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‘You’re from Adelaide. Lot of left-wing greeny tree-huggers there. Wanting water from the Murray River for “the environment”. Lot of bullshit. And it’s a good thing that Donald Trump is in. He’ll shake things up.’
I was amazed. The first Australian Trump supporter. I kept my mouth shut and laid low.

Murray River

And then there was the guy that stopped in the middle of nowhere, got out, and gave me stuff – whatever he had was mine to take. A cake. Water. Chips. He was wearing a cycle t-shirt. He worked at the Murray River environment management. Cool guy. He wasn’t a Trump supporter.

Today was hot as hell. I left late and hung out in supermarkets – in Deniliquin and in Finley. It’s cool there. In Finley they even had a ‘cool area’ for the beer – and for hot cyclists. They didn’t sell individual ice-creams, so I was forced to buy 4 Golden Gaytimes. Such suffering.

Four Golden Gaytimes

It was hot, but was threatening to rain for a lot of the day. It didn’t rain more than a sprinkle, but it was windy and dusty. I thought it was time to return to more civilisation – rather than great distances across flat, dry plains – so I headed south to the mighty Murray River. There are camping spots all along the river, and the idea of going for a swim was very appealing. So, here I am, camping on the banks of Australia’s longest river, and on the border between Victoria and New South Wales. My tent is situated on the sand just next to the river, with all eucalyptus trees around. The cockatoos screech and fly overhead, and the cicadas purr in the background. It is a beautiful place.

Murray River