Australia 17 - Adelaide & South Australia (Chapter)

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

MURRAY

RIVER

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

SLEEPING

&EATING

Adel Aide & South Au

Str Ali A

LOXTON

prime spots for birdwatching and canoeing.
Self-register camping permits are available
at reserve entrances.
There are also walking trails at the Over-
land Corner Hotel.

oBanrock ̈Station
Wine ̈& ̈Wetland ̈Centre ̈ WINERY
(www�banrockstation�com �au; HolmesRd, Kingston
OM; h9am-4pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat  & Sun)
S Overlooking regenerated, feral-proofed
wetlands off the Sturt Hwy at Kingston OM,
carbon-neutral Banrock Station Wine &
Wetland Centre is a stylish, rammed-earth
wine-tasting centre (love the tempranillo)
and jazzy lunchtime restaurant (mains $17
to $25 − try the cumquat-glazed pork), using
ingredients sourced locally. There are three
wetland walks here: 2.5km and 4.5km ($3),
and 8km ($5).

Rocky’s ̈Hall ̈of ̈
Fame ̈Pioneers ̈Museum ̈ MUSEUM
(www�murrayriver�com �au/barmera/rockys-hall
-of-fame-pioneers-museum; 4 Pascoe Tce,  Bar-
mera; adult/child $2/1;h10am-noon & 1-3pm
Wed-Mon) Country music is a big deal in
Barmera, with the South ̈ Australian ̈
Country ̈Music ̈Festival ̈& ̈Awards (www�
riverlandcountrymusic�com) happening here in
June, and Rocky’s Museum blaring sincere
rural twangings down the main street from
outdoor speakers. Don’t miss the 35m Bo-
tanical Garden Guitar out the back, inlaid
with the handprints of 160 country musos:
from Slim Dusty to Kasey Chambers and
everyone in between.

4 ̈Sleeping ̈& ̈Eating

Discovery ̈Holiday ̈
Parks ̈Lake ̈Bonney ̈ CARAVANPARK$
(%08-8588 2234; www �discoveryholidayparks�
com �au;  Lakeside Ave,  Barmera; unpowered/pow-
ered sites from $22/29,cabinsfrom $94; aWs)
This keenly managed lakeside park has
small beaches (safe swimming), electric bar-
becues, camp kitchen, laundry and plenty of
room for kids to run amok. Plenty of trees;
waterfront camp sites.

Barmera ̈Lake ̈Resort ̈Motel ̈ MOTEL$
(%08-8588 2555; www �barmeralakeresortmotel�
com �au;  Lakeside Dr,  Barmera; d $90-145, f from
$185; as) Right across the road from the
lake, this good-value motel has a barbecue,
pool, laundry and tennis court. Rooms are
nothing flash, but immaculate; most have
lake views.

Overland ̈Corner ̈Hotel ̈ PUB $$

(%08-8588 7021;  www �murrayriver�com �au/

overland-corner; Old  Coach Rd;  mains $16-28;

hnoon-2pm Tue-Sun, 6-8pm Thu-Sat) Off the

Morgan Rd, 19km northwest of Barmera,

this moody 1859 boozer is named after a

Murray River bend where drovers used to

camp. The pub walls ooze character and

the meals are drover sized, plus there’s a

museum, a resident ghost and a beaut beer

garden. An 8km self-guided Overland ̈Cor-

ner ̈Walking ̈Trail leads to the river; pick

up a brochure at the pub or Barmera visitor

information centre.

88 Information

Barmera Visitor Information Centre(%08-

8588 2289,1300 768 468; www �barmeratour

ism �com �au; BarwellAve, Barmera;h9am-5pm

Mon-Fri,10am-2pmSat &Sun) Help with trans-

port and accommodationbookings� Pick up the

Historic Overland Cornerwalkingtrail brochure�

Loxton

POP 4100

Sitting above a broad loop of the slow-

roaming Murray, Loxton proclaims itself

the ‘Garden City of the Riverland’. The vibe

here is low-key, agricultural and untour-

isty, with more tyre distributors, hardware

shops and irrigation supply outlets than

anything else.

1 ̈Sights ̈& ̈Activities

From Loxton you can canoe across to Ka-

tarapko Creek and the Katarapko Game

Reserve in the Murray ̈River ̈National ̈Park

(www�environment�sa �gov �au); hire canoes from

Loxton Riverfront Caravan Park.

Tree ̈of ̈Knowledge ̈ ̈ LANDMARK

Down by the river near the caravan park, the

Tree of Knowledge is marked with flood lev-

els from previous years. The bumper flows

of 1931, ’73, ’74 and ’75 and 2011 were totally

outclassed by the flood-to-end-all-floods of

1956, marked about 4m up the trunk.

Loxton ̈Historical ̈Village ̈ MUSEUM

(www�loxtonhistoricalvillage�com �au; Allen Hosking

Dr;  adult/child/family $12/6/30;h10am-4pm

Mon-Fri,to 5pm Sat &Sun) The mildly kitsch

(but nonetheless interesting) Loxton His-

torical Village is a re-created time warp of

45 dusty, rusty old buildings with costumed

staff.