Cabins and caravans

07 Aug 2013

The Combined Probus Club of Maroondah recently shared a cabins and caravans trip to Echuca, enjoying the sights and activities the area had to offer.

Echuca is a great place to visit, with so many activities and sights to see – and it is within easy reach of other towns. As usual, the day commenced with a walk along the Murray River and then into town for coffee and chatter. After that members were free to choose their own activities – shopping, reading, a game of lawn bowls, a paddleboat trip along the Murray River, or a drive around the area.

Shepparton was visited by many – the Art Museum had an excellent exhibition of nishiki-e colour prints from the Tenmei and Kansei eras (1781-1801), showcasing 100 of these prints borrowed from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.

The SPC factory outlet was also popular.

Another interesting feature in the Shepparton area is the display throughout the city and surrounding area of many cows in varying postures and colours all with varying meanings!

A particular highlight of the trip was a visit to the Great Aussie Beer Shed for an evening meal of a spit roast. This is owned and managed with great enthusiasm by Neil Thomas, who was in the police force for 37 years, and is now really enjoying his life managing the Great Aussie Beer Shed.

It has over 16,000 beer cans from Australia, and around the world, and other brewery related items, such as old wooden beer barrels, bottles, old and modern signs, brewery manufacturing equipment and machinery. It is not small, and is also a museum of Australian history, mostly rural – old petrol bowsers, kitchen and laundry items, farm equipment, such as ploughs, harvesters, gigs and even some furphy water carts. There is also a kitchen complete with so many items which members all remembered from their childhood!