5 experiences around Coorong National Park

By Anna Kantilaftas
Published: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

The water laps against my feet. Strong gusts of cool air send ripples through the water, adding drama to the otherwise tranquil landscape. Brenton Carle from Canoe the Coorong rolls out a feast of local delicacies.

As I dine on cheese, crackers and a sip of wine, the calming sound of small waves lapping against our moored kayaks fills the air. I look across to the sandy banks just a couple of kilometres across the Coorong National Park from our spot at Sugars Beach on Hindmarsh Island. A pelican spreads its wings to the wind, before majestically taking flight to its next destination. The weather starts to turn, sending the once rippled water into tiny barrels.

There’s a familiarity to this moment that forces me into a smile. West of our picnic spot, my childhood memories float through the tides of summer days, casting lines and twisting feet in search of pipis. But from this view, things look a little different. Over a few days travelling through the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth region, I found new and old experiences merge in one inspiring trip.

Watch this video to see five things you must do next time you visit the Coorong and Mid Murray region:

1. Get up-close-and-personal with the animals

Heading east from Adelaide, and just a short distance from Coorong National Park, a stop at Monarto Safari Park starts the journey with a one-of-a-kind experience.

The brand-new visitor centre welcomes us to the adventure, before we board a bus with our guide, Anne, who drives us toward the special behind-the-scenes giraffe area of the park.

“We are home to the largest giraffe herd in Australia and it’s the most successful giraffe breeding institution in Australasia,” Anne shares as we pass the new lemur habitat, where visitors can get within a tail’s length of the lemur troop.

We’re handed a bucket of carrots and walk through a large gate. Before us, in a vast open paddock, several giraffe bulls stand around snacking on leaves. They’re taller and bigger than I expected, with my height barely reaching their knees. I pull a carrot from the bucket and hold it in the air.

It takes a few seconds before I’m spotted, and one of the giraffes inches his way closer. His tall neck comes down to meet me as his long tongue wraps around the carrot, taking it from my fingers. This is not an experience I’ll forget in a hurry.

Fun fact: Giraffes tongues are 40cm to 50cm long on average and are prehensile – just like human fingers.

Feeding the giraffes at Monarto Safari Park.

2. Speeding into The Bend

Coming from a motoring background, there’s nothing that gets my heart pumping quite like a day on the track. Pulling up to The Bend Motorsport Park is a must for those who seek experiences fuelled by petrol and adrenaline. From go-karting to a four-wheel drive park, or hot laps around the track, there’s plenty to do for the revheads among us.

As I pull on the helmet, my heart pounds against my chest. It’s not my first time on a racetrack, but for some reason, I’m nervous.

I fumble into the low-to-the-ground Mustang. The driver, Jason, leans across to shake my hand. He tells me he has come first at Speedway Nationals, which makes me feel calmer than I was moments ago. He gently puts his foot on the accelerator, taking it easy on the first lap. We pass the black and white chequered start line, and Jason gives me a thumbs up. I return the gesture, signalling I’m okay and ready for him to take off. The car’s engine revs a little louder as he pushes the accelerator harder. My body jolts back into the seat as we launch forward, hitting speeds close to 200km/h. At each turn, every muscle in my body braces. By the time the end of the third lap comes around, I’m ready for another.

Instead, I retreat to my room at the Rydges Pit Lane Hotel, where my balcony overlooks the pit lane. Just a few metres away, I hear go-karts buzzing around a track that mirrors the turns of the main course. That’s an adventure for another day.

Fun fact: Mark Webber, Mick Doohan and Mark Skaife helped design the track.

Take laps around The Bend at Tailem Bend in the Mid Murray region near the Coorong National Park

Hot laps around Tailem Bend.

3. Off the beaten track

As we enter the Coorong National Park, the landscape changes. To one side, a mass of water moves with the wind, each tiny ripple contributing to the larger masterpiece that is the Coorong. Birds squawk, whistle and chirp to their own melodies. The wind plays backup and the occasional beat of rain dropping on the roof completes the troop.

“The water in the Coorong has become very saline… especially in the southern lagoon due to lower freshwater inflows,” says Nick, our guide from National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia.

“It’s saltier than the sea now,” Nick continues. “Options are being investigated to improve the southern lagoon including allowing water from the ocean into the Coorong to make it fresher.

“There has also been some restoration of natural surface water flow paths to bring water from further south and discharging into the Coorong at Salt Creek as it once did historically.

“It will be interesting to see the area respond to high freshwater inflows associated with flooding in the River Murray. The area will be teeming with new life.”

The birdlife has been heavily impacted, and while it looks abundant on this trip, I recall years when the area and water were covered with migratory bird species. It’s listed as a Ramsar site for the role it plays in supporting rare and endangered plants and animals, as well as significant populations of waterbird and fish species.

Home to the Ngarrindjeri people, the Coorong and Lower Lakes is culturally significant and was one of the most heavily populated areas due to its abundance of fresh water, animals, fish and birdlife.

