2021 River Ramble

Waikerie

Distance from
Caudo's Vineyard

Travel Time @ 7.5 kmh

Ease of Travel

36 km

4 hour 48 minutes
(Plus Lockage Time)

Easy -

But Use Caution At Hogwash Bend & Below Lock 2

Lock 2

If you are traversing Lock 2, the section to river below the lock needs to be navigated carefully by keeping close to the bank when exiting the lock going downstream, and on the lock side of the river when you are travelling upstream to the weir. The channel is marked with buoys. Outside of that channel, it not uncommon to see pelican standing on the sandbars in the middle of the river. Unlike what some charts may show, there is NO CHANNEL that crosses to the other side of the river. As the Lockman for advice if you have not travelled this way before.

Normally when travelling on the river, normally you will transit the lock alone, or perhaps with one other vessel. However on a Ramble, with nearly fifty boats, that would be 25 to 50 lock transits with a cycle of at least 30 minutes turn-around time (open gates, enter lock, close gates, fill/empty chamber, open gates, exit lock, close gates, empty/fill chamber, open gates). That is, over 24 hours. So, the objective is to safely fit as many boats into the lock chamber. By filling the lock chamber as much as possible, the fleet can pass through the lock in three lock cycles.

Waikerie is located on the south bank of the Murray River and is the first township after Morgan, It is served by a cable operated ferry to provide access for pedestrians and vehicles to the north side of the river. The area has been inhabited by the Ngawait people for millennia. According to some sources, the name Waikerie is dervived from the indigenous name for the local "Rain Moth" (Trictena atripalpis). For the Ramble, Waikerie is an opportunity to go shopping in the township which is uphill from the mooring location. Apart from the shopping centre, Waikerie is also on the Silo Art Trail.