Things to do in Riverland parks during high water

Although camp­sites and some access tracks and trails are closed until fur­ther notice, there is still plen­ty to do and see. But don’t for­get the insect repellent!

Top 6 things to do in and around River­land parks

1. Crag­gs Hut Walk­ing Trail in Katara­p­ko Camp­ground is open and on high ground over­look­ing the floodplain.
2. Dri­ve along Crag­gs Road to camp­site 43 to see the expanse of water across the flood­plain, which is teem­ing with bird life. Alter­na­tive­ly, dri­ve along the Mallee Track and stop for a walk and a pic­nic. Keep your eyes out for kan­ga­roos and emus. Please check the Katara­p­ko Camp­ground web­site first for any updates on road conditions.
3. Try your luck bird watch­ing at Cooltong Con­ser­va­tion Park or Poogi­nook Con­ser­va­tion Park. You may even see a wom­bat at Pooginook.
4. Stay a few nights star gaz­ing at Dang­gali Con­ser­va­tion Park. Take in the great expanse of the Wilder­ness Pro­tect­ed Area and dur­ing the day you can see the wild­flow­ers in bloom.
5. Over­look Pike Flood­plain from van­tage points along Sturt High­way at Paringa.
6. Have a pic­nic at Boytie’s (Carparks) Lagoon, or one of the unflood­ed camp­sites, and throw in a fish­ing line while the chil­dren play in nature. Strict­ly no camping.

Top 10 things to do in and around Mur­ray­lands parks

If there is one place to vis­it this spring, it’s Mur­ray­lands parks. They’re brim­ming with every­thing nature has to offer and more, from birdlife to bril­liant dis­plays of wildflowers. 

1. Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park and Karte Con­ser­va­tion Park are great places to camp.
2. Take a fam­i­ly dri­ve through Ngarkat and enjoy the show put on by the spring wild­flow­ers (4WD required).
3. Go for a walk on the Scor­pi­on Springs Walk­ing Trails in Ngarkat.
4. Take the Karte Con­ser­va­tion Park Hike. It’s a mod­er­ate hike, boast­ing spec­tac­u­lar views over the district.
5. Do the Three Habi­tat Walk at Brook­field Con­ser­va­tion Park in the ear­ly morn­ing and see the south­ern hairy-nosed wom­bats grazing.
6. Book a guid­ed tour at Ngaut Ngaut Con­ser­va­tion Park. Mar­vel at the rock art and become immersed in the cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance and her­itage of the park.
7. Vis­it Swan Reach at night and check out the Dark Sky Reserve, eas­i­ly one of the best places on Earth to gaze at the stars. Access is 4WD only and free self-suf­fi­cient bush camp­ing is allowed. No need to book.
8. Walk or ride one of the many trails in Kinchi­na Con­ser­va­tion Park, abun­dant with spring wildflowers.
9. Do a spot of bird-watch­ing in Tolderol Game Reserve which is renowned for its bird life.
10. Vis­it Fer­ries McDon­ald Con­ser­va­tion Park and walk the Fer­ries McDon­ald Loop Trail. In spring, the park comes alive with native orchids and flow­ers blos­som­ing. Among the numer­ous bird life you may be lucky to spot a Malleefowl.

Stay safe in parks

Don’t for­get though that all camp­sites and a num­ber of roads and tracks with­in riv­er-based River­land parks are closed until fur­ther notice due to flood­ing from unreg­u­lat­ed flows.

Day vis­i­tors are wel­come though. Parks may be accessed by dri­ving on open roads only. Walk­ing, moun­tain bik­ing, canoe­ing or small boats are per­mit­ted if safe to do so. Please check for updates on the rel­e­vant park’s web­site before you go. 

Rangers will con­tin­u­al­ly mon­i­tor parks and pro­vide updates on acces­si­bil­i­ty, with a view of reopen­ing when pos­si­ble. Dang­gali Con­ser­va­tion Park remains open with camp­sites avail­able for booking. 

The fol­low­ing camp­sites are closed:

• Bor­der Cliffs
• Chow­illa Creek­side campsites
• Lyrup Flats
• Katara­p­ko
• Loch Luna
• Kaiser Strip
• Moorook
• Mor­gan

Con­tact the Berri Region­al Office on (08) 8429 9690 or email DEW.​RMonlinebookings@​sa.​gov.​au for more local parks information.

Top pho­to cour­tesy of Grant Schwartzkopff.

Inter­est­ed in kayak­ing? Read our blog on Kayak­ing the mys­ti­cal Mur­ray.