Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Echuca Vic, May 19 2015 Woke up to a drizzly grey sort of day and went straight back to sleep. Finally dragging ourselves out 'before noon' we headed into town with the intention of going to the National Holden Museum, but got as far as the end of the street when we got distracted by an old telegraph station and the original punt crossing of the Murray. The telegraph station turned out to be a private line which worked for a short time in the 1850s before being turned into a private residence for one of the river-boat captains. Our caravan park is called Maidens Inn Holiday Park, and part from being huge (two parks combined) is right on the river. Right up one end are these 4 old stone columns topped with a plinth. One can only imagine this big hotel where the maidens of the district lived...  The reality is that maiden refers to an ex-convict, James Maiden who established a punt across the Murray river in 1845 and built his inn on the bank next to it. The columns were the ...

 Echuca Vic. May 18, 2015 May 18? Heck, that means our new Ford is 1 year old and maybe not so new any more. In fact it has 49132 km on the clock and could do with some new tyres on the front and a bath! Car by Ford. Parking by Judith. The drive across from Swan Hill is not the most pleasant in the world, it’s not far but the road is quite bumpy and wanders in and out of towns and around old rivers and creeks and dead dogs and anything else that could be used to preclude a straight line been A and B. We actually stopped in Kerang for a cuppa, which at least let the big truck that was menacing me go by. We have been to Echuca a few times now, this time we are staying right out along the river in Moama, which is in NSW on the river opposite Echuca. We had some lunch in Moama before venturing into Echuca proper. There’s only one place it go really and that is the wharf precinct. There is a street open to the public, with old shops fronts and carts and drays a...