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
WaikerieThe Almond Hut
A farm-gate stop near Waikerie where the road-trip snacks are grown on the premises.
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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