Skiing, Fishing & Relaxing, Murray River

Yesterday, Wednesday the 18th, was a relatively slow start before we organized ourselves and began cruising further down the Murray.
Jack was the official skipper and did a great job...

Jack takes over as skipper of Simply Irresistible 2

Ready for a ski

The kids all had fun on the biscuit.....

Fun times

...before they started to get game with the single skis. They all gave it their best shot, Jack finally having some success to roars of cheers....

Yay!!! Jack is up

He then helped everyone else to get up on the skis. None of the other kids managed to get up, but they all had lots of fun trying....

Jack helps Harry

Jack helps Alessandro

Alessandro is soooo close

Alessandro and Phillip, knee deep in mud

Nonno watches all the action from the river bed

I sat on the boat and watched all the action as other houseboats cruised past, waving as they went by...

Passers by

An old paddle boat

Our houseboat parked on the River bank

By afternoon I decided to go for a walk along the banks of the river.
I stopped when I spotted something odd in the middle of the bush...  It was a toilet and then another toilet, at first I thought I was seeing things. I ran back to the boat to get the camera and took Dad and Nina with me. It was hard to believe these toilets had been set up in the middle of nowhere...

What is this??? A very sophisticated bush toilet

And another one!!

On the way back from our walk we spotted another toilet, this one wasn't as sophisticated but gave us a laugh. The area was obviously a popular camping spot...

Nonno and Nina walking along the River

Another interpretation of a bush toilet

By late afternoon the kids had all had enough and so had the big kids who were driving the boat. After a spa to warm up we all had dinner and then a relatively early night.

This morning, Thursday the 19th of April, I got up and went for a walk before turning around in the rain, the first drop we have had since we have arrived back in Victoria.
After brekky Richard and I took the kayak 10 kilometres down the river while Leon, Dad and the kids took off ahead in the houseboat. I did all the hard work paddling while Richard did the fishing...

Richard snags something

That was until he caught a bit of Australia and snapped the lure.
After that we continued along the River, arriving at Perricoota Marina just minutes after the houseboat. Not bad timing. 

Yay, we made our paddling trip... no Avon Descent for me just yet

This afternoon the kids went for another ski.. They are all keen to get up on single skis and all gave it their best shot, again Jack got up on the single ski's and then decided to get fancy with some tricks on the kneeboard...

Jack braves a wave

Knee boarding backwards

Nina gives it her best shot

 ...while Dad and I chilled out, watching TV and reading magazines.

When they all got back there was excitement as Leon pulled in the big one, well, big for Leon ;-) We will get a taxidermist to have it stuffed and preserved, so he can put it up on his wall at home.

Leon bags the big one!!

It was moments after everyone got back in, that a hail storm moved in... so everyone jumped in the spa to warm up.

Tonight, we had dinner at the Perricoota Hotel while the kids got hooked on trying to win dessert....

The big and little kids try to hit a sweet jackpot

Jack finds a novel way to stash his winnings

The cousins having dinner

The big kids found their own vices....

One bad influence after another

Dad couldn't decide so he played both games.

There's more excitement in the air tonight because Mum/Nanna/Rosetta arrives in the morning. She wasn't supposed to be coming but has managed to get home from working up north in time to spend a few days with all of us. It should round off the trip nicely.