Monday, 26 October 2015 19:54
Murray River Houseboat Featured
Traveling the Murray River - we're in the bush!
Our latest adventure was traveling on the Murray River in a houseboat with the Kirby Family including: Graham & Janine, son Daniel and his friend Lisa; son David, and a family friend Jamie.
We boarded the houseboat at Echuca, Victoria - the paddle steamer capital of the world. The Murray River is 2600 kilometers from the Great Dividing Range in the north east of Victoria to its mouth at Goolwa in South Australia. We travelled about 3 kilometers per day on the houseboat and many kilometers on the jet ski which are quite popular on the river along with water skiing and knee boarding. One hour of travel downstream is 2 hours of travel back upstream given the speed of the current.
Neither Bob nor I had ever been on a house boat for any period of time. It's like a floating cabin that you can park occasionally. You must remember to run the generator from time to time - or as we learned, the shower stops when you're in the middle of your morning shower - quite exciting!
Huge houseboats continuously travel the river - this time of the year is the beginning of the high season so the weekends on the river are quite busy with houseboats, ski boats, and jet skis. November 3 is the famous Melbourne Cup -https://www.flemington.com.au/melbourne-cup-carnival
- equivalent to the US Kentucky Derby. It is a national Australian holiday and seems like the official kick-off to summer recreation and holidays similar to Memorial Day in the US. There are a few houses along the river - some are primary homes and some are vacation homes.
Friday evening we parked under this amazing Red Gum Tree - its many exposed twisted roots are very strong and a great place to tie up the houseboat. Right in front of the houseboat was a platypus hole - unfortunately, no one came out or went in while we were docked. As all over Australia - one must keep their eyes peeled for kangaroos and wallabies hopping through the woods.
There are many birds along the river including:
- Ducks - as we know ducks
- Yellow crested cockatoos - like I've only seen in the zoo
- Crows with a cry like a person - quite amazing early in the morning.
- Blue herons (just like in America)
- Magpies
- Rosellas https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosella
We're committed to trying something new each day and stretching ourselves to be more adventurous. After watching the boys on the jet skis do 360's, wave jumping and speed driving we both volunteered to have a ride. David was our driver and very safety conscious as well as a great river tour guide. Bob had such a good time on the jet ski that he now wants to purchase one to use on Clear Lake.
We ended the weekend by taking a walk through historic Echuca and having lunch at the Beechworth Bakery where we had an Australian meat pie. I had the "Ned Kelly" version and Bob had a steak pie. Check out the Ned Kelly story at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly
We're starting our final week here in Australia. The hospitality and kindness we have encountered here is second to none. We're blessed to have such wonderful friends around the globe - it truly makes the world seem small - and reinforces the goodness and kindness of the human race.
It seems appropriate to close today's post with this quote from the 14th Dali Lama:
"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace."
We have been filled with happiness and peace every step of the way. Though we miss our friends and family in the US, we're sad to see our time here in Australia come to a close. No doubt we'll make good use of our remaining days here and have many more stories to share.
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