The Mighty Murray |
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Danielle, a friend of very long standing, and a
sometime travelling companion in recent years since we both became single,
decided she wanted to go on a cruise. However she did not like the
thought of the open sea, so a river cruise seemed the next best
thing. But where to do this? The answer? The magnificent Murray Princess, which offers luxury cruises of 5 days duration from Mannum (just out of Adelaide, SA) to Morgan and return. |
OK, this looked good. Train it to Murray Bridge, cab to Mannum then get spoiled for 5 glorious days. (And who knows what opportunities there will be for a shipboard romance or two) The train trip was very relaxing. We had a cabin with 2 berths and our own bathroom, although showering in what was provided proved to be an interesting experience for someone as corpulant as I am. Free champers with dinner was one of the perks of travelling 'first class'. Two days of wandering around enjoying the 'attractions' of the loverley downtown Mannum and we are ready to board our vessel and home for the next 5 days. |
The Murray Princess is a beautiful Mississippi
style stern wheeler which accommodates 128 passengers. There are lounges
(overlooking the paddle wheel), excellent dining facilities and bar, spas
and saunas, and an infinate variety of things to do from a small library
facility to games of all sorts. Well, we were the to relax, enjoy the pampering, and maybe, just maybe meet the man of our dreams. Ha!!!!!! Very funny on the latter! The only unattached male (other that crew members who had an average age of around 25) was 93! Definately not what we had anticipated. Oh well! in that case we would have to settle for relaxation, enjoying the scenery (as in the river and trees and things) and other activities that the whole cruise had to offer, and the pampering. |
Among the entertainments offered were a winery
tour (well we saw it more as a purchasing tour. Actually we would have
liked to see more of the process and less of the marketing side of things)
where I bought 2 bottles of mead, one spiced - excellent (Chateau Dorrien
I think the winery was called). A visit to the aboriginal Conservation Park of Ngaut Ngaut was very interesting. This is apparently one of the most significant digs in Australia and tours are conducted by tribal elders. Evening entertainments included a BBQ, a concert put on by the crew (a lot of fun was had by all), a fancy dress night and the more formal Captain's Dinner Dance. |
After a most enjoyable and relaxing week we spent a couple of days in Adelaide and took a trip down to the historic town of Harndorff. Definately worth a visit with loads of little specialty shops and a wonderful array of pubs and other eating places. |
Captain Tony Smith presented all the ladies with a carnation corsage and was the epitomy of the gentile captain, dancing with all the single ladies and generally ensuring that all the guests had a most enjoyable evening. The food all week was excellent, but this night magnificent with various seafood platters and dishes, a beautiful atlantic salmon, and many other delectables.. |