Renmark in South Australia’s Riverland is a magnet for those looking for a holiday on the Murray River and all the relaxation that entails, especially in wintertime, when the river traffic is a little quieter and the days a little warmer than some other parts of the state.

Our base was the serene Echo Holiday Park which is situated right on the Murray, just next to the Paringa Bridge. This remarkable bridge is almost 100 years old and is the only lifting bridge crossing the Murray River in South Australia.

The bridge, which is part of the Sturt Highway, originally had a rail line through the centre but that is now a pedestrian and cyclist lane, and the road lanes run either side. It’s a bridge that has a lot of traffic using it, including lots of heavy vehicles and the narrowness of the lanes means the speed is reduced to 30kph.  It feels very narrow to drive across, especially when you’re towing a van and you can’t help but breathe in as you traverse it.

There is a lifting section in the middle of the bridge which is raised twice daily at 9.30am and 2.30pm if needed, mainly for commercial houseboat traffic on the river. When this occurs, traffic over the bridge is halted while the bridge is raised, which only takes around 90 seconds to raise a further nine metres, then once the river traffic has passed through, the road traffic resumes.

Depending on the height of houseboats and river levels, some can pass underneath without waiting for the bridge to lift but many of the houseboats have upper decks which means they have to wait for the right times to pass through.

Staying in the Echo Holiday Park means you have the entertainment of not only watching the river traffic but also the amazing bridge in operation during the day. The park is also visited by kangaroos throughout the day, with scrub areas bordering the park. Whole family groups come through the park unperturbed by people and even dogs which are allowed in the park on leash at all times.

As well as kangaroos there are possums that sneak down from the trees at night and all types of birdlife on the river including pelicans, swans, ducks, and more. We love the fact that you can have your own contained fire in winter which means longer times spent outdoors just taking in the peaceful river and wildlife that share it.

If you can drag yourself away, Renmark has loads to entertain you and you can take a walk along a safe path, from the caravan park and into town, but it is around an 8km return walk. The riverfront is very pretty and has open park space, shopping, visitor information centre, a hotel and the Renmark Club for comfortable dining with uninterrupted views over the river.

We were lucky to be in town when Renmark put on a family friendly winter event called Winter Glow, which had light up entertainment, food, music and even fire dancers for one night only. It was quite impressive and one to keep an eye out for on the Renmark tourism social pages for next year.

Renmark and nearby also has some very fine choices for food, wine, distilleries and breweries, with more choices than you can visit in a week but we narrowed down a few, some new to us and some old favourites.

Wilkadene Brewery is an old woolshed in a beautiful location overlooking the Murray River, where you can spend a few hours from Wednesdays through to Sundays, enjoying their brews, wines and ambiance. You can purchase food to create your own platter or if you visit on weekends there will usually be a local food truck with tasty light meals on offer.

At the woolshed, you can enjoy indoor or outdoor areas and dogs are welcome on leash. Another unique thing about this brewery is that you can even tie up your boat or houseboat out front and come on in too.

On the way back from the woolshed brewery, take a detour to Headings Cliff Lookout where a short drive will take you to a tower to climb to get a magnificent view of the Murray River and the golden limestone cliffs. If you’re lucky you may just spot a houseboat cruising along the river.

We tried a couple of new venues for us this holiday too, one being the Mallee Fowl Restaurant. This is a well-known and patronized bush style restaurant with typical crazy Aussie paraphernalia and memorabilia outside and inside which is an assault on the senses, until you take a seat and start to take all the décor in.

Don’t let the rough and ramshackle interior fool you though, the food is outstanding in taste and presentation, and the local wines deliciously complement the food. This is a must visit restaurant in the Riverland, but it pays to book, it’s that popular with locals and visitors when it’s open from Thursday s to Sundays. From Thursdays to Saturdays, it’s open for dinners and only lunches on Sundays.

The other new stop we made was to visit the Riverland Wine Centre and it too was another eye opener. Set on a cliff top, the tasting room and grounds are available for you to choose where to sit and enjoy wines from more than 20 Riverland wineries.

You can visit the wine room and select which wines you’d like for either a 3 or 4 glass tasting, and there are also choices from platters to larger plates and pizzas you can buy to make an afternoon of it. You can also buy wines by the glass or bottle to enjoy in the surroundings you choose, but for us, wining and dining overlooking the river on a sunny winter’s day was unbeatable.

With so many choices of wines, delectable dishes and wonderful hospitality, this will be a definite revisit site for us.

After exploring Renmark and surrounds each day, the Echo Holiday Park is a lovely spot to wind down, light up the fire and wait for the kangaroos, possums, ducks and pelicans to visit.

Enjoy Renmark

Glenys