Jill's review of her day to day
Great Murray River Run experience

We cruised the entire South Australian length of the Murray River from Goolwa, upstream to the S. A./Vic. Border, 565 kms. Goolwa is officially the last town on the Murray River, before it enters Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong.

This cruise was like an eco tour, as we learnt a lot about the water flow, impact of irrigation, history etc. We were each given an excellent book with maps of each section of the river we passed through, and interesting stories and relevant information. I will try to keep this as brief as possible and not bore you all. We had great weather, and saw lots of Pelicans, Egrets, ducks, Corellas and a host of other water birds.

Photo of early morning at Swan Reach courtesy of Jill Benwell.

We had 16 passengers, ranging in age from 48 to 91, most of whom were retired. I must mention in particular Ian and his guide dog Ink. Ian has been blind from birth, but that has not stopped him doing anything. He has travelled all over Australia, usually adventure type trips; he has been in his job for 35 years, and owns his home. I reckon he could write a very entertaining book on his experiences, as he had some great stories to tell.

When we were served morning and afternoon tea, with biscuits or cake, Ink put himself on "crumb patrol" and some of the older ladies "accidentally" left quite large crumbs for the dog to clean up. LOL

We had 2 crew, Michael the skipper, and Neil the everything else. They were a great pair, full of interesting and relevant information. Michael literally grew up on the river, living on paddleboats that his father and grandfather built.

There are cliffs in many places along the river, filled with fossils, and aboriginal lore.
Photo courtesy of Jill Benwell.

DAY 1

All aboard at Goolwa 8am for 8.30am departure. Cruise past Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge to first stop, Mannum. Toured the paddle steamer PS Marion, and the museum, then lunch at the Pretoria Hotel. Board boat again, cruise upstream past small towns, houseboats and cliffs. Get off to view ancient aboriginal rock carvings dating back more than 8,000 years. Next stop, Swan Reach Hotel for dinner. This was special to me, as I spent a lot of time in this small town as a child at my Aunty and Uncle's house, and rode back and forth across the river on the old ferry. I was a baby in the 1956 flood, and was in a small boat with my cousins sailing past the roof of their house. (which was all that was visible) It took 3 months for the flood water to recede.

After dinner, we boarded a small bus for a nocturnal tour. Across the river on the ferry, then down dirt roads to the back of beyond. We saw some roos and a couple of wombats on the way. We arrived at a property where the owner herded us onto a small covered wagon drawn by a quad bike and took us spotlighting for roos, wombats and trap door spiders. What fun. Back to the hotel to sleep. The rooms are old fashioned, and because the pub is Heritage listed, they are not allowed to modernise the rooms or bathrooms.

Aborigines cut a canoe from this tree. You can see the shape which was cut out.
Photo courtesy of Jill Benwell.

DAY 2

Up at 6am for a quick shower, breakfast and 8.30am departure. We cruise upstream to Blanchetown, where we pass through Lock 1, then onto the town of Morgan for lunch at the Terminus Hotel. Back on board, we cruise to Lock 2, then to Waikerie, where we stop for the night. This was a more leisurely day, and we had plenty of time to chat with our fellow passengers.

DAY 3

All aboard again, cruising to Akuna Station, owned by a wealthy South Aussie, who has a big printing business, famous for wine labels. One of his recent labels won an international award. He prints the labels for the famous Penfolds Grange wines, and incorporates DNA from the vines into the labels to protect against copying. The production of these particular labels is heavily guarded. The boat Akuna Amphibious is the second oldest paddle boat in Australia, and has been completely renovated by the owner, including a big plasma TV. He is also developing wetlands to renew the river redgums and eco systems in the area.

