Murray River National Park, Nature reserve along Murray River in South Australia.
Murray River National Park is a protected area along the Murray River in South Australia, made up of six separate sections between Loxton and Renmark. The largest, Katarapko, covers 9,500 ha and is crossed by Katarapko and Eckerts Creeks; Bulyong Island lies upstream of Renmark and can be reached only by boat. The park covers more than 14,879 ha of wetlands and floodplains.
Murray River National Park was proclaimed on 20 June 1991 under South Australia's National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, to conserve floodplain environments poorly represented in other reserve systems. It began with three sections — Katarapko, Lyrup Flats and Bulyong — and three more were added later, bringing the park to six sections.
Goat Island, in the Paringa Paddock section between Renmark and Paringa, is the birthplace of singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter, born there in 1955 because Aboriginal people were then barred from giving birth in the local hospital. In 2021 a Riverland campaign began to rename the island Ruby Hunter Island; the Department for Environment and Water has the final say, and no decision had been made by March 2026.
The park offers camping areas, walking trails, and boat ramps at several locations throughout its different sections. Plan visits around the seasons, as water levels and wildlife viewing vary depending on rainfall and weather patterns.
Bulyong Island is accessible only by boat and serves as an isolated habitat where kangaroos and emus roam without many human disruptions. This separation offers a rare chance to see these animals in a setting closer to their natural behavior.
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