In the tranquil Murray Valley National Park, towering river red gums, abundant birdlife and scenic boat trips make for a dreamlike wildlife experience.
Tracing the past with a mileage marker
Carved into the side of a tree is the number “258”. It’s a mileage marker from the Murray River’s old paddlesteamer days, indicating the distance downstream from Albury.
Today, it serves as a remnant of the past in an area that is moving well away from the era of huffing steamers transporting lumber.
The mileage marker tree also strikes as the only thing even vaguely approaching a landmark. The walking trails in the Murray Valley National Park are very much ones where you hope the maps are accurate, because there’s little way of distinguishing where precisely you are otherwise.
Discovering the river red gums
All around are river red gums, the higher reaches of their trunks dappled white and grey, but the lower sections are always slightly darker and soggier-looking.
It’s a reminder that these river reds go against the usual behaviours and desires of their cousins in the eucalyptus family. For them, it is not fire that spreads and renews life, but water. They thrive on sporadic floods, with the black, scar-like water lines indicating just how high the drink has got in the past.
The horizon is filled with the elegant, spindly and more than a little eerie trunks, reaching for a sky semi-obscured by the canopy. Only the occasional frantically darting emu or effortlessly bouncing kangaroo spoils the peace.
Protecting the forest and wildlife havens
The Murray Valley National Park was declared in 2010, and was largely created to protect the vast tracts of river red gums that grow in the area.
But in amongst the reliably entrancing forests are a few little wildlife havens. The Reed Beds Bird Hide looks out onto one of them, a wetland that plays host to copious bird life, and floods then dries in cycles that are crucial for replenishing the vegetation.
Birding at the reed beds
As part of the efforts to enhance the National Park experience, the boardwalk up to the bird hide has been adorned with spinnable circular images of the birds that can regularly be found there.
Turn them round, and the bird’s call is played. The white-faced heron sounds a little like a cawing seagull, the Australian bittern has a deep, bassy coo, and the eastern great egret sounds like a motorbike attempting to start on a cold morning.
The hide itself looks out onto the wetland proper, where the waters are retreating. It’s in a drying phase, and the permanent pool is accompanied by only a few outlying puddles.
Elsewhere, the moss-like starwort muscles in amongst the beds of giant rushes. Pelicans float on the water, while musk ducks and egrets poke around inquisitively.
Wildlife spotting from the water
The water isn’t just for the birds, though. Kingfisher Cruises offers a chance for mobile wildlife spotting from its launch point at Barmah.
The endearingly simple boat trip heads along the Murray River in the area where it’s at its least massive and mighty. The Narrows is the narrowest part of the Murray between Albury and the sea, with the banks generally being 27m to 30m apart.
This bottleneck is part of the reason for the surrounding river red gum forest. Once the water flows upstream too much, the Narrows doesn’t just flood – it floods spectacularly. At peak, the river can spill out over the lakes and wetlands, essentially becoming 25km wide.
Under ordinary conditions, the manageable size makes it the perfect place for spotting birds. A snake-necked darter stands on a low branch, its wings out. They’re not waterproofed, so it has to hang them out to dry. Spoonbills cluster in a tree, while a tawny frogmouth and an azure kingfisher conduct lone vigils nearby.
This may not be nature at its most raw and visceral, like lions tearing into wildebeest on the Serengeti, but it is nature at its most lulling and dreamily enjoyable.
Beyond the national park: five more things to do
- Paddlesteamer cruise: Murray River Paddlesteamers offers sunset dinner cruises along the Murray from Echuca aboard the PS Emmylou, for $155.
- Mountain biking: Near Moama, a specially designed mountain biking trail has been merged into the forest. The Five Mile trail includes drops, bridges and wall rides, appealing to all levels of expertise.
- The Backroads Trail: Heading inland from the Murray, a collection of local food and drink producers have combined to form a driving trail, including wineries and a mead-maker.
- The Deniliquin Ute Muster: Held on the first weekend in October, this festival has evolved from a meeting of ute lovers into a country music and rural Australiana festival.
- Wine tasting: Several wineries have open-to-the-public cellar doors around Echuca and Moama. Morrison’s in Moama combines inventive dining and wine tasting.
Visiting Murray Valley National Park
Getting there: The nearest towns are Echuca and Moama (south) and Deniliquin (north). It’s a 746km drive from Sydney, 257km from Melbourne. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Albury, 244km away. You can easily combine Murray Valley National Park with Yanga National Park on a road trip.
Tours: Kingfisher Cruises runs two-hour nature-focused boat trips from Barmah, costing $59 per adult.
More New South Wales travel
Other New South Wales travel stories on Planet Whitley include:
- A first time visitor’s guide to the Blue Mountains.
- Climbing Mt Kosciuszko – Australia’s highest mountain.
- Why Ballina is more than just a gateway town for Byron Bay.
- Why visit Wategos Beach in Byron Bay?
- How to get into the Sydney Opera House without buying tickets.
