Things To Do In The Riverland

Top things not to miss in the Riverland

This is the Riverland, where the Murray widens out and slows right down. Somewhere along the way since the first irrigation channels were dug in 1887, the region picked up the same habit. Limestone cliffs rise up on one bank, red gums lean in on the other and the water between them is in no rush to get anywhere. It's been this way for as long as anyone can remember, and nobody out here is in a hurry to change it.
The best things to do in the Riverland have that same unhurried pace. A houseboat engine cutting out for the night, leaving nothing but the sound of water lapping against the hull. A kayak gliding into a backwater so quiet, you can hear your own paddle strokes. Or a glass of wine, grown just down the road, poured with the river sliding by below.
Whether you're here for the week on a houseboat or a long weekend working your way between towns, the pace is yours to set.

A man sits in a deck chair near the Murray River and covered by an umbrella with a dinghy in the background

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Riverbank & cruising

The river built this place before anyone built a road. From the 1860s, paddle steamers hauled wool, fruit and mail between the bends, and the families who worked those decks are still here. You'll meet their kids and grandkids at the wheel of a houseboat, or behind a cellar door. In Renmark, riverboat tours still run aboard the PS Industry, her steam engine firing up once a month, same as she always has. Further along, the old Paringa bridge still lifts for passing boats, pelicans riding the thermals above. Hire a canoe, take a dinghy out at dusk, or let a wakeboard cut its line across glass-still water. Then climb the riverbank trail — from the top, the whole valley slows down with you.

Cruise the Murray River

A woman sips her beer as others enjoy their paddle outside at the Wooldshed Brewery

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Beverage artisans & fruit growers

The land here has always given generously. Almonds, citrus and grapes stretch to the horizon in every direction, planted along irrigation channels that turn desert-dry country into some of the richest growing land in Australia. All that fruit has to go somewhere — and here, a good deal of it ends up in a glass. Start at one of the Riverland wineries where a tasting flight introduces you to the boutique makers behind it all. Pop into Twenty Third Street Distillery in Renmark, turning that same fruit into gin and whisky inside a resurrected 1914 landmark, then head north to the Woolshed Brewery, where beer is poured in a century-old shearing shed and the local dogs, Murray and Boof, will happily supervise your afternoon. Along the way, local families turn their olives and grapes into relishes, oils and hampers you can take home with you.

Sip something local

The back of someone's head looking towards a leafless tree filled with birdlife sticking out of Lake Bonney

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Birdwatching

Wherever there's water in this dry country, the birds follow, making their home in the backwaters of the Murray. Slip into a kayak or dinghy as the wide brown river gives way to something quieter. You’ll find narrow creeks lined with red gums where a paddle stroke is loud enough to send a cormorant bursting into flight from its log. Over 180 species have been recorded in these wetlands - pelicans gliding low, the flash of a sacred kingfisher, ibis working the shallows. Look up too: parrots and whistling kites patrol the tree line, and if you're patient, a wedge-tailed eagle might circle overhead. You don't need to be a bird watcher to become one out here. Just bring your binoculars, slow down and look.

Chase the flicker of wings

A table is filled with food and wine, with the background of the river at the Riverland Wine Centre

Explore the Riverland, where the water's slow and the harvest is generous

From paddle steamers to cellar doors, quiet backwaters to riverfront towns, it's all here and easier to find than you'd think. Save the experiences that catch your eye, then create a free southaustralia.com account to build your getaway with the Trip Planner. Better still, take it with you — the Explore South Australia app brings your saved favourites together, with recommendations for what's nearby, what's open and what suits your day.

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