Echuca

Helloooo

The last week we've been in a town called Echuca. It's a town along the Murray river about 60 km from Shepp. Someone we spoke to before we left for Echuca said it was "a richman's playground"... So we thought we'd feel completely at home there :) Anyway, the town itself was nice. It used to be an important port on the Murray around the 1900's. The portarrea and it's main street were still standing the way it would have been a 100 years ago (not counting a lick of paint and stuff here and there). Some old paddlesteamers (steamboats that use big spinning paddlewheels to propell themselves) were still in working condition as touristattractions. All in all the old area of Echuca had a nice authentic feel to it and was worth wondering around in for a day. After that we looked for things to do in the area and after some searching we found something. We went on a cannoeing trip on the Murrayriver. It was a 2 day trip, paddeling 60 km's downstream. We were dropped of at Lake Barmah, which is surrounded by Australia's largest Redgum forest. During our first canoeingday the Murray meandered through the forest which gave us some nice views. I even spotted four kangaroos :) Camping out at night was great, although a bit windy. Beeing in the middle of nowhere in a huge forest does have a humbeling effect... certainly when you meet an australian cowboy at midday telling you to look out for some particular dangerous spiders and snakes... We survived the night though, and went on our way to Echuca stopping now and then for a swim in the Murray (a well needed cooling down in the 40 - 45 degree weather).

Back in Echuca we found a great bakery. It sold loads of sugar and chocolate goodness, but the one thing that stood out for me (being a chocoholic and all) was a small darkblack squareshaped cake called "Death By Chocolate"... All i can say is I'm still alive, but the rest tastes as good and as unhealthy as it sounds.

We spent some more time in Echuca, mainly cooling down in the pool and the Murray. Since 2 days we've been back in Shepp, and work is picking up. By the latest we'll have work (picking pears) next friday, thanks to a great australian guy called Phill. I'll tell you all about that another time, 'cause my time on the library internetpc's in running out, and i'm getting kicked off...

Bye bye