✓ Incredible sightseeing – experience South Australia’s finest! Visit Adelaide, take to the Murray River on a 4-night paddlewheeler cruise, witness wildlife thrive once more in Kangaroo Island, explore the famed Barossa Valley and more
✓ 4 nights aboard PS Murray Princess, admiring the stunning landscapes and wildlife cruising along the Murray with daily port stops
✓ 3 nights in quality, 4-star accommodation
✓ 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
✓ In-depth, fully guided day tours of the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island
8 Day Murray River, Barossa Valley & Kangaroo Island
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Pace
Leisurely Pace
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Escorted Type
Partially Escorted
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Cooling Off Period
7 Days
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Cruise Style
River
✓ Incredible sightseeing – experience South Australia’s finest! Visit Adelaide, take to the Murray River on a 4-night paddlewheeler cruise, witness wildlife thrive once more in Kangaroo Island, explore the famed Barossa Valley and more
✓ 4 nights aboard PS Murray Princess, admiring the stunning landscapes and wildlife cruising along the Murray with daily port stops
✓ 3 nights in quality, 4-star accommodation
✓ 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
✓ In-depth, fully guided day tours of the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island
-
Cooling Off Period
-
Unbeatable Value
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Award Winning Customer Support
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Covid Safety and Wellbeing
Travelling with Inspiring Vacations allows you to explore the wonders of the world in a variety of different ways. We have partnered with a worldwide network of local travel experts to bring you culturally unique and delightfully unforgettable travel experiences. Whether it is meandering through narrow canyons by rail, cruising the idyllic waters of the Mediterranean or touring through the backroads of provincial towns, Inspiring Vacations trips offer amazing value and will leave you inspired.
Welcome to Adelaide! On arrival, make your way to your hotel. The rest of your day is free to explore Adelaide at your own pace.
Check in & arrival information.
A taxi or Uber from Adelaide airport to your accommodation costs approximately $25 per car. Hotel check in is at 2pm. Should you arrive earlier than this, hotel staff will do all possible to check you in as soon as possible. If your room is not available before check-in time, you are welcome to leave your luggage in storage and explore the surrounding area.
At approximately 1.35pm you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to Mannum to board your 4 day Murray River cruise.
Mid-afternoon the PS Murray Princess departs historic Mannum, the birthplace of the Murray River trade and communication, and heads downriver while you enjoy a Welcome Dinner. As we cruise under floodlights to our overnight mooring at Mundurra, you may see nocturnal wildlife on the riverbank. Watch for kangaroos, hairy nosed wombats, tortoises, egrets and many other species. Our on-board entertainer provides music for the night owls.
Daybreak and it’s time for the keen photographers to be out to capture the special light and the morning movement of wildlife. Prolific birdlife includes pelicans, wrens and swans. Enjoy a leisurely morning and lunch cruising upriver to Blanchetown through one of 13 locks which maintain the flow and levels of water.
This afternoon we moor opposite to the township of Blanchetown for our overnight anchorage. As the last rays of the sun fade, we visit Burk Salter Boutique Winery and enjoy wine tasting at the cellar door which is fitted out with beautiful red gum bars. After dinner, join us for all the fun and excitement, and participate in our “Murray River Cup”.
After breakfast we cruise downriver to picturesque Swan Reach. The town was first settled in the 1850s, was originally the largest of five sheep and cattle stations in the area and is now home to native flower and fruit growers. The original Swan Reach homestead is now the Swan Reach Hotel where you can enjoy an ale or cappuccino overlooking the Murray River (additional cost).
Join a walking tour and visit the Swan Reach Museum (gold coin donation at entry). Cruise downriver after lunch and take in the tranquillity as the landscape slides by. When we arrive at Sunnydale, it’s all ashore for the Woolshed Show as we recreate typical Australian woolshed history. Later we visit the Native Wildlife Shelter where some of South Australia’s most interesting native animals are cared for. And then of course, there is the great Aussie Barbecue – cooked and served in a bush setting on the banks of the mighty Murray River.
An optional Nocturnal Tour (additional cost) in a comfortable purpose-built cart is available after dinner where you may see kangaroos, wombats, foxes, bats, and owls by powerful spotlights. Special stops along the way are included to view the spectacular night sky which is part of the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve.
This morning you can choose from two breakfast experiences, either have breakfast onboard and then take a bushwalk with the Captain, or, you can partake in an early morning Bush Tucker Breakfast (at additional cost, to be confirmed on board). After breakfast, the vessel cruises slowly downriver past magnificent cliffs scoured by the river over millions of years. We reach Ngaut Ngaut Aboriginal Reserve, one of Australia’s most significant archaeological sites, for a step back in time – tens of thousands of years – for a guided boardwalk tour to view ancient rock carvings and to learn about Aboriginal history in the area.
We return to the vessel to cruise downriver to Younghusband. Along the way, adventure seekers can also take a scenic tender boat ride. Tonight, join your fellow passengers for a delicious final night dinner and enjoy the evening entertainment.
We head back to Mannum and after breakfast we embark on a Barossa Valley wine & heritage tour.
Discover Australia’s richest and best-known wine making region – the Barossa. Depart Mannum by coach to the famous Barossa, the beautiful ‘valley of the vine’ and the source of about a quarter of Australia’s world-renowned wines. You will visit Jacob’s Creek Visitor Centre, Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, enjoy a 2 course lunch at Lambert Estate where you’ll have time to take in the views of this popular vineyard. Your final stop is Gully Gardens at Angaston, a local producer of dried fruits and confectionery before returning to Mannum. You will then transfer to a luxury coach for your journey back to Adelaide arriving at approximately 5.30pm
Gear up for an early start as are picked up from 6.45am to you head south to see the highlights of South Australia’s premier nature-based tourism destination, Kangaroo Island.
Today you will enjoy a guided walk on the beach among a colony of rare and wild Australian sea lions with a National Parks Ranger at Seal Bay Conservation Park
At lunchtime, enjoy a delicious 2-course meal at the Parndana Hotel before visiting the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park to feed some kangaroos and get up close to the Kangaroo Island Koalas while listening to the Keeper talk about the cuddly mammals.
Later, spend the afternoon in the Flinders Chase National Park, which was devastated in the worst fire to ever hit the island in January 2020. You’ll see that the regeneration of the native bush occurs so quickly after the event.
Finally, see the rugged coastline from walks around Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. Remarkable Rocks provide great photographic opportunities, and the Admirals Arch boardwalk takes you down a rugged cliff face to reveal the spectacular rock archway, a natural nursery and safe haven for playful Long-nosed Fur Seals.
You will return to Adelaide at approximately 10pm
All good things must come to an end! At the appropriate time today make your way to the airport or continue your onward journey.
Check out & departure information.
A taxi or Uber to Adelaide airport from your accommodation costs approximately $25 per car. Hotel check out is at 10am. You are welcome to leave your luggage in storage and explore the surrounding area if departing later.
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