Gurra Gurra Wetlands

Every traveller on the Sturt Highway between Berri and Renmark passes through Gurra Gurra — most without knowing its name. The lakes that flank the road near Monash are the visible edge of a 3,000-hectare wetland complex strung along the Murray's eastern bank, where about 800 hectares of floodplain stay underwater even at normal river levels.

The drowned trees standing in the lakes tell the story of a floodplain permanently altered by the river's locks and weirs, and the wetland is now actively managed to improve its ecology and the river's salt balance. For the passer-by, the payoff is simpler: pelicans, black swans, darters and ducks working the shallows, and on still mornings some of the most photogenic mirror water in the Riverland.

There are no facilities or formal trails — this is a pull-over-and-look place, best at first and last light. Serious birdwatchers should pair it with the hides and trails listed in our wetlands for birdwatching guide.