Off to Morgan to Board the Houseboat

 21st July 2025

This morning we have go shopping in Waikerie to get provisions for the next 7 nights on a houseboat on the Murray. First stop is the butcher, who has a very impressive range of meat and $370  later we move next door to the Woolworths supermarket, where we spend a similar amount on groceries. Others are buying different items in Mildura where they stayed overnight last night.

A short 1 hour drive has us arriving with our caravans at Foxtale Houseboats at around 11.30 am. Our boat is ready to be loaded, so the 4 of us unload the provisions and our personal things. The boat is impressive.




The Murray Entertainer, our home for the next 7 nights

The main living area

The boat has 5 double cabins with ensuites and plenty of living space. There are lots of solar panels and a generator so power should not be a problem,

Once we have unloaded our goods, we park the caravans in the designated area and settle in to await the arrival of the others.


The rest of the team arrived at around 1 pm. More supplies were added to the boat and it is clear we will not go hungry and get dehydrated.

Unfortunately today has turned out to very very windy, with plenty of dusty gusts along the road trip to get here. It seems those coming from Mildura went through some minor dust storms. It is looking likely that we may stay in port tonight and set out on the boat in the morning. 

At our briefing on the boat, the operator also suggested we stay here and leave in the morning, but was willing to let us go out if we wished. In the end we all agreed is was getting late to leave and the wind had not abated, so we will stay here for the night.


Relaxing after the briefing



Two items that need to get to complete our provisioning are ice and bread, so a short drive into Morgan to get these is needed. Ice was not a problem, the caravan park there had ample supplies. Bread proved a bit more difficult, as the very small IGA had little to offer, but we did get some from the Ampol Service station in town who we had been advised was probably the best option. If we had not shopped in Waikerie and Mildura, we would not be eating much on this trip as Morgan doesn't have a lot to offer.

Whilst in Morgan we went down to the riverfront to check out a paddle steamer that had been salvaged from the bottom of the river and restored.


The PS "Canally" a bit of the river's history preserved

This large river boat was in dock. It looks well set up for extended cruises on the Murray.

Our first gourmet dinner was a large beef roast cooked on the BBQ and an adequate amount of red wine to wash it down.

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