Episode 5

After 40 days on their journey, John and Tim undertake the last leg of their adventure, travelling down the lower reaches of the Murray. To make good time they often rise early and power along the glossy waters before the wind gets up. Some mornings with the dawn sun playing on the water and trees, they turn off the motor and drift downstream taking in the sights and sounds of life along this mighty river. On day 46 the duo reach Lake Alexandrina, a lake so vast it feels like the ocean. But with an average depth of just three metres it can become very precarious for unwitting travellers and many a sailor has come to grief. All of a sudden the tinnie feels very small and when the wind comes up, John and Tim make a hasty retreat to the shore. Finally the Bismarck reaches the end of the Murray. On one side is fresh water, on the other side is the brackish water of the Coorong. This is Storm Boy country. After being ushered through many locks and weirs, this is the first lock that John and Tim are required to operate themselves. Luckily they don't have a deadline to meet! At the famous Coorong, the Murray takes on a completely different character. Since beginning their journey, John and Tim have travelled from the tributaries of the Darling all the way to the Murray. Then from the beginnings of the Murray all the way to the sea. Now they can smell the ocean.