Summertime and the living is easy. Fish are jumping… and the only place to be is out on the water with a fishing line. Even if you don’t care to fish, you can’t beat a boat when the warmer months come around. The lazy slap of water against the hull, the timbers warm to the touch under a spring sun, a gentle swell rocking you to sleep... And if there’s one thing better than a soothing day on the water, it’s a soothing week.
The luxury cabin cruisers favoured by the rich and famous are beyond most of us, but there is an economical alternative — houseboats.
Modern houseboats come in various shapes and sizes but the majority offer many of the comforts you’d expect in a holiday home.
Besides a kitchen, living area, bathrooms and bedrooms, you can find holiday essentials such as TVs, videos, stereos, barbecues, fishing licences and board games, so you don’t need to pack much for your stay. Some vessels have wheelchair-friendly facilities and child-proof fencing.
There’s not much to a houseboat holiday. The actively-inclined can swim, fish, water-ski or explore the shoreline, while others can relax on deck, catnap, read, graze and watch the world slip by. Some holiday-makers like to cover as much water as they can each day, while others are content to find a quiet mooring to enjoy the rhythms of the river/lake.
It’s a great option for holidays with family or friends, as vessels range from compact two-to-four berth boats up to 10-to-12 berth boats. (Of course, living areas are tight, so there is no escape if you fall out with one another!)
You don’t need a licence to take out a houseboat — an ordinary driver’s licence is all that’s required — but it certainly pays to listen during the pre-departure briefing if this is your first experience. The steering takes a bit of getting used to because boats are slow to respond to changes in direction (as the skipper of the Titanic found out), so there’s an initial danger of falling into a pattern of endless over-correction. (This landlubber performed several unint-entional figures of eight before he found the right touch.)
Fortunately, houseboats mostly move no quicker than walking pace — around six knots — so you generally have time to recover from errors. If, God forbid, the worst comes to the worst, your houseboat will be equipped with a radio and life-jackets for emergencies.
In addition, there are a few rules to master regarding rights of way. However, it takes no more than a few hours to get the hang of it and most people will soon be as comfortable behind the wheel of their houseboat as they are in their car.
New South Wales is blessed with fine lakes and rivers that are ideal for houseboating. Sydneysiders have one of the best waterways in the State on their doorstep in the Hawkesbury River, which links with Pittwater and Broken Bay. Houseboats are available for hire from a range of locations, such as Wisemans Ferry, Brooklyn, Lower Portland, Bobbin Head, Akuna Bay and Berowra Waters.
North of Sydney, there are houseboating options all along the coast, from Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, near Newcastle, through Myall and Wallis Lakes and the Manning River to the Tweed and Clarence Rivers at the top of the State.
Looking south, there are houseboat operators at Cronulla, Sussex Inlet, the Clyde River (Batemans Bay) and, of course, the Murray and Darling rivers.
Wentworth, where the Darling meets the Murray, is one of the State’s leading houseboat hire centres.
The narrow Darling is the more challenging of the two rivers, so beginners often prefer the Murray. This long, broad river has good sailing in both directions — upstream towards the historic river port of Moama or downstream towards Mildura and South Australia.
Popular waterways where houseboats are available
for hire include:
Clarence River
Clyde River
Darling River
Hawkesbury River
Lake Macquarie
Manning River
Murray River
Myall Lakes
Port Stephens
Sussex Inlet
Sydney (Port Hacking, Pittwater)
Tweed River
Wallis Lakes
For more information about houseboating in NSW visit the NRMA accommodation directory.
Alternatively, contact the information centre at the destination of your choice.
4WD
