First stop is the inland botanic gardens on the road to Wentworth. The rose garden was particularly impressive
Wentworth itself proved to be a real surprise - it was once the second largest port in NSW - this was in the days when there were hundreds of paddle steamers working the inland waterways. Wentworth is the home port of the paddle steamer 'Ruby', which was built in 1907 as a passenger boat and was one of the fastest steamers on the river. It has recently been restored and is now open for inspection - we had an interesting tour of about an hour. The operators eventually hope to run overnight trips - given the height of this vessel it would be a great way to explore the river
Ruby can accommodate 30 passengers in double cabins (middle deck towards the stern) with a large dining area (middle deck towards the front). The top deck provides great views of the river and surrounds.
From the Ruby we headed into the town itself and explored the old wharf area, including 'Riverboat Rods' which is a shop in the Main Street full of excellent handmade scale models of many riverboats. Free admission!
We enjoyed lunch at the Artback Cafe, then down to junction park for a view of the confluence of the Murray and Darling rivers. You might notice in the photo that the water on the left (Darling River) is a lighter colour than the Murray on the upper right.
After Wentworth, a two and a half hour drive north through the outback to Broken Hill.
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