This is what it's like driving a Murray River houseboat for the first time

Those of you familiar with The Godfather - or any mafia-related movie for that matter - will know it's a bad thing if you're "sleeping with the fishes".

Spoiler alert: it means you're dead.

On a far cheerier note, you well and truly know you're alive as you stand on the banks of the mighty Murray River in Echuca.

Not only that, you can sleep with the fishes - safely and in style.

How's that, I hear you ask?

On a houseboat, with the fish at your feet and a steering wheel in your loungeroom.

So let's go for a ride ...

This scribe, who lives on the banks of the Murray at Albury, immediately feels like he's taken a step back in time after arriving at the historic Port of Echuca with its restored 19th-century buildings and horse-drawn carriage rides gracing the dirt road running parallel to the river.

The Mayflower might be best known as the English ship that transported the pilgrims from England to the New World in 1620, but for us, it's our home for the next three nights. Of course, this version of the Mayflower is different to the one which operated 400 years earlier; it's one of Murray River Houseboats' fleet, which includes, among others, Indulgence, Decadence and Endeavour.

Murray River Houseboats' operations manager, Josh, gives us a quick tour of the boat, which has all the comforts one could ask for, particularly in winter when the temperature drops below zero. The rundown includes how to drive the boat, the "American road rules" - we pass on the right - and how the numbers nailed to gum trees on the banks of the river tell us how far we are from the Murray mouth.

Nervous and not wanting to cause an incident, having never driven a houseboat before, we tell Josh the Mayflower is a chance to remain docked.

"We'll see," he tells us. "I reckon curiosity will get the better of you."

Maybe, Josh, maybe. But first, we have to eat.

We've spoken about the sense of history upon entering Echuca and no building embodies that more than The Mill, a five-storey building constructed in 1881 that once housed the town's flour mill.

And despite its name, there's nothing "run-of-the-mill" about the food, with the rib eye steak an absolute highlight, washed down with a couple of locally brewed Travlas. We return to the Mayflower with full bellies and well prepared for our visit to the Great Aussie Beer Shed and Heritage Farm Museum the following day.

Given the name, you might suspect this is nothing more than a glorified "man cave", but what owner Neil Thomas has built on the outskirts of Echuca is truly amazing and has something for the entire family, even those under 18.

Yes, there are more than 20,000 beer cans from all over the world, but there's a stack of Australian memorabilia, including old petrol bowsers, washing machines, a cannon from World War I, old farming equipment and some seriously impressive vintage cars.

Neil - a former policeman - hosts highly engaging tours, with plenty of laughs and hands-on roles for the kids.

After making the short trip back into town, it's time to hit the vibrant main street on a cool, but sunny, winter's day.

Rich Glen started out as an olive oil-producing company, but in the past two decades, the Vodusek family has branched out and now sells a range of retail products. The Echuca store, which opened in 2023, has more than 180 farm-made skincare and pantry products. (The calendula balm proves a godsend for this eczema sufferer, while the garlic salt has been a winner around our dinner table.)

With a visit to Echuca Distillery to come later in the day, we decide now is a good time to take the Mayflower for a run while we're registering 0.0. We flick Josh a text message and within half an hour, he's on deck to give us a quick run-through on how to safely navigate the Murray. Despite the earlier hesitation, it really is very simple. And fun.

Stick to the right when passing other vessels and do a three-point turn when changing direction.

We get toots of hello from other paddlesteamers and my wife acts like she's Kate Winslet in Titanic on the top deck as we head west along the river, waving to fishermen and tourists while observing the picturesque surroundings.

I did point out to my wife that re-enacting a scene from that particular film while I was driving a houseboat for the first time wasn't inviting the best karma from the universe. But we make it back to shore safely and easily before heading to the distillery where we sample their award-winning gin, agave, vodka and whisky and enjoy a delicious meal at the adjoining Bar Lee. Hot tip: the chilli lime prawn tacos are #chefskiss.

After a final night on the Mayflower, we hit the road back to Albury, but not before making a detour via Kyabram, where we visit the fauna park. It's the perfect place to stretch the legs while getting up close and personal with some classic Australian animals, who, just like us, can have fun on land and water.

The writer was a guest of Murray Regional Tourism