Murray River NSW Tourist Information
Murray River NSW Tourist Information
Welcome to the Murray
Note: The Murray River borders both New South Wales and Victoria and many of the towns and cities along the river have dual names (one for each side of the river). When searching for accommodation etc you will need to look in both the New South Wales and Victoria regions.
The Murray, mighty and most magical, is the longest of our rivers. In its 2600 km course from its rising in the Snowy country to its final destination at Encounter Bay in South Australia, its waters are joined by the Darling, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Goulburn. The Murray is the final home of them all.
For many thousands of years the Red River Gums that line so much of its bank looked out on the gentle life of the Kooris. One of the joys of visiting the Murray is to see the signs of our earliest peoples.
In the 1850s Australia realised that they could defeat the tyranny of distance by using the Murray as a highway for river transport. Railways and roads were the death knell of river transport in the years between the wars. But the Murray never dies. By the 1960s the old riverboats reappeared for tourism and recreation. This is the Murray of today, a long expanse of country rich in the heritage of those who built our nation, in the ecological fascination of the river, land and National Parks, for holidays, sport, entertainment and relaxation.
As visitors you are playing your part in the second re-birth of the Murray. The country along the Murray with its white sandy beaches is like all the seaside resorts brought inland but with the extra bonus of reminding us of our past, enriching our heritage and inviting us to share the manifold joys of the sun-warmed life of a great river.
For the getting-away-from-it-all holiday there are so many first-class golf courses that one visitor remarked that the Murray is the longest golf course in the world. All other sports so important to the Australian way of life are there, from bowling to water sports. Trying your luck is an Australian tradition. Sumptuously appointed clubs provide the visitor with every chance to gamble.
A holiday is also about relaxing, unwinding, getting rid of stress by looking at natural beauty, not having to make beds and not cooking. You can eat well at every kind of cafe or restaurant, from the simplest convenient take-away to the elaborate cuisine made possible by the excellence of so many local ingredients. And the wineries are happy to supply bottled sunshine in every glass of wine.
Whether you want to camp so that you can look out of your tent or caravan and see the Murray by night or stay in a budget hotel or in your own home-away-from-home in a flat, pub or motel or perhaps listening to the lap of waters against your riverboat of houseboat - all are available.
Whatever your interests, whatever your resources, somewhere on the Murray is what you are looking for.
