Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Cruising the Murray River from Mannum to Blanche Town on the PS Murray Princess. Largest ever Paddlewheel Steamer on the Murray. Launched in 1986 it is 65 metres long and displaces 1500 tons. It is a true paddlewheel in that the rear paddlewheel is the only source of power for forward or aft motion. But, she does have bow and stern side thrusters to give the skipper some control over it when parking or going into Lock 1 at Blanche Town. It has a capacity for 140 passengers. On our trip it was quite comfortable with 47. PS Murray Princess. Mannum SA August 2026 irst night out we paddled up the river for a few hours and tied up to a big old gum tree or two at an unnamed spot on the river. The highlight for me were the pelicans that kept flying by us we moved along. One of those moments when you don't have your camera and you don't have time to go and get it. You just have to stand there and enjoy the sight while it's there. We kept paddling pretty well non-stop the next day t...

  Mannum SA 1st August 2026 Took a scenic route from Renmark down through Swan Reach and even used the vehicular ferry at Walkers Flat. Really nice little car collection at Swan Reach. No swans though, they have flown the coup, about 200 years ago. Swan Reach SA. August 2026 Swan Reach SA. August 2026 Mannum was a surprise, it’s obviously a weekender destination from Adelaide and is teeming with people and kids. Also as a surprise, was that the van refused to power up when plugged in. Here we go again. Turns out that the 240 vac inlet socket has disintegrated (again!) which means that as you push the plug in, it pushed the pins straight back into the housing. Fortunately a Bunnings is only 24km away at Murray Bridge so we have at lease secured a potential replacement.  OMG but its cold here overnight! Anyhow, right after a late breakfast, I jumped in and fixed the damned socket. This is the second time I've had to do this due to a rubbish design on the part of C...