River Wren Houseboats White Sands review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

We spend nights camped out alone back down the river at the base of some beautiful ochre-coloured cliffs, spending the days poking around for fossils, making billy tea and catching carp on sweet corn bait.

A River Wren houseboat on the banks of the Murray

American writer Mark Twain, during a visit to Australia in the 1890s, said that the Murray River compared favourably to his home country’s own Mississippi.

Well on our four-night trip up the Mississippi of the South we found no blues joints, catfish restaurants or riverboat casinos. We did find thousands of pelicans and some much-needed peace and quiet.

The river in the winter – the stretch we were cruising on at least – is more or less deserted. We passed so few other boats on our trip from Riverglen (just south of Murray Bridge) to Mannum that it became a novelty.

“Hey kids! A boat!” I’d yell from my vantage point behind the wheel of our little River Wren houseboat. The kids would stop doing their jigsaw puzzle for a moment and stand at the window and wave. Then we’d make another cup of tea. Wild times.

The river may have been deserted because it was cold. As in nights below-zero cold. But with that cold weather comes glassy, windless waters and clear nights where the stars shone so brightly that you could almost swear that you were in space.

Sam Davies on board a River Wren houseboat

We picked up our little boat from the Riverglen Marina. After loading our gear onboard we’re given a rundown on how everything works.

It’s more or less a floating caravan, with a gas stove, pump taps, a little toilet and shower, and beds for six people (this would be a squeeze though, and it’s probably best suited to a couple with two kids).

We’re shown how to drive the boat, work the stove, shower and toilet, and how to tie up to the bank, and then we’re left to our own devices with a number to call in case it all goes pear-shaped. Spoiler alert: we didn’t have to call the number.

Heading roughly north we cruise through Murray Bridge then leave civilisation behind. After a couple of hours of motoring past majestic cliffs and even more majestic river red gums we decide to pull in for the night at a little landing near Wall Flat.

We’re soon tied up to a couple of trees, campfire burning on the shore, meat sizzling on the hotplate. The young bloke goes looking for fossils in the nearby cliff – the whole place was once an ancient seabed – while my wife and daughter take a stroll on the riverbank. It’s beyond idyllic.

That night we fall asleep to the sound of frogs and in the morning, after coffee and porridge, we throw the ropes off and head up to Mannum. We pull up right in front of the Pretoria Hotel, which is handy because it’s lunch time. Fuelled up with chicken burgers and schnitzels we set off to explore this historic town.

The Davies family around a campfire on the banks of the Murray

My wife, being a Randell, has a special interest in the picturesque town founded in the mid-1800s by riverboat pioneer William Randell. I’m just happy to pick up a nice pair of RM Williams boots at the op shop for six bucks. Six bucks!

We spend the next two nights camped out alone back down the river at the base of some beautiful ochre-coloured cliffs, spending the days poking around for fossils, making billy tea and catching carp on sweet corn bait.

The fourth and final night is spent at a grassy reserve at Avoca Dell, just out of Murray Bridge. Another house boat actually ties up beside us and, after three nights completely alone, we feel a bit miffed. This is our river!

They’re very quiet though, and gone at first light.

We motor back to Riverglen, cup of tea in hand, country music playing, feeling like a family of hardcore river rats and slightly sad to be handing back our little River Wren, our home on the Murray.

Reviews are unannounced and paid for be SAWeekend

This review was first published in December 2018 and had details updated in March 2021

• 1091 Jervois Rd, White Sands
• 0438 887 807
• riverwren.com.au

• LOCATION White Sands is near Murray Bridge, about an hour’s drive from Adelaide
• ACCOMMODATION River Wren houseboat
• FACILITIES Two to six beds, linen, fully equipped kitchen, fridge and large ice chest, solar-powered lighting, TV and DVD player, stereo, outdoor furniture, secure carparking
• PRICE June-August: $690 weekend, $790 Mon-Fri, $890 long weekend, $1080 full week. September-May: $800 weekend, $900 Mon-Fri, $1000 long weekend, $1300 full week.