From River to ‘Roo

What a day of contrasts we had recently.

Morning Traffic on the Murray

It started alongside the River Murray, waking up to a clear, frosty morning that turned into a beautiful sunshiny autumn day.  It then continued at a large and warmly welcoming eat-in Bakery in the town of Echuca.  Here we enjoyed a never-ending cup of coffee (or tea or herbal infusion) as we took a leisurely look over their myriad of freshly baked delights.  It was not easy to make a choice with such an assault on all of our senses simultaneously…but we bravely attacked this conundrum.

Read Full Post »

You Know how ‘A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine’?…well-ll-ll

…how about a nail file saving a River Murray cruise?

It all happened on our recent holiday at Echuca, Victoria – an historic port on the famous mighty Murray River.

Ready for Action once again

The eco-cruise was touted as a ‘not to be missed’ tourist trip, offering the passenger amazing views and photo opportunities.  It all began well – and ended well – on the delightful Kingfisher motorised river boat.  However, just minutes into this idyllic boat tour, the engine just stopped.  No cough or splutter – just stopped, and the boat began a slow drift with the current, as our young Captain tried everything she could think of to save the day – to no avail.  Aboard, amongst the passengers, were some  amateur but highly skilled mechanics who also tried all they could think of.  Still we drifted towards some dead branches and other snags that threatened to do the vessel a nasty injury.

Within cooee, there was a small dinghy with two fishermen aboard.  They had planned several  long and leisurely hours in this perfect piece of Paradise, and hopefully catching their lunch.  When asked (by loudspeaker) to help, they put aside their gear, fired up their outboard motor and caught the rope flung out from our craft.  Their typically larrikin comment – “jeez, thanks a lot.  Bloke comes out for a quiet fish, away from the missus and tin lids – and has to turn out and become a b….. lifesaver!”  But they laughed at the same time – and proceeded to tow us safely to shore.

Our Heroes

Our Captain offered us all our money back, having no idea what time might elapse before the official mechanic she had phoned on her mobile would arrive.  And even then, repair time was an unknown factor – or even IF it could be fixed on the spot.  But none of us were in a hurry that day, and all chose to wait – for a while at least.

Meantime, our on-board repairers kept on trying to find the problem – and a few of us took the opportunity for a photo shoot along the nearby river bank.   Whilst I was a short distance away, one of our trusty mechanical ‘whizz-kids’ found some corrosion that could be the problem, and needed filing off to find out.  Of course, it had to be in a tricky place that required a smaller file than any amongst the available range of tools.  In fact, a nail file was required.

The ladies present either didn’t have one at all, or had only the emery board or cardboard variety, unsuitable for the job at hand.  All seemed lost once again, until my husband, Kanute suddenly remembered my ‘emergency’ steel nail file in the glove-box of our car.  I returned from my photo jaunt to find my trusty nail file had met and solved a far more important ‘disaster’ that the usual snagged fingernail.

Our boat’s motor sprang back into life with gusto, and our Captain, who had kept her cool most admirably throughout the whole disastrous episode, announced she was perfectly happy to continue on from where she had been so rudely interrupted, if we all didn’t mind we would be later back than anticipated.

Captain Cool resumes her tour

Of course, every one of us were totally delighted to still be able to have the complete unforgettable trip, thanks to Captain and passengers being flexible enough to ‘go with the  flow’ of that great river, after all.  Our turn to enjoy!

Christine 
 

Just Hanging Out....or was that Hanging on?

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Taking a Break

…isn’t easy when you own a farm.  Although, I must admit, it was a whole heap tougher when what we were taking a break from was a 165 acre dairy farm and 65 milking cows, plus calves, dry stock, bulls, horses, dogs, cats, and chooks.  Now that really took some organising to have the cows milked and the animals fed and farm cared for.  Considerable costs were added to the general type holiday expenses.  Little wonder it was years into dairying before we could take a break.

Read Full Post »