From the Grampians we
took a cross country route to Echuca, a historical port on the Murray
River dividing Victoria from New South Wales. The Murray river rises
on the slopes of Mount Kosciusko in the Snowy mountains and divides
the two states as it flows for 2100kms before entering the sea near
Adelaide SA. Historically, the river was very important for
transporting logs and bales of wool to the ports.
The countryside we
traversed was 180 degrees sky overlooking flat fields of wheat, sheep
or cattle grazing land and Peter said: “Long straight roads, tall
gum trees and blue skies.” The roads were very straight with no
traffic except for some large roadtrucks. Some roads were gravel
roads with a single width tarmac down the middle and one had to drive
on the sandy side verge to avoid oncoming traffic. We passed the
school bus at one stage, dropping children at their farms at the end
of the school day. Some are quite a way away from the nearest town.
The Captain allowed me to have a turn at driving the van today too.
The town of Echuca has
a central main street like most country towns with a mixture of
Victorian and modern architecture. The shops are shaded with wrought
iron bedecked verandahs.
Many of the paddle
steamers built in the 19th century have been restored and
it was on the PS Pevensey that we had a very pleasant morning cruise
along the river Murray and then looked around the Discovery Centre
explaining how Echuca Wharf developed and prospered. Echuca was the
port used in the filming of 'All the Rivers Run' a TV series in 1982
and the PS Pevensey was the paddle steamer used in the filming of the
series.
This afternoon,
(Wednesday 11th Oct), we travelled along the Murray valley
to Yarrawonga where my mum and dad managed a hotel/botel on Lake
Mulwala in the 70s. This complex has now been replaced by a very
smart boating resort. Lake Mulwala is a large man made lake and there
are still many tall tree stumps poking up out of the lake.
Highlight of the day:
Cruising on the paddle steamer
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