The state of the river

Last weekend we went up to Moama for the Pop and Pour festival. We had been wondering whether it would go ahead because of the widespread flooding through Victoria in mid-October. Echuca-Moama is situated where the Campaspe and Goulbourn Rivers flow I, not the Murray River. Both these rivers had flooded upstream from Echuca before the flood waters flowed down to join an already full Murray River. Luckily the festival still went ahead. with 3000 people attending, it provided a welcome boost to the local tourist industry, which the locals appreciated. The river is currently closed, and looks like it might be closed until late February, which will affect people who holiday there for the watersports. The twin towns were pumping this weekend, though, and most places are open for business.

Our accommodation was on the NSW side of the river in Moama. This was just outside our cabin. You can see the water has receded slightly since its peak, but the actual river bed is quite a distance away through the trees.

Here are a few photos from our morning run on Saturday. The old bridge across the Murray has water extending from the river out across the flood plains. Parks situated on the river banks are flooded. The temporary levees built to hold back the flood waters still run down many streets in Echuca. We ran along the top of part one. With the river closed, the houseboats are all tied up along what should be the water’s edge.