10 Things to Do with Kids in the Riverland
Free ferries, giant oranges, climbing towers and boats that go up and down in a box
The Riverland's family superpowers are space, water and a total absence of queues. Half the region's best kid attractions are free - starting with the cable ferries that shuttle cars across the Murray all day - and the rest cost less than city parking. Here are ten reliable wins, from big things to bird hides.
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1
MonashMonash Adventure Park
The Riverland's legendary free playground - flying foxes, mazes and climbing gear that has been wearing kids out for generations.
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2
BerriBig Orange Berri
You cannot drive past a four-storey orange. One of Australia's great Big Things, and proof you are in citrus country.
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3
BarmeraLake Bonney Barmera
Shallow, sandy-edged and famously calm - the region's best easy swimming, with sunsets thrown in free.
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4
ParingaLock 5 & the Bunyip Barge
Watch houseboats rise and fall in a giant concrete box, then picnic on the lawns beside the 1927 lock. Endlessly fascinating, zero dollars.
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5
WaikerieWaikerie Ferry
A river crossing on a cable ferry is a tiny free cruise - ride across and back and wave at the houseboats.
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6
WaikerieWaikerie Silo Art
A giant yabby, a rain moth and parrots painted thirty metres tall on both sides of the town silos. Spotting the species is the game.
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7
LoxtonLoxton Historical Village
A whole pretend town to explore - furnished cottages, old shops and machinery that makes the past feel like a playground.
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8
RenmarkRenmark Paddle Steamer PS Industry
A real 1911 paddle steamer to clamber aboard at the Renmark wharf - check steaming days for the full smoke-and-paddlewheel show.
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9
BerriBerri Lookout Tower
97 steps up a converted water tower - a climbing mission with a 360-degree payoff and a picnic area at the bottom.
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10
RenmarkThe Almond Hut
A roadside almond and produce shop on the Sturt Highway just outside Renmark, where the region's abundance meets the traveller. Stock up on fresh and flavoured almonds, local honey and dried fruit - an easy, cheap stop, and in late summer you may catch the orchards being shaken at harvest.
Add water to taste: Lake Bonney's shallows for little kids, riverfront lawns everywhere, and houseboats for the full floating-holiday upgrade. Pack hats and a long supply of fruit - you are in the right region for it.
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Image credits
- Big Orange.jpg by Bilby , CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons