So with breakfast over , the clothes washed and dried, we head into Echuca to do a Paddlesteamer cruise on the Murray.
At 11.15am we are waiting to board our Paddlesteamer - the "Alexander Arbuthnot" built in1923 and now restored to running condition for the Port of Echuca.
This is her tied up at the wharf waiting for us --- dwarfed really by the old wharves here in the Port of Echuca.
Once on board we wander this "Old girl of the Murray". She is not flash - but it's the character and history of this boat that endears us to it!!!
We get to watch the massive engine being fired up for our departure for our 1hour cruise this morning.
Most of the lower deck is taken up by the beast of an engine - the workhorse for this old wooden steamer.
Lots of wood is fed into the already blazing fire. Not sure this is a job you would want on a hot day - but today it's a nice place to be.
It's lovely and warm being near the engine on this very cold morning and I keep graviton get back to look at it whilst waiting to get underway.
I find it amazing that the engine spent 20years underwater - but today it is working!!
The whistle blows ---
---- and we are under way - with this massive engine turning the paddle wheels at either side of the vessel to propel is forward out into the river.
The captain is in the wheelhouse - steering us up river - it's slow as she goes - so does not seem to require too much effort on the "wheel".
The simplicity of the steering system means that the crews of old could easily fix it themselves. They had to be self sufficient and deal with any issues encountered as these old boats travelled up and down the Murray-Darling river to remote areas of the state.
Look carefully!! There is a chain running around the wheel housing and down through the floor of the wheelhouse. Here via a series of pulleys it then runs out either side of the lower deck to the rudder at the rear of the boat.
As we walk about the lower deck we can see the slight movements of the chain in a groove running along the floor.
We pass quite a few other old paddlesteamers moored along the shore as we progress up river this morning - some still being restored.
I like this one with the cross on top. Apparently it was built for a chaplain who plied the river preaching his ministry in this old boat. The minister and his family lived aboard it - and there was even an organ built into it for church services.
We also cross paths with another Paddlesteamer taking tourists on the river this morning - the "Emmy Lou"
Our captain turns the boat around 360 degrees and we come back down the river and travel a little beyond the port taking the view of quite a few more moored paddlesteamers.
It's another 360 degree turn - which takes great experience and concentration from the captain - as the turning-circle space is limited here.
Soon our cruise is over ---- and we are coming in to makie a gentle docking at the wharf.
We felt that we have truly experienced the romance of travelling the rivers on these old paddlesteamers.
It's hard to describe how it felt steaming along the river so gently.
The low drone of the powerful engine meshed with the gentle noises of splashing water as the paddle wheels turned to propel us forward was quite relaxing. I found the creaking of the old boat and the continual gentle vibration through its structure to be soothing and mesmerising.
Life lived another way - in another time!!!
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