| Across
the Murray from Mildura at BURONGA
(actually in NSW but more readily accessible from the Victoria side of the
river), you can rent your own vessel to really get the full experience of
the river. Buronga Boatmen Hire Boats, next to the bridge (tel 03/5023
5874), rents out fishing boats (from $15 per hour) and canoes
(from $10 per person per hour). Or you could phone The Rivermen (free tel
1800/809 152) about renting a houseboat: weekly rates range from
about $500 to almost $2000, but the boats can accommodate between four and
twelve people, so if you get a group together it can work out to be quite
reasonable – all you need to have is a driver’s licence, and you must
supply your own food. The nearby Floating Cafe (daily 10am–6pm)
is a colourful pontoon moored in a lovely spot where there are lots of
pelicans and ducks. |
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| Also
at Buronga is the Stanley Winery (Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 10.30am–4pm,
Sun noon–4pm), producer of that great Aussie institution, cask wine.
It’s the largest cask winery in New South Wales – you can taste the
wine here or just pose for photos in front of the big wine cask outside.
On a much smaller scale, Trentham Estate Winery, 10km down the Sturt
Highway in an idyllic setting overlooking the river, has cellar door sales
(Mon–Fri 8.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am–5pm) and an upmarket
restaurant (tel 03/5024 8888; lunch Tues–Sun; bookings preferred).
Thirty-one kilometres west of Buronga is the river town of Wentworth,
located on the main Silver City Highway to Broken Hill. |