Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 12 . VICTORIA
land it helped irrigate. In 1842, the Murray was “discovered” by explorers
Hamilton Hume and William Howell on the first overland trek from Sydney to
Port Phillip, near Melbourne. As Hume later wrote, on their trek the explorers
“suddenly arrived at the bank of a very fine river—at least 60m (200 ft.) wide,
apparently deep, the bank being 2.4m or 2.7m (8 ft. or 9 ft.) above the level,
which is overflowed at the time of flood . . . In the solid wood of a healthy tree
I carved my name.” You can still see the carved initials on a tree standing by the
riverbank in Albury, on the border between the two states.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE Most visitors cross the river during an overland drive
between cities. There are two routes to get to the Murray from Melbourne:
Either take the Calder Highway to Mildura, which is a 6-hour drive, or take the
2 1 ⁄2-hour route down the Midland Highway to Echuca. Traveling from Melbourne
to Mildura is only practical if you’re continuing on to Broken Hill,
which is 297km (184 miles) north of Mildura. Those in a hurry to get to and
from Sydney can travel via the river-straddling twin towns of Albury-Wodonga
on the Hume Highway (about a 12-hr. trip with short stops).
V/Line (& 13 61 96 in Victoria, or 03/9619 5000) runs regular train services
to Mildura, Echuca, and Albury-Wodonga.
VISITOR INFORMATION The Echuca and Moama and District Visitor
Information Centre, 2 Heygarth St., Echuca, VIC 3564 (& 1800/804 446 or
03/5480 7555; fax 03/5482 6413; www.echucamoama.com), has plenty of maps
and information about accommodations and river cruises. It’s open daily from
9am to 5pm. The Mildura Visitor Information & Booking Centre, 180–190
Deakin Ave., Mildura, VIC 3502 (& 1800/039 043 or 03/5021 4424; fax 03/
5021 1836; www.milduratourism.com; tourism@mildura.vic.gov.au), offers similar
services. It’s open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5:30pm and weekends
from 9am to 5pm. If you’re passing through Albury, contact the Gateway
Visitors Information Centre, Gateway Village, Lincoln Causeway, Wadonga,
VIC 3690 (& 1800/800 743 or 02/6041 3875; fax 02/6021 0322), open daily
from 9am to 5pm.
RIVER CRUISES & OTHER FUN STUFF
IN MILDURA Mildura is one of Australia’s most important fruit-growing
areas. There was a time, however, when this was just semi-arid, red dust country.
The area bloomed due to a little ingenuity and, of course, the Murray. The original
irrigation system consisted of two English water pumps and the manual labor
of hundreds of immigrants, who were put to work clearing the scrub and digging
channels through the new fields. Today, the hungry land soaks up the water.
Several paddle steamers leave from Mildura wharf. One of the nicest boats is
the PS Melbourne (& 03/5023 2200; fax 03/5021 3017), which was built in
1912 and is still powered by steam. It offers 2-hour trips leaving at 10:50am and
1:50pm. The fare is A$18.50 (US$12) for adults and A$7.50 (US$4.90) for
children (free for children under 5).
The PS Melbourne’s sister ship, the Rothbury, was built in 1881, but its
steam-driven engine has been replaced by a conventional engine. It churns out
a winery cruise every Thursday from 10:30am to 3:30pm, stopping off at a winery
for tastings and a barbecue lunch. The trip costs A$42 (US$27) for adults
and A$20 (US$13) for children. The Rothbury has evening dinner cruises every
Thursday from 7 to 10pm for A$40 (US$26) for adults and A$18 (US$12) for