04 June: Today we decided to do the
Paddle Boat ride on the Murray from Thompson’s Beach - best thing
was we were the only ones on board so had the whole boat to
ourselves. We went 2kms up the river amazing views even saw 4 koala's
sitting up in the huge river gums. The river here is very different
to Echuca and or down south Mannum SA, here the banks are very low
and there are many many sandy beaches. So many trees in the river and
on the banks and it is illegal to remove them, therefore you have to
know how to navigate your way on the river. This boat was all driven
by manual remote hung around the skipper neck - It seems a shame that
he doesn't use the amazing wheel, but he manoeuvred the boat
brilliantly and he was a wealth of knowledge of the river,area and
boat. We had a hot cuppa coffee on board and purchased a couple of
postcards, the drinks was needed as it was so cold.
Cobba
Paddle Boat is a testament to local engineering. Involving many local
businesses in the construction. Departing from Thompson Beach Cobram.
What a great way to see the amazing scenery of the Mighty Murray.
There are one and one and a half hour day tours, you can enjoy
freshly brewed coffee and snacks while admiring the river and or have
a wine or beer - what better.
Cobba
is a 12m-long paddle boat with a diesel engine (and a generator
attached to each wheel), with a shallow barge hull. It took him six
years before
Cobba
was seaworthy because the owner did not want to get into debut and
waited until fund became available before commencing work on another
section of the vessel. Like all respectable building projects borne
out of a romantic vision there was a monumental cost blow-out. The
owner figured it would cost about $300,000 to build, but ended up
costing $600,000 In one particular instance of bill shock, the owner
was charged $15,000 in one hit to move the vessel from Yarroweyah to
its Murray River mooring. “It was a 5km journey and some street had
to be closed to move it,the owner said this “I hadn’t budgeted
for".
