Featured In: Australia and New Zealand Magazine – May 2020
In 2019, travel writer, Marie Barbieri joined us for a Murray River Walk and discovered the colours, the magic and the stories of the Murray River.
Marie shared her story with Australia and New Zealand Magazine in May 2020, part of which we've shared below.
The full article can be downloaded and read by clicking here.
Excerpt from Marie's Story
The winter sky is a blanket of blue. The air is crisp and cool. And there are three fit bodies standing on the deck of the Renmark Hotel. I’m joining the Murray River Walk team, based at the port of Renmark in South Australia’s rural Riverland.
The world’s third longest navigable river carves through Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. But our four-day/three-night guided walk and cruise experience will focus on the Riverland Ramsar Site of the Murray River: a diverse wetlands area. And there will be a houseboat named Desire.
After guides, Sam and Drew, introduce themselves to our itchy-footed group of seven, Sam unravels a map of the route. Our luggage is whipped away for separate transfer to the houseboat, so we hop into the launch for a 40-minute transfer to where our boots will begin their walking.
Leaving Renmark, Sam points to PS Industry docked on the bank. She spent her youth removing snags from the river and assisting in lock and weir construction. Drew mentions ‘The Big Flood’ of 1956, which caused floods in all three states. In Renmark alone, waters rose to more than nine metres, causing evacuations, and lasted for seven months.
The Harry Clark fountain in the park symbolises the seven major tributaries of the Darling River system, and commemorates the survival of the devastation.
Along the riverbank, houseboats tuck beneath weeping willows as Australian white ibis fly by. Passing Ral Ral Creek, partially submerged leafless trees colour with yellow rosellas and red-rumped parrots. Beneath them, an Australian darter bird airs its wings as an eastern great egret retracts its neck.
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Click the button below to read the full article written by Marie Barbieri,
published in the Australia and New Zealand Magazine (May 2020)
