Saturday 14th April, BlazeAid camp, Rotary Park, ECHUCA. 8°-16°C.

Things have wound down in camp this week as people head home for Easter… they are all Victorians here at the moment. It leaves just our coordinator, one couple and we three cooks. We set a simple range of meals for over the break and crack on with the processing of those tomatoes…

More sauce, tomato relish, green chutney, spicy sauce, more passata. I process some quinces gifted to us to make jam and quince paste. Two kilos of the peaches are cooked for jam as well. We suspect there will be enough preserves to supply this camp for the rest of the year!

BlazeAid’s founder Kevin Butler and his CEO daughter Melissa visit during the week and go home with a bottle of each variety. They stay for dinner and chat freely with us all. They are delightful people and deserve every accolade for all the work they’ve done establishing and running this charity.

Come today, the crowds in town are chaotic. Drivers attempt stupid manoeuvres like driving into small carparks towing trailers (and getting stuck.) There is apparently not a trolley to be had at Woolworths. I would not have picked Echuca as a destination but thousands have. They are promenading along the main street, queuing out the door of the Beechworth Bakery and jet-skiing up and down the Murray.

We shut up shop and all take a one hour scenic cruise on the paddle steamer Pevensey. It is the largest of those still operating out of Echuca and was once skippered by coordinator Kerrie’s uncle, so she is thrilled to be on board. Fuelled by red gum, she originally carried bales of wool from Pevensey Station up on the Murrumbidgee as well as timber and bitumen further downstream.

Perched up high, we can see the damage caused to the trees and shoreline by the floodwaters. We pass many houseboats moored along the banks then enjoy afternoon tea in town. With a cottage pie defrosting, dinner is easy and bed is early. In the freshly unpacked thermal PJs!…