koondrook where we were pleasantly surprised my the wood carving trial we discovered. Timber was a important industry in this area and the town recognizes this through the wood carvings depicting important people and the bird life in the area.
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| Just one of the many wood carved statues around.nearby Koondrook |
Cohuna, Victoria, in my book you’ve aced it! I will be back time and time again when we pass through this way.
