The Part Of Australia I Never Wanted To Visit

Arrived: 02/07/06
Left: 29/09/06

It is advisable whilst in Echuca in the winter to drink a lot of alcohol as this numbs the agonising pain of the aching boredom. I mean, I'm not saying don't visit Echuca, I'm just saying don't go in the winter unless you really really like paddlesteamers.

Like, alot.

Paddlesteamer

If there's one thing Echuca knows how to do its paddlesteamers, there's about eight of them. Apparently they do other things on the Murray River in summer such as water skiing and I noticed a couple of canoe hire places. I asked a local bloke when they usually started the water skiing, he just shrugged and said "When the water gets high enough." It hasn't rained there since 1985 though so I wouldn't hold your breath.

No really, stop it, you're turning blue.

This was my first time staying in a hostel an all and I found loads of stuff out such as; Poms really do whinge, Japanese really do eat noodles for breakfast and purchase rice by the paddy field and the average life span of a packet of Tim Tams when opened in a common room is roughly 0.25 seconds.
Nomads is a cracking hostel though, Debbie who runs it goes out of her way to make sure the place is clean and the backpackers are comfortable. She'll do her utmost to find you work and if you call ahead she won't tell you there's work if there isn't like so many working hostels do.

Boredon In Echuca

Down The Pub

Nomads is comfortable and friendly enough to make three months in Bum-Fuck Nowhere bearable, if you need to extend your Working Holiday Visa in Oz then I recommend this place.
A word of warning though, if you stay too long in Echuca you start becoming attached to flannelette shirts and the urge to own a dog on a ute becomes harder to resist. You'll find yourself thinking things like "Ooh, that's a nice Akubra, I think I'll get me one of those," you'll start getting excited about stuff like wood chop demos and shotguns and your alcohol tolerance level will increase by approximately 64%.

The Nomads Oasis Crew

Apart from the grinding monotony, Echuca is a nice enough place. It's quiet but it has plenty of pubs and a nightclub (OPT) and there are some shops to keep you occupied providing you can get up before 12:30pm on a Saturday and didn't want to shop on the Sunday anyway.
There's a cinema, plenty of restaurants and fast food places and a couple of gyms to work off aforementioned fast food although the gym I used was right opposite a chippy. What the hell kinda sadist does that?

Oh, and before I forget, its also home to the World's Biggest Lollipop.

The World's Biggest Lollipop... Apparently

See, who said Echuca had nothing going for it?

written by

Koala Bear on September 30, 2006 from Echuca, Australia

from the travel blog: Sod Off Great Big Mission Round Oz

tagged Bollocks

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