Murray River Highlights Day Tour

There is nothing better than being able to explore you very own backyard, even more so when it is the beautiful Murray River. On a perfect day Mark and I, your hosts of Riverview House Bed & Breakfast, took the Murray River Highlights Tour with Kelly from Jugglehouse Experiences.

History of the Murray

The full day tour starts from Mannum Dock Museum & Visitor Information Centre located on the riverbank near the ferry. The Museum incorporates the Paddle Steamer Marion, the historic Randell Dry Dock, the Key’s Beam Engine and the Mannum Visitor Information Centre. For an insider’s view, a tour guide from the museum is arranged as part of the tour experience, with time spent exploring the heritage listed Randell Dry Dock and PS Marion, and the museum. The Dry Dock is one of only two known timber floating dry docks built in Australia and now the only remaining example. Definitely worth a return visit, especially for a cruise on PS Marion.

Exploring the river

Boarding the Juggle House transport, we headed off to nearby Mannum Waters, downstream from  Mannum, to cruise upstream with Four Knots Murray River Cruises. A one hour slow cruise along the Murray enjoying birdlife and nature at its best, and on our way back we stopped for feeding of the whistling kites (eagles) which was fantastic to watch.

Cliff top views

The tour continued with bus transport onto Bowhill General Store, making a few short pitstops along the way to capture some amazing shots of the river views. The Bowhill General Store is perfect for lunch with wine and beer available, and perched on a clifftop, the views across Murray River are beautiful.

Aborginal dreaming & culture

Suitably nourished, we continued up river towards Nildottie where we visited one of our favourite places of Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park meeting up with Ivy and Sally. Their very informative tour of the land, the separate woman and men’s camps, rock carvings and their meanings was fascinating. It is an opportunity to immerse yourself in Aboriginal dreaming and culture at one of South Australia’s most significant Aboriginal cultural sites. Just as beautiful during the day as doing one of the night tours – when you book the Dark Sky Gold Stars Sunset Dinner tour.

Farm life on the river

The tour ended with a special one-off visit to Big Bend By Night where we watched a demonstration on sheep shearing and a sheep auction. Time with the friendly animals in the yard, including a very friendly emu with a deformative beak who enjoys a great pat on the neck. On our return to Mannum and travelling out of Big Bend by night it was near dusk across the plains, and these were filled with wombats, kangaroos, and emus.

All of the places we visited on the tour are within driving distance of Riverview House Younghusband so you are able to explore with your own self-drive itinerary. The Murray River Highlights by award winning Juggle House Experiences is the unique opportunity to explore our region in stylish vehicles with a hassle-free itinerary and unforgettable experience. Stay a while at Riverview House Younghusband with one of our experiences, and we can also assist with booking tours with our recommended partner, Juggle House Experiences.