WHERE THE RIVER RUNS
EXPLORING THE MIGHTY MURRAY CAN BE DONE AS QUICKLY OR SLOWLY AS YOU PLEASE
From spotting anacondas along the Amazon to dodging crocodiles in Uganda while kayaking the Nile, I have found river retreats to be far from repetitive. But I’d never tested that theory on Australia’s longest river.
You can fly to either Albury or Mildura and be on the Murray River in less than an hour, but where’s the excitement in that? So I packed my car with an inflatable SUP and began the scenic road trip south from Sydney. I’ll take open car windows, music blaring and chance encounters any day of the week.
I had all the time in the world to enjoy this drive; stopping in for a quick fish at Lake Mulwala and even taking a tour in Australia’s oldest whiskey distillery in Corowa. When it was time to find an adrenaline rush, locals all pointed me in the same direction, to the twin towns of Echuca-Moama three hours west of Albury along the Murray.
Century-old buildings stand here as emblems of a bygone era, giant paddle steamers slowly chugging along the water; it was like entering a movie set.
As a board sports lover, I have always wanted to experience wakeboarding. The thought of carving through a river stream behind a speed boat left my fingers tingling with excitement.
Within minutes of arriving on the Moama riverbank with Brett Sands Watersports, I was on the back of the boat trying to pay attention to everything my instructor Bo was sharing. “Yep, lean back,” I shouted back as I jumped into the water, rope in hand.Bobbing away in the water, I watched as the boat suddenly began roaring forward, quickly tightening the rope I was clutching. In a few seconds I would either gracefully glide to an upright position or find myself flung forward, face-first, giving everyone on the riverbank a good laugh.
I found my feet, letting out a cheer as the wind rushed across me, and the water skimmed under my board. I began to manoeuvre across the river and ride on top of the wavelike wake being produced from the rear of our speed boat. I was elated.
Feeling confident, I attempted an ambitious jump over my next wake. Seemed simple enough. But as I threw myself towards the heavens above, I quickly realised that my body was not in the position to land the trick. From under the water, I performed a body checklist and surfaced to roaring laughter.
Arranging to catch up with Bo for a beer later, I decided to have a paddle at the front of my safari tent at Talo Retreat in Moama. The convenience of sleeping metres from the river meant that in a few minutes I retrieved my SUP, inflated it and had started to glide upstream towards the now golden cliff banks ahead.
Moving at a slower pace, I was able to fully appreciate this river system as I passed 100year-old giant eucalyptus trees hugging the bank, traditional steam paddlers slowly chugging ahead and up above me, hundreds of squawking cockatoos filling the sky.
Back at my tent I soaked my now aching
Tyson was a guest of Destination New South Wales.