Riverboat adventures

Hard to believe but it is almost Christmas again. We decided that we would take a quiet break before we joined the mad rush that is the lead up to the big day. We decided to find somewhere new to explore and so the 1st weekend in Dec saw us visiting Echuca-Moama.

A nice easy drive from Melbourne and just 2 1/2 hours later we had arrived at our home for the weekend. A lovely little B & B called Charlotte's Cottage right in the middle of town. The cottage had once been the first private girls school in the area and a few years ago was almost demolished to make way for for a school gym. Luckily the residents objected and the little house was saved, lovingly renovated and now operates as a fabulous B & B.

On Saturday morning we had a wander around both towns to get our bearings. I checked out the local farmer's market while Bill had his hair cut. (Which one, I asked). We then set off for the historic Port of Echuca where we boarded the Paddle Steamer 'Alexander Arbuthnot' for a cruise down the 'Mighty Murray'. It was a fun and great to see some of the other Paddle Steamers on the river as well. The Canberra, The Emmylou, Adelaide and Pride of the Murray all look pretty good as they wandered up and down. Once back on dry land we joined a little group for a guided tour of the Port. The guy was a scream and the stories about the history of Echuca very entertaining. And of course I got to stand on the old wharf with one foot in Victoria and one in NSW. The skeleton of PS Success was an interesting sight as they prepare to fully restore her to join the other boats on the Murray. Can't wait to see that.

During the afternoon we set off in the car to explore a bit further afield. We drove up to Gunbower where we explored Gunbower Island, the largest inland island in Australia. A little closer to Echuca we found Kow Swamp and had a drive around there. All of these places are wetland areas making it just the place for our budding wildlife photographer. Torrumbarry weir is another well kept secret and just 20 mins away from Echuca. The waterways provide fishing, water skiing and boating in a beautiful setting with the Gunbower State Forest lining the river. The fish ladder up the side of the dam wall was fascinating and seeing all the birds lined up on the bottom two steps makes you wonder how many fish really make it up and over to breed upstream. Obviously some do or it wouldn't be there.

A quick trip over the border to Mathoura, north of Moama, and we were in the middle of floodplains, wetlands and red gum forests watching flocks of birds from a huge birdhide. We finished the day with a lovely dinner at Oscar W's, a restaurant in the Port area, watching the paddle steamers work their way up and down river.

Sunday morning we were spoiled with another yummy breakfast and then we left the luxury of Charlotte's Cottage to make our way to Barmah were we were going to do a 2 hour cruise around the The Barmah Choke on the Murray River. It was a great trip with us being the only passengers so our wonderful guide took us into a few different places than normal. The area is significant with the largest stand of Red Gums in the world growing here in the Barmah-Millewa forest. While that is impressive the trees themselves are fairly ordinary, looking nothing like the magnificent Karri Trees of WA or the wonderful Mountain Ash forests of Victoria. The Barmah wetlands are home to over 200 species of waterbirds and provide shelter to many other animals as well. The Murray River was running very high as just a couple of weeks earlier the water from dams upstream had been flushed in for irrigation purposes.

With our cruise finished we headed back to Echuca were we met up with an 'old' friend we had not seen for 35 years. Graham & Bill were Airforce apprentices together and with a 39 year reunion coming up had found each other again. We caught up with him at the Working Mans club and had a great afternoon reminiscing before we headed off for the the drive home.

The next week we caught up with another 6 of the guys and their wives for dinner at a great little Malaysian Restaurant in China Town. With the guys travelling down memory lane, us girls got to have a chat and are all looking forward to the big event in February 2010.

The city has been gearing up for Christmas since November and the tree is up, Santa's Mailbox has been and gone, the Myer Windows drawing thousands of people each day to see 'Olivia helps with Christmas' and the Salvation Army musicians have been entertaining the many shoppers with their Christmas Carols.

And tonight's the night the man in red comes too town. Hope you all have been nice, not naughty, and all enjoy your Christmas celebrations tomorrow. We will be thinking of you all as we celebrate with the family here in Melbourne.

So all that's left to say is Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Until next time..............