Well, when you are on a sortof holiday, Mondays get lost in the enjoyment of leisurely starts….and so it was today.  We toddled off to Echuca about 90 minutes from Bendigo, and were a little bemused by the loooong stream of traffic coming out of the town.  Mystery was solved when we pulled up to admire the wonderful silo murals at Rochester, and asked a couple of the buff young men in utes there what was the event?  It had been a huge ski boat racing weekend with lots of adrenaline and beer.🤣

The murals………hope we get to tick off a few more in the future.  These were fabulous!  Even the donation box was in the shape of silos.

 

We had chosen to have a day in Echuca to compare THEN (a trip with our kids to show Ben a fair slice of Australia before he went on his year long Rotary Exchange to Japan back in 1991) and NOW.

Now the tourist industry seems to be thriving!  There has been a concerted effort to retore the wharf, improve facilities and offer events such as the ski races to appeal to a diverse range of punters.  We even had a relaxing cruise along the Murray River on the same paddlesteamer as before – The Pevensey.  

Parking was at a premium with many tourists still in town.  We had our usual lunchtime picnic down by the river.  The Discovery Centre is well worth a visit to uncover the history of the river trade.

We have been lucky with the weather so far.  Italian on the menu tonight with the lovely Stephanie Armstrong at Borchelli Ristorante.  Stephanie is a colleague from my Dare to Lead days and a Bendigo local……so there will be lots to yarning over a wine or three.  We are walking back to the hotel!