Houseboat Holidays

A houseboat is a unique way to travel the river with friends and family.

Have you never been on a houseboat and would like to know a little bit more about them? Following we have tried to answer a few of the questions you may have..

 

 

What is a houseboat?

A houseboat is basically a holiday house that is built on pontoons that allow it to float on water. Like any motorised boat it is powered by a motor allowing you to travel to different locations.

The beauty about a houseboat is that as long as you have a driver’s licence you can drive the houseboat yourself, allowing you total flexibility as you can decide to travel or to stay moored at spot and not having to go with a set agenda.

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How Easy it to drive a houseboat?

Driving the houseboat on the river is really only a matter of steering. Most houseboats may travel around 8km / hr and even if you try to go faster they will not be able to. So driving a houseboat is very easy  – even a child could do it! (although legally you must have a drivers licence.) Each houseboat will have a river map on board. Along the river there are signs attached to a tree every km so you can always refer to the map to know where you are on the river. The river maps also detail where the “channel” is and where there are sandbars. So as you travel, you refer to the map to know if you need to stay out a little wider of the bank if there is a sandbar.

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Learning to drive and operate the houseboat.

When you arrive at the houseboat, the owner / operator will take you through a “show out”. This will entail showing you how to work everything on board such as the TVs, stereo system, dishwasher etc. It will include showing you the safety of the houseboat and finally you will be shown how to drive the houseboat and the river rules. The operator will show you how to steer and also how to moor the houseboat.

Mooring the houseboat entails slowly turning into a clearing on the bank. The clearing should be away from overhanging trees. Slowly turning into the clearing, you gently nudge one pontoon into the bank and then turn the houseboat into the bank so the front is parallel with the bank. Most houseboats have 4 ropes – 2 each side of the boat. Upon Mooring, these ropes are tied to trees on the bank and that’s it! Motors can be turned off and you can go and enjoy other activities! The ropes hold the houseboat to the bank.

Once the operator and you are confident of handling the houseboat they will leave and you can start relaxing and enjoying your holiday!

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Houseboat facilities

A houseboat will have all the facilities that you would have in a house plus in some instances much more. Houseboats can have from 1 bedroom or up to 6 bedrooms. Often rooms can be converted to extra bedrooms with soda beds.

All houseboats that are hired must be surveyed by the Department of Transport and they will be licenced to carry a maximum number of people. Houseboats in South Australia have many regulations that they have to abide by to ensure that they comply with regulations. Most houseboats cannot have more than 12 people on board at any one time. If the houseboat can carry more than 12 people than the driver must have a specific licence to be able to drive them. This means that you would not be able to drive the houseboat with only a normal driver’s licence.

Because you can have from 1 up to 12 people on some houseboats it makes it a unique holiday as you have the choice of traveling by yourself, with your family, with your extended family or with friends and their families and you can drive the houseboat yourself!

There are bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, lounge rooms on board and like Lazi One some even have a spa on board!

On most houseboats and definitely on Lazi River Houseboats we have everything that you will need on board. All the beds are made with fresh linen, there are bath towels provided, bath mats, face washers and hand towels. All soap is provided as well as a starter kit of small shampoos and conditioners. A hairdryer is also provided in each bathroom.

In the kitchen all cutlery and plates are supplied. Coffee cups, normal cups and wine glasses – red, white and champagne are on board for your use. Mixing bowls, measuring cups for baking, pots and pans for cooking and of course a toaster, kettle and coffee plunger.

There are fridges on board, a microwave, a stove and a dishwasher on board all Lazi River Houseboats. We also have a deep freezer on board where we stock block and crushed ice for your use. This is charged on what you use during your stay.

There is plenty of seating on board whether it is around the dining table or in the lounges. There are also outside seating provided if you would like to sit on the bank, perhaps around a nice wood fire during the allowed fire season!

Included on board for our hirers are also a large range of DVDs, books and a few games such as cards and chess.

All cleaning equipment is provided as well as toilet paper, paper hand towels, glad wrap, alfoil and baking paper.

Drinking water is also provided in 10 Litre containers– we work on around 2L a day per person.

All you as the hirer needs to bring are your clothes, toiletries and food and drinks.

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Food and Drinks

There are no shops once you leave Renmark and head upstream in the houseboat, so it is a good idea to do a big shop before you go so that you have everything you need for the length of your holiday.

This is not as daunting as it sounds and because you provide your own food and drinks on your holiday it cuts costs considerably!

If you were at home you would need to buy your foods and drinks – therefore although you may have a little more to eat and drink then normal while totally relaxing on your holiday it will not cost much more. Especially compared to a holiday where you need to go out for breakfast lunch and tea! Nowadays that could cost you anywhere from $50 to $100 per person!

