The old Customs House, which once policed the waters of the mighty Murray Murray, is now home to a fleet of luxurious houseboats – a wonderful way to explore the River Murray between Lock 6 in South Australia to Wentworth/Mildura in New South Wales, a distance of 220 river kilometres.
The area is noted for its large sandbars, ideal to tie up to. There are wonderful spots to enjoy a large range of activities; swimming and other water sports, bushwalking and watching wildlife such as kangaroos, emus, echidnas or goannas. Fishing can be very successful here with Callop (Golden Perch, or Yellow Belly), and the elusive Murray Cod caught regularly, or you could even just relax and savour the river experience and scenery.
Historically when the Murray River was the interstate highway linking New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria they'd have to stop at Customs House and pay duty on their goods. It wasn't cheap, one shilling (or ten cents) for a single sheep and as much as four dollars for a horse. River skippers hated the imposts and often tried to smuggle goods across the border. If you didn't stop they'd fire shots across the bow of the boat to make you stop, if you then carried on chances were that you might arise the next morning to see your vessel on fire or sinking. This was the serious side to collecting revenue is those days so luckily today the reception is a little more welcoming.
Cruising on this unique waterway it’s easy to forget the politics and troubles of the past and just simply enjoy the most of the locks and weirs that keep the river alive today!
A houseboat is the ultimate way of enjoying the river and all you need to captain a floating palaces is a drivers licence or motorboat licence.
Customs House Houseboats operates a number of boats ranging from 6 berths to 12 berths. Their general store, marina and camping ground are about 30 minutes drive from Renmark.
Related Information:
Customs House Marina and General Store
Phone: 1300 55 77 06
Official Website:
Customs House Marina and General Store
