Murray Bridge and the River Murray 22/1 - 23/1

We stayed at Murray Bridge. This is Murray Bridge itself which was originally built between 1873 & 1879 and apart from the arches being replaced for higher ones after some damage, it is still in daily use today. The bridge spans the 'Mighty' Murray River.



We stayed at a caravan park that backed onto a marina where many houseboats were docked. People can live on these boats or hire them for holidays along the Murray.



Other larger boats can also be hired on the Murray either for day trips or for cruises. This is an old paddle cruiser that sails along the river. There used to be lots of paddle cruisers along the Murray but now they are quite rare.



This is a mechanical version of the mythical aboriginal river creature known as a Bunyip. The aboriginies were very fearful of the Bunyip and would not go near any waterways that were believed to contain them. European settlers were also very scared of this mythical creature when they heard unfamiliar sounds from the waterways of the region, and there were several reported sightings. It was not until the 19th Century that the physical existance of the Bunyip was disproved.



We took a drive into the Murraylands along the Murray River stopping along the way to take in the beautiful views. We stopped at Mannum which is the houseboat capital of South Australia.



The river is reminiscent of the River Nile but without the ancient monuments.



There are a number of car ferries which allow you to cross the river and take shortcuts. This is the one at Purnong which we used and which operates 24 hours a day.



The Big Bend is where the cliffs are the steepest near the town of Swan Reach.



Stops along the way included Walker's Flat, Kroehn's Landing and eventually Blanchetown.