Wenthworth to Swan Hill Tuesday 19th October 2010

Our next river town was Swan Hill so named because Major Thomas Mitchell, camped overnight on the sand hills near the Murray in 1836. His sleep was disturbed by the constant noise from the black swans nearby.

At Swan Hill, there is a Pioneer settlement village where you can step back in time and see how the town was a century ago. It is a working village and is one of the best we have ever seen. The paddlesteamers cruise up and down the river and their whistles give a haunting feeling of a bygone era. The most famous steamer, the Pyap allows visitors to travel the river in a slow peaceful way.

We stayed overnight in the adjacent caravan park, enjoyed the facilities, did the washing etc and watched the world go by.