The Murray at Echuca is wide, slow, and brown — it carries a heavy load of silt from the ranges upstream, and swimming in it feels nothing like the ocean. But it is genuinely pleasant on a hot day, and the river beaches on the Moama side are well-used by locals who know the currents. The best swimming is in calm bays where the current is manageable; avoid the main channel, which moves faster than it looks.
Kayak and canoe hire is available from several operators near the wharf. A half-day paddle upstream into the red gum forest, with a lunch stop on a sandy bank, is one of the better ways to spend an afternoon in Echuca. The river is quiet enough to hear bellbirds and the occasional splash of a turtle dropping off a log.