Attendees: Alan & Lyn Munday Yamaha FJR1300
Obviously the destination or the timing was not suitable to anyone else, so we decided we would do the trip on our own. After the mandatory ride briefing, we were on the road by 8 o’clock on Friday morning, heading towards Cootamundra where we had a coffee. From there we went to Junee, Coolamon and Narrendra for our lunch stop, then onto Deniliquin via Jerilderie and Conargo.
We were pleased to get to Echuca by the end of the day. It was a long ride, but uneventful so all was good. Lots of rolled hay bails in the paddocks along the way. We booked into the Moama Tourist Park, where we had a cabin on the river bank. Very pleasant sitting on the lounge and watching out the window at the Paddle boats going up and down the Murray River.Saturday dawned and we had decided we would walk across the bridge into Echuca and explore the jetty area, checking out the boats, etc. We booked ourselves a ride on the PS Canberra which was an enjoyable ride up and down the river, passing other Paddle Steamers on our way, including the one that was used in the series, All the Rivers Run with Sigrid Thorton. They renamed that paddle steamer The Philadelphia for the series but it is actually called Pevensey.
After disembarking, we had some lunch at a local cafe, then checked out the Holden Museum around the corner. Lots of very nice old model Holdens to be seen. We then walked back to the Caravan Park, feeling quite satisfied with our efforts for the day. We then rang our son, Glen in Melbourne and asked him what he was doing on Sunday. Nothing, he said. So he and his girlfriend drove up to Bendigo (about 120 km)and we rode down to Bendigo (about 90km) were we met for lunch. It was great to see them. All this time, rain clouds were looming, but we managed to get back to Moama without getting wet, although Glen had driven through rain on his way up and back from Melbourne.
Monday, and it was time to head home. We were going to follow the Murray River to Albury on our way home, but ended up turning off at Tocumwal and then went to Finley, Jerilderie and across to Wagga Wagga via Lockhart. Another long days ride, but it was an enjoyable weekend and glad we did it.
Lyn
