It's called the Mighty Murray, and is often compared to the Mississippi in the southern United States, although at 2500 kilometres from its source to the sea, it is less than half the length of the American river.
But like its American counterpart, the Murray River was a waterway of great importance in Australia's colonial times when it was the conduit for travel and the transport of goods from the Southern Ocean up into South Australia, and thence to Victoria and New South Wales, when paddle-steamers and riverboats plied the river route.
Today it is a major source of irrigation, a meandering river playground and recreational strip, and a place where its history lives in museums, colonial buildings, and paddle-steamers which bring a whiff of the past into today's Murray River cruises.
Paddlewheelers and houseboats
The major South Australia river town is Murray Bridge, which is 80 kilometres southeast of Adelaide and about an hour's drive from the state capital. It's a great spot for water sports, particularly water-skiing.
At Murray Bridge, and at Mannum, some 20 kilometres north of Murray Bridge, Murray River paddle-steamer cruises are almost de rigueur.
The Proud Mary sails from Murray Bridge and the Murray Princess has its home port at Mannum.
At Murray Bridge and Mannum, and in most towns along the Murray River, houseboats are available to rent, requiring only that renters have a valid driver's licence and take some basic instruction on houseboat navigation.
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- (Photo courtesy of South Australian Tourism Commission
© South Australian Tourism Commission)
