Murray River

The Murray is Australia's most important river by almost every measure — longest navigable waterway, border between two states, lifeblood of the country's most productive agricultural region. But along its banks, for long stretches through towering river red gum forests, it is also one of the most peaceful camping destinations on the continent.

The river red gums are the Murray's signature — enormous trees, hundreds of years old, their white and grey trunks reflected in still backwaters, hollow limbs hosting generations of corella colonies and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Barmah National Park, one of the largest river red gum forests in the world, floods seasonally and transforms into a water world where the trees stand in mirrors of river light.

The houseboat industry between Echuca and Albury is well-established and accessible — rent a vessel with no qualifications required, set your own pace and find your own riverside camp. Echuca's historic port, with its cast-iron storehouse and functioning paddle steamers, preserves the history of a river system that was once as busy as any highway. The Mildura end of the river offers Murray Sunset National Park — accessible camping in one of Australia's most undervisited national parks, on the edge of salt lake country.