Distance Details

Inconsistency is the only thing in which men are consistent.

Many of the sections of the Murray River, as originally surveyed, are no longer navigable under normal flows. While most of the blue markers generally follow the original course, there are a few that deviate from this path.

Regarding the distance measurements, the traced path follows the approximate original mainstem through both Lake Hume and Mulwala. When these lakes are filled, you can expect to save a significant distance by straight-lining across the lakes, approximately 30 km and 15 km, respectively.

Lake Hume shows a strong seasonal pattern, usually reaching capacity in late winter/spring and it tends to be at it's lowest in early winter post the peak irragation demands.

Lake Mulwala can be fairly snaggy outside of the main navigational channels, especially for the upper sections. Stick to the navigation channel if this causes you difficulty. The lake is typically kept full, but it is occasionally drained in winter for 4 to 6 weeks to help reduce some of the aquatic weeds every 5 to 10 years. This was last done in 2022.

The following table lists all the known deviations of the main cuttings and dead arms of the river in relation to the distance measurements, original blue marker distances, and administrative boundaries. The mainstem (main flowing path) or navigational path appears in bold.

Many people paddle Brownies Creek at Albury, a 1.5 km shortcut.

Name	Start	End	Official Course	Blue Markers	ETA Distances	Difference (km)
	Lagoon	2222	2224	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.7 km
	Getting choked with reeds and trees.
	Lagoon	2219	2220	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	0.7 km
	Traversable in normal flows.
	Brownies Creek, Grays Island	2204	2206	Murray	Murray	Murray
	Taking the creek is 1.5 km shorter.
	Lagoon (Wonga Wetlands)	2189	2191	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.7 km
	Upstream entrance is almost always dry, even in high flows and the downstream exit can dry out on low flows.
	Lagoon	2142	2145	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	2.2 km
	Mostly dry lagoon with both entrances usually dry.
	Lagoon	2131	2132	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.0 km
	The upstream entrance is usually dry.
	Billabong	2118		Lagoon	Mainstem	Mainstem
	Both entrances are usually dry
	Lagoon, Murphys Creek	2099	2103	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	3.1 km
	The upstream arm is shallow with reeds while the lower is generally clear. Murphys Creek will flow down both arms of the lagoon in higher flows.
	Snake Island / Cutting	2044	2050	Around	Around	Cutting	4.9 km
	The flow is reversed between 2050 and 2049 due to the waters pushing down from Boiling Down Creek. The island itself has another dead arm at 2047.
	Lagoon	2026		Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainsteam	1.2 km
	The downstream exit is choked with reeds. While the blue marker is on a Victorian island, the marker itself is just on the official side of the NSW border.
	Lumms Island	1983	1985	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.8 km
	The upstream entrance is usually dry.
	Lagoon	1971	1974	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	5.1 km
	Upstream entrance is usually dry with the downstream entrance feeding a small anabranch.
	Cottadidda Lagoon	1944	1947	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	2.3 km
	Upstream entrance is usually dry.
	Barooga Lagoon	1906	1908	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.7 km
	The upper half is usually dry.
	Lagoon (Native Dog Creek)	1870	1871	Lagoon	Cutting	Cutting
	The upstream entrance is usually dry. An older lagoon extends further back. The latest administrative boundaries from GeoScape include this lagoon within NSW.
	Dead End Lagoon	1858	1860	Lagoon	Lagoon or Woperana Channel	Woperana Channel
	Dead End Lagoon is usually fully dry with Woperana Channel taking the main flow. Distance is similar on both. The direct Paddy Henessy Cutting is 1.3 km shorter. This is fast flowing and can be snaggy on lower flows.
	Horseshoe Lagoon	1720		Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.4 km
	Mostly clear non-flowing lagoon. One of the few blue markers on Victorian soil as the border follows Horseshoe Lagoon.
	Lock Lagoon (Torrumbarry Weir)	1628	1630	Lagoon	Lagoon	Lock	1.1 km
	The mainstem flows down past the weir, with a blockbank prevent flow through the lagoon.
	Broken River Lagoon	1623		Lagoon	Mainstem	Mainstem
	Both entrances are usually dry and the lagoon can dry out. The latest administrative boundaries from GeoScape include Broken River Lagoon within NSW.
	Dead River Lagoon	1592	1594	Lagoon	Lagoon	Mainstem	1.5 km
	The lagoon is usually cut off from the river and can dry out.
	Little Murray, Beveridge Island	1378	1390	Around	Around	Little Murray	5.4 km
	The Little Murray is usually is the mainstem although the longer way around is a pleasant slower trip. Take care of the ferry cables on the Little Murray.
	Murphys Island / Cutting	1330	1334	Around	Around	Cutting	3.3 km
	The cutting is now the mainstem with fast flowing water that can be snaggy when low.
	Canally Island	1261		Lagoon	Mainstem	Mainstem
	Usually dry lagoon. The latest administrative boundaries from GeoScape include Canally Island within Victoria.
	Passage Camp Cutting	1234	1236	Around	Around	Around
	The cutting is often flowing and saves 1.4 km. Be careful of any swirls.
	Unnamed Cutting	1166	1168	Around	Around	Cutting	2.2 km
	Suitable for most boats when there is an OK flow.
	Bumbang Cutting	1124	1138	Around	Around	Cutting	12.5 km
	If the weir pool is low, there is a clay bar in the cutting that can force boats to go around Bumbang Island.
	Retail Island / Cutting	1028	1035	Around	Around	Cutting	7.0 km
	The cutting is the mainstem but it is possible to navigate around the island in moderate flows.
	Tarpaulin Cutting	1000	1007	Around	Around	Cutting	8.1 km
	Upstream is almost completely blocked outside of high flows.
	Lock Island (Mildura Weir)	884	886	Around	Around	Lock	0.4 km
	Navigating around Lock Island is only possible in flood when the weir is removed.
	Cowana Bend	851	860	Around	Around	Around
	The first of the two cuttings is navigable in high flows by smaller craft and would save 8.3 km. The second cutting is a significant shortcut too, but requires more care to safely navigate the trees and snags.
	Snaggy Point Cutting	826		Around	Indeterminant	Cutting	0.7 km
	When calculating the missing blue markers positions, I have assumed it went around.
	Pollards Island / Cutting	667	672	Around	Around	Cutting	4.6 km
	Inflow is usually dry
	Reedy Island / Higgins Cutting	653	656	Around	Around	Cutting	2.3 km
	Dix / Wilkinson Cutting	603		Around	Cutting	Cutting
	The upstream entrance to this old arm is traversible by smaller craft in normal pool heights, passing by the Woolshed Brewery.
	Goat Island	562		Around	Mainstem	Mainstem
	The upstream entrance is usually dry.

The distances were calculated by manually digitising the river path from various aerial images (ESRI, Bing, Google) in QGIS using the GDA2020 - NSW Lambert. The path used does minimise some curvatures along the river, using a true centreline would create a slightly longer path.