Holidaying at leisure on an Australian river

Press, 12 June 1979, Page 28

Holidaying at leisure on an Australian river

By

PETER L. TAYLOR,

of Wellington

Fancy a leisurely trip to nowhere in particular"’ And passing places like Pyap, Rook Rook Rang or Muklemuk Island on the way? And being captain of your own ship? And stopping at night amidst the greatest silence you have ever heard?

Then a houseboat holiday on Australia’s mighty Murray River is what you are looking for. Stretching 1600 miles from the Snowv Mountains in Victoria and flowing in a great sweep through South Australia before emptying into the Indian Ocean at Encounter Bay, the Murray is indeed a mighty waterway It flows out of the mists of antiquity itself, so old that its newest companion is man himself. But how new is new? Man began living in the Murray Valley and its river tributaries 50.000 years ago and it is now believed the valley’s earliest people were among the Earth’s first groups of modem man — 400 centuries before ancient Egyptians and others began what is commonly called the cradle of civilisation on the other side of the world. It is this timelessness which strikes the Kiwi houseboater as the essence of a Murray River holiday. The vast river, the gums, the birds — cormorants, egrets, pelicans, ibis, parrots and many more; the place is like a vast aviary — all add up to a holiday not forgotten. Houseboats range in size from six to 10-berth. They are really motels on

pontoons, powered in some cases by paddle wheels at the stern, or single or twin outboard motors. And all you need to be captain is a current car driver’s licence!

The boats are not fast — about 8 km/h upstream and about 10 down if you keep the motor throttled back to save fuel. But who cares about speed? You will have no particular destination except to arrive back at your starting point on the due date. A popular starting point is Berri, about three hours by bus from Adelaide and home of the largest single winemaking and distilling plant in the southern hemisphere. It is also the headquarters for one of the largest fleet of houseboats, the Swan fleet owned by River Holidays, Ltd. Another handy departure point is Renmark, a few miles further on and home of the Liba Liba fleet. If you want a luxury-plus holiday you can hire a boat with just about everything — air-conditioning, electric barbecue on deck, television, stereo, carpets, double beds, automatic clothes and dish-washing machines, tinted windows. But in such a palace the essence of

the holiday would be lost. You wouldn’t even hear the water against the twin hulls. You would be a bird in a gilded cage. The usual run of houseboat is far better — and about half the cost. The Swan fleet is powered by outboard motors, while the Liba Liba craft are stem paddle-wheelers. But however they are propelled, if you can drive a car, you can captain a houseboat. No great skill is involved. The designers clearly had amateur sailors in mind. The only real nautical bit is tying up between a couple of handily-spaced gums on the river bank, or negotiating the locks. The boats have a full range of safety gear including long-range two-way radio. As for domestic arrangements the boats have a full-sized gas stove and oven, refrigerator, first-class cooking utensils and crockery (much of the latter New Zealand Crown Lynn), hot showers, comfortable bunks and electric lights. In fact the boats have everything needed for travelling, cooking, sleeping and relaxing.

To the New Zealand houseboater, the sheer size of the river is relaxation in itself. Over half as long again as it is from North Cape to the Bluff, it makes him acutely aware of the size of country thereabouts. Go ashore at Loxton and climb the gentle slope to the town and you will see a land sc flat that the horizon is a straight line that goes on forever. The Murray-Darling River system drains parts of Queensland, most of New South Wales, the northern slopes of Victoria to become the lifeblood Of South Australia, its water pumped for hundreds of miles to places like Adelaide, Port Pirie, Whyalla on the other side of the Spencer Gulf and even further afield. Of course, you will cover a minute fraction of the waterway on a houseboat holiday. In five days, for instance, you may cover a hundred miles — fifty up and fifty back. But you will have imbibed the essence of the mighty river and the land through which it flows. The cost? A recent Monday to Saturday holiday for four cost about $2O a day each, including the return bus fare from Adelaide to Berri, food and drink, boat hire and fuel.

You could pay that in a motel — and go nowhere, starve, and see nothing!