In the last week of August 2023 we finally managed to achieve a trip that had been 4 years or more in the planning (flamin’ COVID!): to spend a few nights on the Murray River in a houseboat.
Along the way the composition of the party changed from our whole family to just Dean and Reen and a couple that we had been good friends with for over 30 years. Amazingly, doing this was one of their “bucket list” items also 🙂
Naturally, a fantastic time was had by all concerned…
Day 1-(Friday) Granville-Holbrook
We left at 1000hrs and arrived at the Byers Fountain Motor Inn at 1600 hrs, Room 33. We had lunch at the Yass Service Centre, then afternoon tea from Holbrook Bakery and dinner at the RSL Club.
Day 2-(Saturday) Holbrook-Echuca
We left Byers at 0800 hrs and we had a delicious breakfast at the Holbrook Bakery. We were on our way again at 0900 hrs. We drove through some beautiful countryside. We arrived at Echuca at 1245 hrs and we sat by a park until we could get into Motel. At the Old Coach Motor Inn we were in Room 7 and settling at 1350 hrs. Once we had set up the room we headed to Maureen (Reen’s sister) and Ian’s at 1600hrs, 48 Elizabeth St, Echuca for the afternoon, dinner and evening and left at 2155hrs.
Day 3-(Sunday) Echuca
We had breakfast at Maccas with Richard and Heather Wilkins at 0805 hrs and explored Echuca by driving and walking around town. Dean and Richard walked to Moama Bakery and got lunch for us which we shared together in Room 10 with them. We then headed to Maureen’s at 1630 hrs for the afternoon, we went to the RSL Club for dinner and then back for more talking and headed back the Motel at 2205 hrs.
Day 4-8-(Monday-Friday) Echuca to Infinity cruising the Murray River
We packed up and prepared to leave the room at 0810 hrs. We had breakfast at the Odd Captain’s Cafe, DELICIOUS. We went exploring local shops and wandered along the Port looking at the river. I actually walked around 3,000 steps, my biggest day since the op. We sat on the wharf waiting for the Infinity Houseboat to be cleaned, getting ready to leave.
We boarded the houseboat around 1500hrs. We all sat through the Induction video and the how to drive lesson, all good. We finally set off from the wharf at 1630 hrs with instructor on board, observing our new learned skills. He abandoned us, using his tinny and we went looking for a spot to moor for the night, we stopped just pass the Echuca Bridge. Richard was steering and Dean tied the ropes to moor us. After dinner we sat around chatting and playing on technology. We were well looked after with delicious food every day, thanks to Heather & Richard. While Richard did most of the steering during the cruise, we all did take turns steering. We all had the opportunity to sit and enjoy scenery of the river and of course we took heaps of photos. We spent time doing a puzzle. We moored the houseboat each day for lunch and each evening. We had to moor on the Victorian shore only because the NSW shore was mostly privately owned. We travelled to the furthest point on the river, Torrunbarry for us because we had to allow enough time to get back to Echuca.
Most afternoons we used the 10 seater spa which was very relaxing. Heather and Reen spent a lot of time colouring in and they enjoyed the views out the window. As we were closing in on Echuca we found the first houseboat movingly slowly in front of us, Richard overtook it. On Friday morning we headed toward Echuca and as we got closer the young guide met us in his tinny and he steered us into port. We had packed up earlier and were ready to leave the houseboat once it was moored. What a great adventure. During the cruise we had sunny days with a sprinkling of rain and at times some mild winds.
Day 8-(Friday) Echuca to Holbrook
After docking at Port Echuca at 0940 hrs and we packed our vehicles and left the port at 0955 hrs. We stopped in Echuca for coffee at the Odd Captains and then headed out of town. We travelled to Finley where we had lunch at Murray St Cafe at 1230 hrs. When we got back on the road again at 1305 hrs we split up travelling together, we were heading to Holbrook and Richard & Heather were heading toward Bathurst. We arrived in Holbrook at Byers Fountain Motor Inn at 1630 hrs and settled into Room 33, again.
Day 9-(Saturday)-Holbrook to Granville
We headed out at 0900 hrs and headed to the Holbrook Bakery for breakfast and were on our way again, heading home at 1015 hrs. After travelling safely we made it home by 1620 hrs, very tired and ready to stop.