Sunrise over a river

Chowilla Game Reserve

Detour into one of SA major arid wetlands

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

John Muir

Chowilla Game Reserve is an integral part of the Riverland Biosphere Reserve, comprising 18,000 hectares of floodplains and wetlands. This is a quick look at the waterways of the reserve and those just across the border in NSW. For more details about the reserve itself, please visit National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia

My intended first detour is to paddle Salt to Punkah to Chowilla (56.6 km) with a possible extension on Monoman creek (tad longer at 58.1 km). This detour is only about 10 km longer than the Murray River itself, depending on detours taken on the detour.

The second detour is technically a shortcut. Aiming to paddle both the Big Hunchee and Ral Ral Creeks at 34.9 km 1, 5.1 km shorter than the mainstem of the Murray.

Other online guides for the area include:

  • Big Hunchee Creek
  • Boat Creek
  • Bulyong Creek
  • Chowilla Creek
  • Hypurna Creek
  • Kylie Creek
  • Monoman Creek
  • Nelbuck Creek
  • Pilby Creek
  • Pipeclay Creek
  • Punkah Creek
  • Ral Ral Creek
  • Salt Creek
  • Slaney Creek
  • Suders Creek
Creek beside cliffs

Quick Stats

Park / Reserve
Chowilla Game Reserve
Council Areas
UIA Riverland
First Nations
First Peoples of the River Murray and Mallee
15.6°C
Feels like 11.0°C
15.5°C
06:28pm
20.2°C
02:15pm
Gentle Breeze
S at 17 kph, gusts to 24 kph
Strongest Gust: 50 kph S at 10:44am
0.0 mm since 9am
Fri
Mostly sunny.
0 mm
3°C
21°C
Sat
Partly cloudy.
10% chance 0 mm
3°C
19°C
Sun
Sunny.
5% chance 0 mm
1°C
19°C
Mon
Sunny.
5% chance 0 mm
2°C
20°C
Tue
Morning frost. Sunny.
5% chance 0 mm
1°C
24°C
Wed
Sunny.
20% chance 0 mm
4°C
27°C

Sun and Twilight Times

06:07—17:58 / 11hr 50m
Civil: 05:44—18:22 / 12hr 38m
Nautical: 05:15—18:51 / 13hr 36m

Moon Info

Waxing Gibbous
Fri 2:40am 12:12pm
Banner image is of a sunrise at the mouth of Chowilla Creek