By RV Daily,
June 11, 2025
Nestled on the banks of the mighty Murray River, the historic hamlet of Echuca has two claims to fame. It’s the paddle steamer capital of Australia and Victoria’s oldest river town. Echuca also has a split personality, sharing half of its identity with its NSW neighbour, Moama. The border town is a time capsule harking back to Australia’s early river trading days. Spend the weekend exploring the 19th century buildings, cruise the Murray on a heritage paddle steamer, rattle down the street on a horse-drawn cart and visit an intriguing cactus garden. Here are eight things to do in Echuca this weekend.
Port of Echuca Discovery Centre
The national heritage-listed port precinct is the historic heart of Echuca, sitting proud on the banks of the Murray. Here, you can hop aboard the PS Pevensey and cruise the Murray on one of the town’s original paddle steamers, which plied the waters with up to 2000 bales of wool more than a century ago. Hear how Echuca was Australia’s third-largest port in the 1870s, and how the original wharf extended 330 metres along the riverbank. Take a guided tour in the museum where you can learn more about the port made famous in the 1983 miniseries All the Rivers Run, starring Sigrid Thornton. See the PS Adelaide, the world’s oldest operating wooden-hulled paddle steamer, meet the engineers who operate the steam engines, and explore the old sawmill, woodturners building and blacksmith’s shop.
Echuca Historical Society Museum
On the edge of the port precinct you’ll find the 1869 Echuca Police Station and Lock Up. The National Trust building today houses the Echuca Historical Society Museum, home to the Murray River Charts and a treasure trove of old photographs, period clothes and riverboat memorabillia. You can even read the daily news of the time from microfilm copies of the Riverine Herald, dating back to 1863.
Cactus Country
Cactus Country bills itself as ‘a little piece of Mexico on the Murary’. But it’s so much more than that, encompassing more than 1000 varieties of cacti and succulents from Mexico, Africa and Argentina. Stroll the five hectares of desert gardens, snap a picture in the Valley of the Giants, and round out your visit with a Mexican beer, margarita or cactus ice-cream for the kids. Pet-friendly Cactus Country is in Strathmerton, an hour east of Echuca.
Kyabram Fauna Park
Just a 25-minute drive from Echuca, Kyabram Fauna Park is home to more than 400 native Australian animals, including koalas, dingoes and free-roaming kangaroos and wallabies. Pack a picnic or barbecue lunch and spend the day wandering the park, encompassing 55ha of open woodland, wetlands and lakes. There are daily animal interactions with koalas and kangaroos, and you might even get up close to a snake in the reptile exhibit. If you’re a Zoos Victoria member, entry is free.
River Country Adventours
Take to Victoria’s other mighty river, the Goulburn, on a self-guided paddling adventure. River Country Adventours will set you up with a kayak or canoe so you can explore at your own pace Victoria’s longest river (the Goulburn meets the Murray near Echuca). Paddle through waterways on the southern edge of the Barmah Forest, exploring remote bushland and keep a look out for wildlife. The waterways were the lifeblood of river towns for generations, and paddle power is a quintessential way to explore the region.
The Great Aussie Beer Shed & Heritage Farm
What do 20,000 beer cans look? Find out at The Great Aussie Beer Shed & Heritage Farm Museum, on the fringe of Echuca. This eclectic family-owned museum – purportedly the first dedicated to beer cans – also features a range of brewery paraphernalia and iconic Australian collectables. Fosters sign, anyone? In addition to beer cans from all over the world, the attraction also houses a farm museum, with a shearing shed, saddlery, milking shed and century-old kitchen. There’s also a collection of vintage cars, 19th century horse-drawn carriages and 1920s milk carts. See old petrol bowsers, washing machines, an extensive Coca Cola collection and even a WWI canon.
Barmah National Park
About 30km north of Echuca, Barmah National Park is the largest red gum forest in the world. Here, on the traditional lands of the Yorta Yorta People, you’ll find several lakes, wetlands and sand hills to explore, as well as a range of walking trails. Classified an Important Bird Area, the forest is a habitat for the endangered superb parrot and home to 38 rare or threatened plants. There are plenty of other birds to spot, including brolgas, sea eagles yellow-billed spoonbills and nankeen night herons. Also keep your eyes peeled for kangaroos, emus and koalas. You can even overnight here in one of the many campgrounds.
Moama Market
Market day on the Murray is a special time when the parklands around Moama’s Kerrabee Sound Shell bustle with more than 120 stalls, selling everything from hot dogs to handmade furniture. The Moama Market is held twice a month on Sundays. Pop over the river and take in the atmosphere of this dog-friendly market under the gum trees, where you can enjoy free entertainment, brunch on the go and a strong cup off coffee to power you through the day’s adventures. The market has a huge variety of stalls ranging from farm-fresh regional produce, local wines and cheese, memorabilia, clothing and jewellery, garden ornaments and homewares.
Stay
Echuca has a range of caravan parks to choose from. There are also many free and low-cost campgrounds scattered along the Murray River. Try NRMA Echuca Holiday Park, at the northern end of town on the banks of the mighty Murray. Alternatively, head over the bridge to Moama Riverside Holiday Park, idyllically situated on 250 metres of river frontage.
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