Board the boat again to cruise to Overland Corner for lunch at the historic old pub, built in 1859 from limestone blocks quarried 100 meters away from a 15 million year old limestone deposit. Many Riverland homesteads and buildings are constructed from this stone. The Overland Corner Hotel was reached by walking along a dirt track through dead Box and Redgum trees. We couldn't see any sign of the pub until we climbed the levee bank, and there it was. There is a sign with the 1956 flood level on the side of the building, and there are rooms set up like a mini museum. The ghost of "grandma" is said to be on the bed in one of the bedrooms. After a nice lunch, we cruise past Kingston-on-Murray, through Lock 3, to Loxton, where we have dinner and spend the night. The Hotel is very nice, and we are "gifted" 2 bottles of beer, home made biscuits and fruit in our rooms. There is a historical village here, which Rick and I have visited before, consisting of several old buildings from around the Riverland, and old farm implements etc. An interesting look at the history of the region.

From the back of our hotel room. The river is the little bit in the front of the pic.
Photo courtesy of Jill Benwell.

DAY 4

Overcast and some rain this morning, but once cleared, another warm and sunny day. On board by 8.30am as usual. We encounter a narrower and winding stretch of river on our way to Lock 4, dubbed Kamikaze Flats. Michael slows the boat to navigate the shallow water and curly bends. We stop to trek through some bush to Katarapko Wetlands. A local high school is involved in the wetland project, including monitoring the Carp screen, so that carp (fish, not native) don't enter the wetland. European Carp have been a HUGE problem in the river system, and there are a lot of projects happening to reduce their impact. A lot of mozzies here. Board the boat again for our next food destination; lunch at Berri Hotel. I must say that we have been very well looked after in the food department. All the hotels we have stayed at have provided us with good breakfast, lunch and dinner, and on our boat, we have been provided with morning and afternoon tea, including mugs of coffee or tea, and bikkies or cake slices. We felt like we were almost eating non-stop. LOL

Pass through Lock 5, then towards the Paringa Bridge. We have about a 6 inch leeway under this bridge; we were told to lie down if on the top deck. Rick!!! I don't want you de-capitated! He was lying down on top deck, filming our passage under the bridge. I took a couple of photos from a safer place. The section of the bridge that we passed under does lift up for taller boats; the Murray Princess sails up to Renmark, under the Paringa Bridge, every 2 years for dry-dock.

View from our room at Renmark Hotel. Photo courtesy of Jill Benwell.

We arrive in Renmark for the night, with dinner at the hotel. Our room overlooks the river, and it is a great view. We went for a walk along the river bank, and Rick tried to entice the ducks by pretending he had bread. Well, the ducks kept following us along the river bank, and the lawn, until we had to cross the road. I had visions of duck dinner, as they got squashed by cars! Didn't happen, thankfully. I guess the ducks know better than to try and cross the road. After a great dinner, and chatting with fellow passengers, it was time to go to bed for our last night of the cruise.

DAY 5

Dawned sunny and brisk; 1 C, but it warmed up quickly. We departed Renmark at 8am, and headed upstream to Chowilla Station. This is a sheep property that has been in the same family since it was first settled, and is 260,000 acres. The cruise company is starting another trip from Renmark, upstream into Victoria and New South Wales, including a stretch up the Darling River, and staying overnight in shearer's quarters at sheep stations, including Chowilla, as there are no hotels along this stretch of river system. We are seriously considering doing this next year, especially if we can have Michael as Skipper, and Neil as first/last mate.

Board the boat again, cruise through Lock 6, and onto Border Cliffs, and the South Australian and Victorian border. Dis-embark, and gather all our gear; river-bank BBQ, then onto a small bus for the trip back to Goolwa, where we started. Four and a half days to cruise upstream to the border, then four hours to drive back through the Mallee country to where we began our journey. Then 1 hour 40 minutes to drive home from Goolwa. Sadly, it is all over, but we can look forward to the next trip, next year!

I highly recommend this cruise to everyone. Rick and I, as local South Aussies, especially enjoyed this journey, and look forward to the next one. Sometimes, the best things are at your back door.

Spectacular cliff views on the Great Murray River Run. Photo courtesy of Jill Benwell.