Today, there are about 20 campgrounds within the 20,000 hectares of national park, each with its own landscape, walking trails and scenery. Despite being close to a number of townships and major centres, the area creates a feeling of being in the wilderness and allows visitors to reconnect.

We pass through Salt Creek, the gateway to the southern Coorong, and onto Ninety Mile Beach, a popular surf and fishing spot that’s only accessible by four-wheel-drive. I walk down the beach, my feet sinking in the soft sand and crunching through the thick layer of crushed shells that mirror the ocean’s edge. The moody weather sets the tone for the end of our tour through the Coorong National Park, leaving me wanting more and wondering why we didn’t venture this way more often when we were kids.

Ensure you’re prepared before travelling off-road.

Fun fact: Ngarrindjeri Nation is made up of 18 different language groups known as ‘Lakinyeri’.

The museum and history church at Raukkan, South Australia near the Coorong National Park

Historic church at Raukkan.

4. Tour through the history of Raukkan

On the morning we’re heading to Raukkan – an Aboriginal community located on the shores of Lake Alexandrina near the Murray Mouth and Lake Albert – I look out from the balcony of my refurbished room at the Bridgeport Hotel in Murray Bridge.

The Murray River flows toward the Coorong and the Murray Mouth. It’s a fitting start to the day and one of the locations I’m looking forward to visiting the most. When we arrive at Raukkan, just one-and-a-half hours away from Murray Bridge, we meet Jordan Sumner, CEO of Raukkan Community Council. He meets us beside the Raukkan Church, and informs us we’ll spend the morning learning about the life of the Ngarrindjeri people, whose Country runs through the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula and Coorong.

We follow Jordan through the town, which is small but spectacular. Steeped in history, it’s the museum that draws my attention. We wander through the heritage church hall, which was first built in 1869 and has since undergone some restoration work.

Photos line the historical walls, and artefacts sit beneath glass display cabinets.

It’s beautiful in parts and chilling in others. Jordan talks us through a wall of portrait photos of people holding numbers. These photos, he tells us, date back to the years Raukkan was listed as an Aboriginal reserve.

Raukkan was turned into Point McLeay Mission in 1859, before being listed as an Aboriginal reserve in 1916. It was handed back to the Ngarrindjeri people in 1974 and renamed Raukkan eight years later.

Only a short drive towards the back of town, there’s a new lookout where visitors are treated to spectacular views of the lakes and waterways that make this area so abundant. The sun shines through the grey clouds for a moment, sending Lake Alexandrina into a sparkling frenzy.

“That’s the lake with sandhills,” Jordan says. “This side of the sandhills is [the] Coorong, and on the other side, you have the Southern Ocean. At night, you can hear the Southern Ocean quite clearly from here as well.”

We pause for a moment and listen. The distant sound of waves crashing against the sandy shores and rugged cliffs. Sitting atop this ancient land, surrounded by vast masses of water, it dawns on me just how many times the wind has carried the sounds of all that has happened in this town.

Fun fact: Raukkan is the birthplace of David Unaipon, an inventor and author who appears on the $50 note.

Seal sitting on the Goolwa Barrage near Coorong National Park.

Fur seal at the Goolwa Barrage

5. Float down the Coorong

Of course, no visit to the Coorong would be complete without some time on the water. When the weather rained on our parade, bringing our Canoe the Coorong experience to a halt, we jumped aboard the Spirit of the Coorong. Leaving from the Port of Goolwa and travelling towards the Goolwa Barrage, we float down the waterway toward Godfrey’s Landing.

As a darter – or snakebird – takes flight from an old timber boat at Armfield Slipway, our guide, Rupert, points to it.

“That boat was used in the new Storm Boy film,” he says. It’s one of the many references we’ve heard on this trip to the famed Colin Thiele tale, which was made into a movie in 1976 and remade in 2019.

Eventually, the boat moors itself to a tiny beach and we disembark the Spirit of the Coorong and start to walk over dunes toward Ninety Mile Beach and the theatrically wild Southern Ocean. The ominous clouds that have threatened my time in the Coorong finally decide to pay a visit. We move forward through the soft sands of Godfrey’s Landing, with rolling dunes either side of us. As we pass an Indigenous midden site, the violent crashes of the Southern Ocean waves become deafening and suddenly, a downpour falls on us. Two emus pop their heads up between the dunes to check out the commotion as many of us make a dash back to the boat for shelter.

I keep my window open for the journey back to Goolwa, and as we pass through the barrage, a little fur seal – part of the colony commonly found here – pops his head through the window right next to me as if reaching in for a kiss. He flees when I scream in fright. “In all my years of coming here, I’ve never had a seal get that close,” I tell the group. It goes to show, no matter how well you know the Coorong, there’s always something new to be found.

Fun fact: One of SA’s largest pelican breeding colonies is found on North Pelican Island in the Coorong National Park.

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