If travelling with others it is a good idea to break the meals up into each group. So as an example if travelling with 3 couples for 7 nights, have each couple organise the food for 2 days each. Leftovers could be for the last night or one couple organises 3 nights. This helps break up the actual cooking of the meals as well and can add an interesting variety of meals during your stay.

Otherwise get together before your holiday and make a list of the foods that you will need. Condiments such as herbs, vegemite etc. could be brought from home. Then when you get to Renmark you will have a shopping list ready to go.

Renmark is part of the Riverland which is “fruit Fly free”. This is extremely important to the many fruit and vegetable growers in the area. Fruit and vegetables should not be brought into the area – especially if home grown.

There are a couple of options for shopping in Renmark. There is a large Woolworths store in the Renmark Plaza and a local Foodland in the main street. There is also a very good local butcher, whom if you ring up and order before you arrive would cry vac what meat they could for your convenience.

There is a local fruit shop just out of town although both the Woolworths and Foodland have a good range of fruit and veg.

For your alcohol requirements there is a Woolworths Liquor store at the Plaza or the Renmark Hotel has a bottle shop. If you supply the Renmark Bottle shop with a list they could supply a quote on your drinks and may also help if there is a reasonable quantity to have it delivered to the houseboat. They will have it organised at any rate for when you arrive so you just drive through to pick up!

There is also a Bakers Delight in the main street and as their bread is fresh daily so will last a number of days.

If you believe you will need a top up of supplies during your stay we can provide this service to you. Depending on how far away you are and how much you will need will determine if we charge for the service.

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Towing Speedboats, dinghy’s and jet skis

Our houseboats have side arms for towing speedboats, dinghy’s and for jet skis. This ensures that your boat does not get any damage. Fuel is not to be carried on the houseboat due to regulations. Therefore we can organise to bring fuel to you during your stay. Please contact us further about this.

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Power and Fuel

Lazi River houseboats have automated generators. This means that the power is 240 Volt and you don’t have to worry about anything! The invertor / generator set up will start itself up when it needs to boost the powers in the batteries.

The more power you use the more the generator will need to run. The reverse cycle air-conditioning and the dishwashers are probably some of the highest power users. Therefore if these are running the generator may come on. The bedroom air conditioners do not need so much power so these may run during the night without the generator.

The generator requires either Diesel or unleaded fuel to run. The houseboat motors also require fuel. This is an extra cost that is charged at the end of your hire. So it will depend on how much you use as to how much this will cost. We will give you approx. costs when we send

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What to do on a houseboat – From a child’s perspective

  • Cruising along the river
  • Lying in bed and watching movies on TV
  • Playing with friends
  • Like a big sleep over for the children
  • The spa – for the children it’s like a pool to play in
  • “A day off” the parents have time to spend with the children
  • Fishing
  • Yabbying
  • Skiing and water sports
  • Parents can lie down and relax instead of working
  • Kids can play in the water
  • Marshmallow’s cooking on the wood fire on the bank
  • Playing X Box
  • Cubby houses in the bedrooms
  • Playing games with friends and families
  • Cooking in the kitchen

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What to do on a houseboat – from a parent or adults perspective

  • Relaxing!! As soon as you board the houseboat and cruise away from town you can feel yourself unwinding. Away from shops and work with the river slowly flowing past, the stress just disappears.
  • Everything you want or need is on board so there is no need to go anywhere.
  • It is great opportunity to spend quality time with friends and / or family.
  • Waking up in the morning, you can either have sleep in, watch TV or draw up the blind to watch the river flow by the abundance of wildlife. In the cooler winter months there is often a mist on the river early in the morning and an abundance of pelicans which is truly beautiful.
  • If holidaying with others it is great to share the cooking – giving everyone a chance to relax as well as to help in the kitchen!
  • Bacon and eggs for breakfast with a coffee and then there are multiple choices for the day! Read a book, watch a movie, do a little bit of fishing, go skiing, kayaking, swimming or a nice relaxing spa to start the day – although if the kids are around they may try to join you!
  • There is plenty of time in the day on a houseboat holiday to spend time with those you love and your friends. Or have time to yourself which in our everyday hectic life seems impossible to find!
  • Heading towards tea after a great day of enjoyment it may be time for a few yummy nibbles a champagne and a chance to relax in the spa. Taking turns cooking dinner perhaps it could be the men’s night so the women can have time out!
  • A wine in hand watching the beautiful sunset you really do not even need to travel anywhere once you have found a nice spot to moor.
  • The River upstream of Renmark is possibly the best that the River Murray has to offer. It will only take an hour’s cruise upstream to get away from the town and any sense of human habitation.
  • The river is wide and there are plenty of gum trees lining the banks. There are also sensational red cliffs along the way. It is ideal for skiing and water sports as there is always a smooth patch of water somewhere to ski on!
  • What most people say after coming back from their houseboat holiday is:
  • “If only we could stay a few more days!!!”

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