The Houseboat Page
You want a houseboat holiday? Here's the stuff.
BWAIN's core dump on houseboat holidays:
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Lots of boats are available at Mannum, the Riverland and possibly Mildura.
Others are scattered around.
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There are some shoddy operators, and some verrrrrry good people in the
industry. Some boats are built a lot better than others. Don't use Kia
Marina and Mannumn. A few bad experiences and too many stories about them.
Some of the smaller ones give great service. There is a Houseboats Hirers
Association.
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There are good and bad places along the river. (scenery, mooring places)
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I have a map book of the Murray, which most boats come with.
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There are various types of boats
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Size
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Style
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Luxurious (constant 240v power, 12 berth, 3 toilets, 2 bathrooms, dishwasher,
two fridges, washing machine, ice chests, stereo, barbeque, spa(on the
ultra lux ones), shaded top deck,...)
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Honeymoon (2 berth with spa)
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Essentials (12v DC power and 240 v generator, one bathroom, 1 or 2 toilets,
)
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in need of TLC (budget with a capital B)
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Propulsion
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Single outboard (small boats)
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dual outboards (on medium to large boats, safer as one engine left if one
fails)
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Dual 4 stroke outboards (more economical than 2 stroke, more power, bit
quieter, heavier) These are becomming more popular on the newer large boats
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inboard (usually diesel, a lot quieter, possibly more powerful, less cluttered
rear deck)
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Generally linnen, crockery,
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Meterological conditions:
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Windy conditions make travel annoying: mooring is harder, boats get stuck,
go slower, more dangerous.
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Cold/rainy weather would be annoying. Gas heaters sometimes provided.
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Hottest part of summer could be exhausing although air conditioning is
available and so's the river.....
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Nights are not too cold due to the water.
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Mosquitos can be a problem, so can other sorts of bugs
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Activities need to be planned. Cohabitating in a 8x15 metre floating box
with nothing to do can become exceedingly boring
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Visit places along the way
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walk (need exercise)
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read
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music
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swim
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boating (dhingys, canoes, boats and so on can often be hired with the houseboat
(extra $$))
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board games
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food
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television and/or videos
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read the guest book and see how much alcahol others brought....
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get to know people
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clean the boat :-) (clean the dishwasher, rangehood, poke around
to see how things work...)
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I like to have organised landings hence I bring headsets and try to make
things work like clockwork, quickly and efficiently, but it doesn't allways
happen that way. grrrrrrrrrr.
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Boats we've hired:
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Hassel
Free. Owned by Mr and Mrs Hassel (what a name!) however... the
boat was "hasal free". The price was probably worth it. A spacious boat.
Mitch can tell you about it, also check the web page. I can scan a brochure
and send it if you want.
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Flamingo (pink boat: yay!. Inboard diesel, smaller boat, Budget
with a B, needed some work, not used much, still was fun, except the shower.......)
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Galaxy.
With the pathfinders. Close to Hassel Free, but not quite as good.
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Boats further up the river don't seem to be as plentiful and luxurious
as the ones further downstream.
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Sleeping arrangments vary. Some boats have bunks, more flexible ones offer
zip-apart double beds (can be either double or two singles).
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Styling varies. Newer boats have more contemporary design with large panoramic
windows at the front, some older boats have older styles (60's, country,
old contemporary, innovative ...)
Internet resources: