Waikerie

We visited Waikerie during our caravan adventure along the Murray River - while travelling from Mannum to Renmark in South Australia. This is a lovely country town in the middle of a large fruit and wine growing area of the Riverland region. Only about two hours drive from Adelaide with a great climate - boasting more sunshine hours yearly than the Queensland Gold Coast!

The name Waikerie is said to mean 'many wings', after the giant swift moth 'wei kari', the name given by the original indigenous community. The town is on the Banks of the mighty Murray River and Waikerie has one of the Vehicular ferries transporting cars and trucks across the water (24 hours a day 7 days a week) - we love these ferry crossings. The young operator on duty was very friendly and cheerful.

We ate our picnic lunch on the banks of the river near the centre of town with lovely shaded tables, public toilets and plenty of space to park while towing a caravan. Waikerie  offers a wide choice of restaurants, accommodation, shopping and a very good baker (Waikerie Bakery on Peake Terrace).

While in town we visited:

• Rainmoth Gallery - beautiful artworks including timber. They also have a range of tourist brochures and maps
• Waikerie Hotel - lovely shaded tables on the verandah and a bike hire facility
• Waikerie Bakery - best sausage roll
• Waikerie Caravan Park and Leisure Village - neat and tidy and very welcoming
• Nippy's - citrus and milk processing plant selling processed goods (milk, juice dried fruit etc) and fresh fruit to the public

We look forward to heading back along the Murray River one day and will definitely take the time to spend at few days at Waikerie.