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4
Introductory to Moderate

Traveller Rating

 

Activities
  • 3 days walking
Accommodation
  • 3 nights exclusive Houseboat
Meals
  • 3 Dinners
  • 4 Lunches
  • 3 Breakfasts

4 Days

View Inclusions
Trip Code: MRW

Murray River Trip highlights

  • Murray River Walk is a trip of the Great Walks of Australia
  • Cruise the river on modern houseboat, taking you to your daily walking destination
  • Explore Australia's greatest river, The Murray
  • Encounter diverse wildlife and waterbirds along the river
  • Discover a rich river heritage
  • Climb the Headings cliffs for a magnificent sunrise over the Murray River

This adventure takes place on ERAWIRUNG Country. We acknowledge their enduring connection with this Country, as they are the traditional custodians of this land, and we journey in respect of their Country.

Enjoy four days walking through ancient red gum forests and spectacular floodplain wetlands with guided cruises on meandering creeks and the Murray River. Experience nature and learn the stories of the Riverland Wetland of International Importance while being greeted at the completion of your day with a refreshing beverage at the campfire. Each night you can relax and recharge with a foot dip in the river, a hot shower and a top deck spa before you dine on 3 courses of superb Riverland cuisine from a menu designed exclusively for us by a renowned native food chef. Savour local brews, Riverland wine and Riverland roasted coffee while surrounding yourself if the breathtaking wilderness of the Murray River both by foot and by houseboat.

Activities:

Carbon Footprint

117kg of CO2-e PP per day

(235kg of CO2-e PP entire trip)

Itinerary

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You will meet your guides inside the Renmark Hotel at 8:00am, where you will start your journey with a welcome briefing. Please ensure you have breakfast before departing your accommodation. Select a backpack and pack your lunch with some fresh fruit, trail mix, and any personal items to take with you on today's walk. All other luggage will be tagged and transferred directly to the houseboat. You will then board the pontoon "cruiser" boat for a 14km cruise along the mighty Murray River to the start of your first day's walk at Woolenook Bend. Please wear warm layers for river cruising in the morning, and leave any bulky warm layers in the cruiser that you do not wish to carry on the walk. Discover the old horseshoe lagoons that are havens for waterbirds and learn about the site of the World War II internment camp during lunch on the riverbank. Cross the little creeks that feed the red gum forests and box woodlands before a gentle ascent through the red sandy soil covered in native pine and native lilies, rising to a magnificent view of the vast Murray River floodplain. A short transfer across the river in the cruiser and you have arrived at your destination, the spectacular Headings Cliffs on the Murray River where your houseboat accommodation is moored. Evening format (all days) - options include a cool foot dip in the river, a hot spa, a campfire, local beverage and tasting plate, before sitting down to dinner paired with local wines and beers. Distance: 14km cruising | 12km walking

Meals:  L,D

Arise before the sun and walk a gentle slope to the rim of the Murray River valley for a spectacular sunrise over the valley. Enjoy a warm drink as you listen to the valley waking with bird song. Marvel at the geological layers in the cliffs formed by wind, ocean, freshwater lakes and the river over millions of years. Return to the houseboat for a cooked breakfast, then load your day packs and depart for a wonderful day discovering Aboriginal canoe trees, old growth dense red gum forests and small islands along the leafy Amazon Creek. Kangaroos and emus will interrupt you along the way as you finish in an old growth Box Forest where you’ll forage some saltbush leaves to flavour tomorrow’s breakfast. Cruise to our evening destination upstream of the historic Chowilla shearing shed. Enjoy a local tasting plate as you dip your feet in the cool waters of the Murray River. Distance: 12km cruising | 14km walking

Meals:  B,L,D

Our destination is the bright red cliffs of Bunyip Reach above Lock 6. Breakfast is followed by a briefing on the Murray Darling Basin before cruising to the Chowilla Creek Environmental Regulator to learn about environmental watering and new stewardship for the river. Our morning walk is spent within the Chowilla Floodplain Icon Site which is one of six icon sites selected for its ecological and cultural significance. Walk along beautiful meandering Chowilla Creek and visit the proposed site of the 1960’s Chowilla Dam. Restored wetlands and waterbirds will inspire you and after lunch we traverse Bunyip Reach and capture the beauty of this landscape on route to Bunyip Bend Reach Cliffs. Queens Bend Cliffs is where we celebrate completing our walking journey before cruising home to our houseboat as the late afternoon sun illuminates the western facing cliffs. Distance: 10km cruising | 14km walking

