Lazy days on the river

By GEOFF CUMMING

Gazing at the Murray River through the tinted glass of a luxury houseboat is a bit like being in one of those mock-up cars on an old movie set - the scenery just scrolls slowly by.

The river's beauty is hypnotic. Reeds sway in unison. Drooping willows are reflected in pond-like waters. Dead gum trees, the victims of past floods, twist and splay like witches' fingers.

It's 28C outside beneath cloudless skies - a typical early-summer's day in South Australia. Beyond the lush green floodplain, heat radiates from parched brown hills.

In our air-conditioned glass bubble, guests in comfortable couches sip wine or champagne - not in a showy way you understand, it's just how you adapt to luxury.

We board the Boatel - aptly described as a floating hotel - at Mannum, a historic river town an hour's drive inland from Adelaide. Skipper Paul Pruszinski says it's 650km to the Victorian border. "We could get there in 12 days if we put the throttle down."

There is no urge to do so. Four knots is about right to combat the gentle flow of the river as we head upstream, and we need all the time we can get to take in the feverish activity. A shag skims the water before settling on a log. White cockatoos cackle from their perches in lofty red gums. There's no option but to relax.

Moving inland, the wetlands give way to towering red ochre cliffs, gouged out by the river over millions of years. At sunset, houseboats converge on the cliffs to watch the colours change through iridescent hues.

Life on the river is all about adaptation - and the Boatel is an evolutionary leap in houseboat design and comfort levels.

With its dome-like topsides and hotel-standard interior, the $1 million craft is a world removed from your common or garden shed-type houseboat. Owners and designers Paul and Susan Pruszinski met on a houseboating trip but weren't overly impressed with the traditional "caravan-type" models.

So the Adelaide architects drew on their hotel-designing expertise to create one that floats.

The open plan top deck includes the bridge, lounge, bar, dining area and fully equipped kitchen. A home theatre and sound system (yes, it extends to the en suites) are controlled from the computerised central consul which adds to the spacecraft feel.

The lower deck accommodation comes with kingsize beds and superbly appointed en suites. At the push of a button, blinds raise to reveal the river through sliding glass doors.

But Susan's signature wall-to-wall glass, slate-tiles and full-length mirrors raised dilemmas for a vessel which must withstand waves and wake from passing river traffic. The solution was a rigid steel frame. "It's the first houseboat built as a building, not as a boat," says Paul.

Travelling in such style, it's easy to forget that outside a battle for survival is waging - the river is in grave danger, though you wouldn't know it from looking.

In the 1870s, the Murray was a bustling thoroughfare as South Australia was opened up for farming. Dozens of paddle steamers plied these waters, towing barges loaded with grain, wool and livestock to thriving river towns like Mannum and Murray Bridge for transfer to Adelaide. The Riverlands area between Broometown and Renmark became known as the citrus bowl of Australia.

But the farms needed irrigation. Eighty per cent of the river's flow is now diverted for crop and livestock farming, leaving precious little to fight the combined effects of drought, pollution and increasing salinity.

Construction of locks and weirs further reduced the flow, preventing fish moving upstream to spawn and degrading wetlands.

Introduced willow trees, though attractive, have contributed to the water's increasing cloudiness. European carp worsened the turbidity while decimating native fish stocks. Migratory bird species are disappearing.

As the locals put it, a million-year-old ecosytem is threatened by 100 years of human intervention.

Drought has added urgency to state government plans to rescue the river. The Murray provides 40 per cent of Adelaide's water supply and it's feared the water will be undrinkable within 20 years.

Last summer, the river's exit point to the sea south of Adelaide was nearly closed off by sand build-up.

Looking at the mud-blue water, Paul Pruszinski recalls a time you could fish for plentiful Murray cod, bream, perch and callop.

"Twenty years ago the water was blue. I wouldn't swim in it now."

But upstream of Mannum, it's hard to believe that this apparently pristine wilderness is on the verge of collapse. The river's wide and deep, and there's no obvious sign that the healthy tourism trade is living on borrowed time.

Wetlands and lakes on the floodplains still support a vast range of bird, insect and fish life while providing impromptu picnic spots for houseboaters who tie up to the nearest tree.

Mississippi-style paddle steamers like the Murray Princess trundle by, carrying tourists to historic settlements like Morgan, once the busiest port in South Australia.

For a change of scenery, there are plenty of diversions along the way.

A coach will meet your houseboat at vehicular ferry crossings or small settlements for trips to bush restaurants, vineyards and wildlife sanctuaries. Big Bend By Night Ecotours provides a dinkum Okker experience chasing kangaroos and wombats in farm vehicles, while guide David LeBrun explains the challenges confronting settlers and wildlife in this harsh environment.

Near Nildottie, the Nganguraku people take guided tours of the Ngaut Ngaut Aboriginal settlement, the most significant on the Murray.

Archaeological digs have uncovered engravings, former cooking hearths and campsites for women and initiated men in the 8000-year-old settlement. We climbed a boardwalk up the cliff face, our guide pointing out three-million-year-old fossils in the fragile clay.

At the top are further archaeological sites and a stunning view of the river.

It's from the high, dusty plains that we appreciate the river's life-supporting qualities. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres on either side of this narrow ribbon of blue and green is nothing but desert.

It's hot enough to send us hurrying back to the Boatel - and the replenishing qualities of the Murray. Our three-day journey takes us less than 100km upstream but covers some of the river's most scenic spots.

Paul tells the story of an early guest, a high-flyer who booked a weekend cruise with his daughter.

"He was very abrupt when he booked over the phone, he wouldn't even give his credit card details. When he came on board he was telling his daughter to do this and that - he was really stressed.

"When he left he was the nicest guy in the world. He just needed a holiday."

* Geoff Cumming visited the Murray River courtesy of Qantas and the South Australian Tourism Commission.


Dream Boatel

Murray River

South Australia



Getting there

Qantas offers regular services to Adelaide from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch via Melbourne. Economy Class airfares are from $952 return.

Adelaide

This city of 1.2 million is a model of measured planning and development, where modern skyscrapers sit in sympathy alongside Victorian heritage buildings of limestone and bluestone. The streets are laid out in a grid-like pattern, free buses circle the central city and attractions are in easy walking distance. For some historical insight, Tourabout Adelaide guides provide escorted walks, $25 a head, taking in the library, museum, migration museum, police barracks and art gallery. The Central Market, open Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, offers a mouthwatering array of smallgoods, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Houseboating

More than 300 houseboats are available for hire on the Murray, varying in size and amenities. Basic two-berth models start at A$600 ($664) a week. The ultimate in luxury, the Boatel, sleeps 10 in five berths with kingsize beds and en suites. The charge for a minimum group of eight is A$180 ($199) a night a person, two nights minimum. A driver's licence is all it takes to hire the vessel and most landlubbers feel confident enough to take charge after a half-hour's instruction at the marina. If you run aground, reverse thrust on the twin outboards, while turning the wheel one way then the other, soon gets you on your way again.

Paddle steamer: Two, three and five-night cruises and ecotours are available. Two nights on the Murray Princess costs A$395 ($437) a person, meals included.

When to go

Summer stretches from October to April but rainfall is moderate year- round. The river gets crowded on holiday weekends and Christmas.