Renmark is a town of 4,700 (2021) in South Australia's Riverland region. This part of the Riverland is more broadly known for agriculture, with Renmark acting as a regional centre. This article also includes the nearby settlement of Paringa, a small town on the eastern side of the Murray River opposite Renmark, home to a little over 1,000 people (2021).
Understand
[edit]Visitor information
[edit]- discoverrenmark.com.au website
- 1 Renmark Visitor Information Centre, 84 Murray Ave, ☏ 1300 661 704 (domestic), [email protected]. M–F 9:30AM–4:30PM; Sa Su and public holidays 10AM–2PM (closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
Get in
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Don't import fruit flies!: Renmark is a part of the Riverland Pest Free Area (PFA). This means that you cannot bring any fruit or vegetables from outside the region inside; any fruit or vegetables that you may be carrying with you must be consumed or disposed of beforehand (there are some bins before the quarantine checkpoint, but this is easy to miss).
Visit fruitfly.sa.gov.au for a full list of items permitted. Items can also vary depending on the state of the produce's origin – some produce from Tasmania and Victoria might be allowed while the same from New South Wales or Queensland prohibited. |
By car
[edit]Renmark is on the A20 Sturt Highway, the broader national highway link that connects Adelaide with Tarcutta (and thus Sydney via the M31 Hume Highway). From Adelaide CBD, Renmark is shy of a 3-hour drive, 2 hours and 15 minutes from Gawler, and about 15 minutes northeast of Berri, the other significant town in the Riverland.
From Mildura, Renmark is about a 90-minute drive west (133 km (83 mi)). Factor in any extra time spent at the quarantine checkpoint (which can take up to 15 minutes during busy periods).
By coach
[edit]Stateliner Premier Coach Services operates two coaches on weekdays leaving Adelaide's Central Bus Station at 10:15AM and 4PM, arriving in Renmark at 2:20PM and 8:10PM respectively. It is not possible to daytrip Renmark from Adelaide by coach as the coaches from Renmark to Adelaide leave at 7:30AM and 3:30PM, leaving only one hour in town (not accounting for delays or congestion either).
On weekends, this frequency drops to just one coach a day leaving Adelaide at 1:15PM on Saturdays and 4PM on Sundays. The coach from Renmark into Adelaide leaves Sa 7:30AM and Su 9:30AM, once again making it impossible to daytrip Renmark on a weekend.
Despite Mildura's close proximity, there is no direct coach connection from there.
Get around
[edit]BusBiz operates a few local bus routes, but these are primarily catered for locals and aren't particularly usable for visitors.
Renmark is otherwise somewhat car-centric with most points of interests (especially those on the outskirts) requiring a car of some sort.
See
[edit]- 1 Headings Cliffs, Heading Rd, Murtho. A few minutes north of Renmark, here you'll see golden limestone cliffs along the Murray River. The views from the lookout are serene, especially during sunrise or sunset.
- 2 Olivewood Historic Homestead & Museum, 205 Twentyfirst St, ☏ +61 8 8586 6175. Th–M 10AM–4PM (closed Tu W). The house of Charles Chaffey, the Canadian colonial settler who established the irrigation colonies of Renmark and Mildura. It was built in the 1880s using Murray pine logs; an orchard of oranges was also planted at that time, with 90 orange trees still strong and alive from then.
- 3 Paringa Bridge, Sturt Hwy (A20). What might happen to be one of the narrowest highway bridges out there happens to be built a century ago, in 1927. The bridge previously also carried the former broad-gauge Barmera railway line, but that was closed in 1982, with the centre of the bridge having now been converted into a shared-use walking and cycling path (though both the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure on either end are questionable).
- 4 Renmark Paringa Community Museum, 12 Sturt Hwy, Paringa, ☏ +61 407 618 311, [email protected]. M W F 10AM–3PM. Local town history museum of both Renmark and Paringa. Much of the equipment on display is agricultural farm/riverside.
- 5 Renmark Rotary Lookout Tower, 144 Chino St, Renmark West. 24/7. A lookout to the northwest of town where you can see both agricultural farmlands and the town. It's high enough that you can get 360° views from the tower.
Do
[edit]- 1 Kuerschner Boardwalk, Patey Dr. A small narrow boardwalk on the eastern end of town along some of the Murray River's low-lying banks, but easily prone to flooding. Temporarily closed as of November 2025.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]- 1 Bella Mozzarella, 179/181 Murray Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 4888. Tu–Sa 3:30–9PM; Su 3:30–8PM. Splurge pizzeria with some other good range of pasta and parmi.
- 2 Nui's Thai Kitchen, 35 Renmark Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 4439. F–Tu 11AM–8:30PM Th 4–8:30PM (closed W). A local traditional Thai restaurant.
- 3 Renmark Club, 160 Murray Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 6611. Su–W 9AM–midnight; Th–Sa 9AM–2AM. A mid-range waterfront bar and club with al fresco dining, and a wide range of selection of burgers and mains.
- 4 Renmark Patisserie, 40 Renmark Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 6156.
Drink
[edit]- 1 Paringa Hotel Motel, 2 Murtho Rd, Paringa, ☏ +61 8 8595 5005. Daily noon–2PM, 6PM–8PM. A motel and pub, though mostly focused on their pub. Drive-through available.
- 2 23rd Street Distillery, cnd Twentythird St and Industry Rd, ☏ +61 8 8586 8500. Su–W 10AM–4PM; Th–Sa 10AM–1PM.
Sleep
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- 1 Hotel Renmark, 81 Murray Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 6755, [email protected]. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. A heritage-listed Art Deco hotel which was once a community hotel by the British Empire. The hotel is somewhat upmarket for the area, but the prices tend to still be fairly reasonable. The hotel also has a museum attached to it, open daily 9AM–6PM.
- 2 Renmark Motor Inn, 282 Renmark Ave, ☏ +61 8 8586 6899, [email protected]. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM.
- 3 The Shamrock House, 26A and 26C Cedar Ave, ☏ +61 419 845 113. Home accommodation venues.
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]| Adelaide ← Barmera ← | SW A20 E | → Mildura → Wagga Wagga |