Meals:  B,L,D

Following a cooked breakfast featuring native saltbush, take an optional and leisurely self-guided 2km walk along the riverbank. You will then be collected by your guide in the cruiser who will take you through Lock 6 to see how the lock operates, allowing boats to pass up and down the river, Departing Lock 6, you'll rejoin the houseboat and slowly cruise downstream, enjoying fresh coffee and cake for morning tea. It's time to reflect on our experience, marvelling at the riverscapes we've just walked along, before arriving at the historic Wilkadene Woolshed and its innovative micro-brewery. Enjoy lunch on the Woolshed decking that overlooks the river. A fine barbecue has been prepared by your guides before saying your farewells. You will depart for Renmark by bus and arrive at the Renmark Hotel at 2:00pm. Distance: 23km cruising | 2km walking (optional)

Meals:  B,L

Inclusions

What's included

  • 3 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners, trail snacks and drinks including premium Riverland wines and beers
  • 3 nights twin share accommodation aboard exclusive houseboat with ensuite bathrooms (single supplement available on request for single travellers - limited)
  • 4 days fully guided walking with 2 professional guides
  • Use of a 34L day pack, walking poles, gaiters, lunch box, small thermos and hand sanitiser during the trip
  • All bed linen, bath towel and a spa/swim towel
  • Access to a library of wildlife field guides and relevant publications
  • Emergency communication satellite phone and group first aid kit

  • Travel to and from Renmark before and after the trip
  • Accommodation before and after trip
  • Items of a personal nature
  • Travel Insurance

Accommodation

Houseboat

Each night you stay aboard a modern and comfortable 12-berth houseboat with your own double room. The comfortable houseboat is configured with 6 rooms with ensuites (each room sleeps 2 people, in a king bed or 2 singles), a spacious lounge, modern kitchen and top deck area with spa and spectacular views. 5 of the rooms are allocated for participants while 1 room is allocated for guides. If you are a single traveller, to guarantee your own room a single supplement will apply (limited and on request) - otherwise, we can pair you up with another traveller of the same gender.

All linen is provided including a bath towel and a spa/swim towel. Leave your belongings in your room each day as the houseboat moves each day to your daily walking destination, so you only need to unpack once as you keep the same room for the entire journey.

Dine aboard the houseboat on superb local menu designed by our consultant chef, renowned native food pioneer Andrew Fielke. Riverland food products are showcased where possible.

After a day of activity, you can sit on the rear swim deck and soak your feet in the cool water of the river, then head to the top deck for a hot spa, or just head straight to your ensuite bedroom for a hot shower. In the evenings, relax in the communal lounge and share stories with your fellow travellers and dine on local fare.

The "High River" is a modern eco-houseboat constructed in 2022 and features 52 solar panels with 20kwh of battery storage built into the pontoons. All rooms have 240v power outlets which can charge/power any standard personal appliances. Operating in such a delicate environment, houseboats are the perfect accommodation for maintaining a local impact on the river system that we are passionate about conserving. Our 'leave no trace' approach includes no built infrastructure on the riverbanks and removing all waste for recycling or disposal.

Other features of the houseboat: ducted air-conditioning, ceiling fans in all rooms, front deck BBQ, top deck dining table and outdoor lounge, 12-seater dining table, washer, dryer, and flat screen TV.

Suitability

Introductory to Moderate

4

Our walking pace is designed to allow you to enjoy the diverse river landscapes, wildlife and the people you are walking with. There’s plenty of time to take photos and savour the view. Murray River Walk is an introductory to moderate walk with relatively flat terrain, with 2 gentle sandy cliff climbs up and down a 50 metre rise. As we are not walking on marked trails, you will on occasion need to step over a log. You'll walk 40km over 4 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

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If you are self-driving, Renmark is an easy 3 hour drive from Adelaide Airport or a 1.5 hour drive from Mildura Airport. Rental cars can be hired from Adelaide or Mildura Airports. Please check rental fees, terms, and conditions of hire with your preferred car rental company.

