9 Unforgettable River Experiences in the Riverland
From self-drive houseboats to paddle steamers and cliff-top sunsets, the best ways to get on the Murray.
The River Murray defines everything here, from the towns strung along its banks to the cliffs it has carved over millennia. The best way to know the Riverland is to get on the water - or at least beside it when the light turns gold. Here are nine river experiences worth planning a trip around.
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1
ParingaHeadings Cliff Lookout
Watch the Murtho cliffs blaze ochre at sunset above one of the river's grandest bends.
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2
RenmarkRenmark Paddle Steamer PS Industry
Cruise aboard a genuine 1911 steam paddle steamer, boiler hissing and wheels churning.
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3
Waikerie
Big Bend by Night
Spot wildlife after dark beneath the tallest cliffs on the Lower Murray.
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4
BerriKatarapko Creek Canoe Trail
Paddle the marked canoe trail through quiet red-gum creeks in the national park.
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5
BlanchetownLock 1 Blanchetown
Watch boats work through the river's very first lock and weir at Blanchetown.
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6
WaikerieWaikerie Cliffs
Take in the sweeping limestone cliffs that frame the river bend at Waikerie.
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7
RenmarkRenmark Riverfront
Stroll the Renmark foreshore, the polished social heart of the upper river.
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8
MorganMorgan Wharf
Stand on the towering old wharf where riverboats once unloaded for the railway.
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9
BerriBerri Riverfront
Linger over lunch on the Berri foreshore with the Murray sliding past below.
However you do it - under paddle-steamer steam, from a houseboat deck or perched above the cliffs - the Murray rewards those who slow down to its pace.
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Image credits
- Murray River, upstream of Headings Cliffs, South Australia.JPG by Kaarenmax19 , CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons