Cruising the Murray

The Murray is Australia’s largest river, and the world’s fourth largest. By the time the Darling River has joined it at Mildura, seven rivers have made their contribution to its waters. And, such is the demand for water that it’s pumped into the river system from eastward-flowing rivers by the Snowy Mountain Scheme.

On its way, the Murray has irrigated fertile farmland, producing wine and olive oil, cheese, sausage and, of course, fruit.

The river also served as an important transport link in the past. It has been referred to as ‘Australia’s Mississippi’, and paddleboats used to ply the river carrying passengers and produce.

The Captain of the Murray Princess, on which we took a short cruise in 1996, told us that there had been some controversy when shewas built ten years earlier. She’s a stern-wheeler, more like a Mississippi riverboat than anything else.

‘The traditional Murray steamer was a side-wheeler’ he said ‘but we wanted more accommodation space, but retain the ability to pass though the locks further up-river’.

One of my favourite places on the ship was the two-storey lounge in the stern, where a gigantic window gives a view of the paddle wheel churning up the water, to the delight of the jet-skiers and water-skiers who seemed always to be following us.

Close second came the dining room, where the chef excelled himself every time.

Three cruises are on offer. The 3-night cruise sailed north to Walker Flat, then south to Murray Bridge before returning to Mannum; the 4-night cruise proceeded north to Blanchetown before returning. The 7-night cruise combined the 3- and 4-night cruises; the hiatus between them taken up with a free tour of the Barossa Valley wineries.

Unfortunately, owing to time constraints, we were only able to take the 3-night cruise, but we packed an awful lot into it.

The only disappointment was a walk to the cliff-top to see the sunrise. We were up at 6 am; the sun wasn’t! But, we can’t be too hard on the crew. That really is beyond their control!