Alternatively, Stateliner is SA's state bus service and there are daily services between Adelaide and Renmark. The Riverland timetable can be found at the address below:

https://stateliner.com.au/routes/riverland-region/

The Great Walks of Australia are an exclusive collection of the best multi-day walking experiences in Australia. Each walk is an independently owned guided walking experience that enables access to some of Australia’s most iconic landscapes. All of the Great Walks of Australia can be viewed on their website - www.greatwalksofaustralia.com.au

To qualify as a great walk, each walk provides exceptional guided walking experiences in high-value natural areas for small groups (in this case, a maximum of 10 people). These experiences include outstanding accommodation, food & wine.

Yes, free car parking is available at the meeting point at Renmark Hotel, on the corner of Murray Avenue and Pyap Street. This car park is monitored regularly with CCTV. Alternatively, secure parking is also offered free for guests that stay the night prior at the hotel or for AUD$10 per night for guests not staying at the hotel.

The houseboat is a comfortable 12-berth “open air” pontoon style boat like a mobile couch on water. It is a stable, secure and quiet craft, navigated expertly by your guide along the mighty Murray River. The pontoon boat transfers you between the daily walking route and the houseboat and is a great way to see wildlife on the river and in the creeks.

You will meet your guides inside the Renmark Hotel at the "Nanya Function Space" at 8am on Day 1, where you will start your journey.

It is a condition of booking a tour with us, and your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately insured for the full duration of the tour in respect of illness, injury, pre-existing medical conditions, death, loss of baggage and personal items and cancellation and curtailment. You must provide evidence to TEX that you have obtained personal travel insurance. You must ensure that your personal travel insurance covers all of the activities you expect to participate in.

Each trip requires a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 10 participants on each departure. The small group size ensures a peaceful experience with easy access to guides who impart knowledge and interpretation of the landscape.

Three passionate guides will accompany you - they know about the landscape and its stories and they are fantastic cooks. Two of these knowledgeable guides accompany you each walking day while the third will remain on the houseboat, preparing meals for when you return in the evening.

Your guides prepare nourishing three-course meals each night that showcase local produce paired with local wine. A range of beverages are available including juice, cordial, beer and wine, tea and coffee. We also provide milk (dairy) and almond milk (non-dairy). We are happy to cater for special dietary requirements - please advise us at time of booking or notify your reservations consultant in advance.

We provide you with a lightweight 34L daypack to carry your lunch, a 1L water bottle, snacks, warm layers and other personal items. Your loaded pack will weigh between 3 to 5kg depending on additional items you choose to pack.

We recommend you wear lace-up hiking shoes or boots that have sturdy, treaded soles for daily activities and comfortable shoes for nightly wear on the houseboat. Do not bring sneakers for walking.

This tour operates in the cooler months between May and September where conditions make for comfortable walking. Calm, sunny days are typical during these cooler months, but make sure you pack a windproof coat for travelling in the open-air pontoon cruiser. The average daily maximum temperatures (degrees Celsius) are as follows: May 20°C, June 17°C, July 17°C, August 18°C, September 21°C.

While not necessary, we do provide up to two walking poles to each participant for your use on the walks.

The walk is relatively flat and rated as Introductory to Moderate. Daily distances are 10-14km with a total of 40km over 4 days. There are two gentle sandy ascents and descents up and down a 50 metre cliff face. As we are not walking on marked trails, you will on occasion need to step over a log. We stop along the way for morning tea and lunch, walking for up to 6 hours per day. Our walking pace is moderate and designed to allow you to enjoy the diverse river landscapes, wildlife and the people you are walking with. There’s plenty of time to take photos and savour the view.

Murray River Trip reviews

Positive Impact Travel

By joining this trip you are directly supporting positive impact projects in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We’ve offset the carbon emitted by this trip by purchasing credits that support important projects that address the UN’s seventeen SDGs, like reducing poverty, affordable and clean energy, reducing hunger, clean water and climate action.

Proceeds from this adventure purchase carbon credits through the world’s largest and most awarded carbon project developer, South Pole, which are invested into projects accelerating the transition to renewable energy sources in developing countries.

Supported projects are based on internationally recognised standards and are third-party audited. They entail a series of positive impacts on the ground, which benefit local communities and ecosystems, that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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