Enjoying the boardwalk at Horseshoe Lagoon
A fleeting glance of the boardwalk at
Horseshoe Lagoon is enough to pique our interest. We find the walking trail on our tourist map, a dotted blue line, and call into the Echuca-Moama Visitor Information Centre to find out how to access it. With a couple of hours to spare in the afternoon we turn into the car park off Shaw Street in Moama.
Bench seats shaded by a gazebo herald the entrance. As we step onto the boardwalk, the land drops away and the lagoon stretches beneath us. There are ducks in abundance. A couple settle atop a dead tree trunk and we wonder if they are nesting there. A trio of little black cormorants sun themselves on an overhanging branch.
Trees reflect mirror images in still water, it is sheltered here. Sun filters through a forest of river red gums and grey box trees. We take time, lean on the railing and appreciate the calming peace. It is a wonderful vantage point for photographs. Information panels are set in the bottom rails. We stop to read them, school history lessons were never this good.
A pied cormorant drying its wings
We descend stairs to a gully. We have crossed the first arm of the lagoon which true to its name is shaped like a horseshoe. A pied cormorant perches atop a log, drying its wings in the sun. We move carefully, eager to catch it on camera. It is unperturbed by us visitors and does not flinch when excited children pass hurriedly by.
The calm waters of Horsehoe Lagoon
A path leads through grass and shrubbery to the banks of the Murray River. All around we hear birds, some not easily seen. Binoculars would have been handy. A vibrant blue catches our eye. In the undergrowth a blue wren titters about. He is fast and elusive but after a few tries we have a clear photo.
We return to the boardwalk and meander the length of the lagoon. My husband spots a rosella, but I am too slow. Raucous corellas dart from treetop to treetop, descending only to perch of branches rising from the water. They sip their fill before darting away again.
We notice movement in the water. A large fish swims just below the surface, grey with fins tinged orange. A mouth pops up as if gulping for air. Then another and more still. We decide they must be European Carp and resolve to Google them later.
There is more to see, a lot further to walk or cycle if you'd rather. We have not ventured to the wetlands but the hour is late so we will save that for another day.
Horseshoe Lagoon is in Moama. From Echuca cross the river on the Cobb Highway, take the first right onto Shaw Street, cross the railway line and take the first right again. There is roadside parking near a gazebo at the boardwalk entrance. (The road also leads to the Moama Riverside Holiday and Tourist Park.) For more information and a detailed map visit:
www.murray.nsw.gov.au
