The next day (4 March), we left Tanunda for Renmark. We drove through Nurioopta where we had planned to stop but it seemed a very ordinary country town so we just drove around and carried on. Our route took us through Truro, named after the Cornish Truro, and then Blanchetown where we stopped and checked out Lock 1 on the Murray River. We passed through this lock in 2000 when we had a houseboat holiday on the Murray. We hoped to see the lock in operation this time but, despite 3 boats lined up to pass through, there was no action - apparently, the Lock Keeper was at lunch!!  

We drove on to Waikerie where we stopped and sat by the river (Murray) watching the cable ferry and some young boys doing amazing backflips into the water. We then completed our journey to Renmark in the Riverland region of South Australia. The Riverland is also a major agricultural area, fruit as well as grapes. The terrain is mainly flat and very dry - semi-desert really - but the River Murray (Australia's longest river) winds its way through the area and is used to irrigate the land.  
 
Our full day in Renmark (5 March) was spent walking through the town and along the river front, which was very pleasant. They have a 5km path along the river (Murray) with information boards along the way explaining various aspects of the river and the history of the town. Renmark is Australia's first irrigation settlement and is popular for water sports. After our walk and some lunch, we went for a drive around the Riverland. We crossed the lifting span bridge across the Murray to Paringa, just east of Renmark, and stopped to see its Black Stump which turned out to be a tree root system displayed vertically!! 

We then went to the Headings Cliff Lookout which gave fabulous views of the River Murray and its limestone cliffs - the views were well-worth the 13km drive there and back. From there, we returned to Renmark and went to Berri via the Lyrup Flats (a very flat area which is part of the Murray flood plain). We stopped at the river, another very pleasant spot, and then drove south to Loxton where we checked out the "Tree of Knowledge" which is a massive old river red gum used as a flood level marker. The greatest flood was in 1956 and registered 4m up the tree!