Day Trips Around The Riverland

Basing ourselves around Loxton, New Residence and Moorook allowed us to do so many wonderful day trips.

Nearly always, taking a picnic lunch with us or just simply ducking into one of the many wonderful local bakeries and trying their pies, or in particular their apricot slices, which are to die for, there are so many endless possibilities for those with a little sense of adventure.

Too many to list, but amongst them are Chowilla Conservation Park, Barmera, Berri, and Waikerie, which included a trip into the Maize Conservation Park, and the Broken Cliffs at Taylorville.

There is a certain ambience around this area, with the wonderful old stone built houses, some in ruins, others have been renovated and restored to their original style and are just quite simply awesome - makes you want to just go and buy one.

Just outside of Loxton is a place called Headings Landing - its purely a site to behold,  The sun shining off the limestone cliffs is something from a painters brush.

Headings Landing

Lookout Over The Murray

We really haven't left the Murray as it has always been within a whisker of us, almost every where we have been, and such a mighty river it is too and we really haven't got to the best yet.

 Day trips around the Riverland

ChowillaConservation Park

Located 50 kilometers from Renmark, Chowilla comprises 18,000 heactacres of flood plain and wetlands.  Campsites are available, but there seemed none suitable for our big rig

Chowilla Reserve is a short drive from Moorook and one that when we got the break in the weather, we took the opportunity to go and have a look.  A historical site and home of the Old Customs house.

To stop smuggling at the South Australian Border, a customs port entry and Boarding Station as gazetted in April 1884.

The first sub-collector of Customs was Robert Barker, who salary included the house and an allowance for a servant.  There was a large iron shed to store goods for the steamers and separate sheds for cargoes for sale in South Australia and New South Wales.

Very few actual taxes were collected at Port Murthoo:  it seems that the officers’ main role was to board the vessels at the border and to seal any dutiable goods, which would then be charged at Renmark or Morgan.

In 1904 the abandoned Customs House, became part of a station homestead and the area became known as “Borders Cliffs”.

Sand Dunes at Chowilla

Part Of Overland Station

Ochre Cliffs at Chowilla

Part Of The Old Customs House That Remains

Broken Cliffs – Taylorville via Waikerie

Broken Cliffs ~ Waikerie

The Beautiful Red Gums Against the Broken Cliffs

Struggling for Life

The contrast of Colors against The Cliffs

 Barmera and Lake Bonney

Lake Bonney is the major draw card to Barmera. When we visited there two years ago the lake was virtually dry, but now is alive and well and offers some wonderful photographic opportunities.  During our stay at New Residence we met with some other grey nomads, Phil and Sue, who were doing a house sit at Barmera and came over to meet us and we met a few times after that and have managed through this wonderful technicolgical world to keep in touch.

Barmera is a pretty little town nestled in the heart of the Riverland.  The Lake offers so many opportunities for any aquatic sport and a fisherman’s paradise.  It is a fresh water lake fed from the Chambers Creek wetland system.  The camps book offers free camping on the banks of the lake, but nothing really suitable for our big rig.

Barmera is steeped in history, being part of the Cobdogla Station which was established in 1846. The first European to discover Lake Bonney in 1838 was overlander Joseph Hawdon. The National Trust owned Overland Corner Hotel is a museum but is privately leased and operates as a licensed hotel, whilst the Cobdogla Irrigation & Steam Museum has approximately 12 open days a year when the train and traction engine steam up for rides.  Also home now, to our latest junior Wimbledon Champion.

Barmera has a country music festival as well each year, but unfortunately it clashed with the Hot Air Balloon Festival, and in retrospect we should have done that instead.

Many Murray river reserves to visit including Loch Luna which offers cruises around the back waters of the river at a very affordable price.  Many of the reserves were still closed and undergoing clean up work after the floods that hit the area earlier in the year.  This clean up programme could take a fair amount of time and therefore many of the free camps are closed until further notice.

My challenge as a photographer was to get a photograph of the jetty.  And Challenge it was, but here are a few attempts.

My Favourite Shot

Napier Hotel Ruins

Just a few minutes drive from Barmera is the ruins of the Old Napier Hotel, very interesting and well worth the drive out to see them and take in all the history.The free camp is not that far from here, but we didn't seem to think it very good and certainly wouldn't have fitted our rig in there.

Overland Corner Hotel - certainly well worth the visit, but be warned, don't go on a Sunday, unless you have booked. Service was very ordinary, and certainly over priced for what it was.

Lots of wonderful things to see around the Riverland, and I am sure that I have only just touched on them. As they say - "take time to smell the roses" and you will be surprised what you will find and discover.

Be aware of the fruit and vegetable restrictions of the Riverland before you go. If you purchase any fruit of veg you must at all times have a receipt to say that you have purchased them within the Riverland area - big penalties apply if you are caught.

Have had a great time here, and met some wonderful people, but it comes time when we have to move on, if we are ever to make it to the west, but the best of the Mighty Murray is yet to come.  We move onto Mannum next and heading towards the mouth of the Murray.  At Moorook we met a couple, Shelley and Gary, who are still travelling with us now, and we have had such a great time with them and we hope you will enjoy the next couple of blogs as we travel along together.

Gary and Shelley