Murray Bridge

Everyone in South Australia talks about cruising on the River Murray be it in a houseboat or one of the old paddle steamers that tour along the river from various little places. Doing a bit research while Vanessa and Grant were here I found a paddle steamer (Captain Proud Paddle Boat Cruises) that uses Murray Bridge as a berthing spot. 

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Having never done anything like this before it was with great excitement that we left home on that morning. Taking the drive down from Adelaide towards Victor Harbor we turned off at Mount Compass and headed towards Strathalbyn. Between Ashbourne and Strathalbyn the road climbs up to the crest of the Woodland Ranges and this gave us some great views of Lake Alexandrina.

A short drive later we were at Murray Bridge and found the berthing spot for Captain Proud. The hand written board at the entrance confirmed that the paddle steamer was running, but no steamer could be seen and the sign confirmed that the next trip was to be a in a short while. Quite a few cars parked around but no real sign of life at the quay side. 

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We decided to go and find out if we were in the right place and whether the steamer was even running. No one could tell us and the best we got was from the waterside restaurant where one of the staff stated that she had not yet seen it today. Anyway tried to give them a call on the mobile, but to no avail and in the end we gave up, went to have some lunch and then drove back home taking a scenic route. I would recommend the Riverscape Restaurant & Café as they did us a great meal. 

Having been here now some 10 months it is something that still continues to amaze and which we have not yet quite got used to; nothing really happens as advertised and schedules are not really stuck to. One has to simply see them as an indication of what potentially maybe could happen if all goes according to the plan which has not yet been fully developed and thought through. It is a bit like the TV guide; it is just a guide and there is no certainty that the program advertised will start and finish at the time advertised or that the program will even be shown. Trying to record TV programs is like trying to guess the winning lottery numbers and the only way to do it, is to start recording 30 minutes prior to the advertised time and for at least 60 minutes longer than the duration specified and that way your window of opportunity will be large enough so that if the program is shown you should be able to find out who did it.

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So perhaps in another few years we will also say; “No worries mate. Just do it next time you’re around”

After the disappointment of no steamboat ride we had to do something else to make the day memorable because at this stage it was turning out to be darn disappointing. Taking a look at the map we then decided to follow the River Murray down to Lake Alexandrina. Now the countryside through here is as flat as a pancake and one can see for kilometres, there is just nothing higher that a tree to see which makes the statement all a bit pointless actually. Anyway we followed Princes Highway (road to Melbourne) to Tailem Bend and then took the ferry across the River Murray.

Tailem Bend Ferry

Quite an interesting journey then ensued down to Wellington where the river flood plain is quite wide and one could see that in years gone by the river must have been something to behold. From Wellington we then cut back west towards Mulgundawa and onto Milang on the shores of Lake Alexandrina. All along this section one gets great glimpses of the lake.

Lake Alexandrina is not a lake in the true sense of the word as it is part of the River Murray Estuary, it is only during times of high flow that the lake does drain into the ocean (into Encounter bay) at a Murray Mouth near Goolwa. Normally this channel is blocked by a sand bank. The lake was originally subjected to tidal and storm inflows of seawater. But through modern times the lake is now maintained as fresh water by a series of barrages across the islands near the Murray Mouth. Ecologically the state of the lake is on a downward spiral due to the reduced amount of water flowing into the lake from the increased water take upstream in New South Wales and Victoria, which over the past number of years has increased the salinity and is starting to have an effect on the agricultural areas of South Australia which depend on the river as a water source as well as towns in South Australia including Adelaide which depends on the river during certain times of the year.

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I am going off topic here. Even at ground level the change in the colour of the water is most noticeable and when seen for the first time I just put it down to muddy waters but now actually understand that the colouring is being driven by this eco-system within the river and is to a certain extent man-made.

From Milang we headed back home to Mount Compass and then onto Seaford. It turned out to be quite a long journey for the day and quite boring in parts. Having not done the steamboat ride was a big disappointment to us all and perhaps we will get back next summer to do it.

Much like the other blogs; if you would like to see some photographs then have a look here.