On a recent Riverland getaway we discovered some riverfront caravan parks to visit, which have bounced back after devastating floods caused major problems. While in the area we also revisited some favourite attractions.

A couple of years ago this Murray River region was hit with devastating floods and many of the riverfront caravan parks were out of action. That was in 2022/23, so now after much work by the owners, the caravan parks on the river are well and truly open for business and well worth revisiting.

We first stayed at Loxton Caravan Park where we hadn’t stayed before and had a riverfront powered site. The views were absolutely perfect with serene river views to sit and watch with our own small contained fire for warmth in the evenings.

This is a really quiet place to stay a while and watch the birdlife, pelicans and kookaburras, and try to catch some fish. Apart from the pesky European Carp, which mustn’t be returned to the river, there are also the much sought after Murray Cod, which must be returned to the river if caught. Complicated!

A new feature, just past the public park next to the riverfront caravan sites, is the Murray River Queen, a paddle boat which is now permanently moored on the Murray in Loxton. As well as providing accommodation on board, it also has a café which the public can visit, called The Fruit Packers Daughter.

At the café you can have a really good coffee and delicious cakes on board, while enjoying Murray River views from two levels of the boats decks. Upstairs there’s a beautiful mural, depicting a pelican and typical river sunrise colours. When you visit, try their specialty of orange and poppy seed cake, using riverland oranges, you won’t be disappointed.

Walking back through the park, make sure to stop and check out the Tree of Knowledge, which now has a new flood marker on it from the last inundation.

Another great spot in this caravan park if you prefer off grid holidays, is a section of riverfront sites where you can pull up even closer to the water, and still enjoy a campfire.  From here you could set up a chair and practically throw a line into the Murray from your caravan. These will definitely be sites we’ll explore next time.

Our next region to visit was Renmark and a we decided to try a different caravan park for us, the Echo holiday park on the river bend near the Paringa bridge.

The Paringa bridge is unique in this area, in that it is a lifting bridge which has a section that operates hydraulically, raising to enable houseboats to travel underneath the bridge while the traffic is stopped. Once the boats have passed through the bridge section is returned to place and the traffic resumes. This happens twice a day at 9.30am and 2.30pm so that traffic isn’t disturbed too often.

Being close to both the towns of Renmark and Paringa, there are plenty of things to do. In Renmark there is shopping, restaurants, cafes, a lovely waterfront area and some terrific art to find about town.  Don’t miss a visit to 23^rd Street Distillery while in town, they have a vast range of flavoured gins, vodkas and whiskeys to try, and a restaurant with exceptional food on offer.

While we were driving about we checked out Plush’s Bend, a terrific off grid and absolute riverfront caravan spot where we’ve stayed before. Sites can be booked online at $10 per night, and there are numbered sites or you can choose to set up in an unallocated area, where there are amenities to use.

If you venture over the Paringa bridge you can find some painted silos, painted by Jack Fran and Sam Brooks, which feature silhouettes of well known local identities and typical scenes of this Riverland region.

Keep driving on from here and you can take a detour to Headings Lookout for a scenic view over the Murray River from a clifftop lookout and a little further out, you can spend some time at the Woolshed Brewery for more great views and brews.

For us though the best part of holidaying in these areas is to simply pull up a comfy chair, light the campfire and just watch the water traffic and pelican antics. Pure bliss.

Enjoy,

Glenys