Murrumbidgee River

Murrumbidgee River

Dec 2020

The Murrumbidgee River is another grand river of the NSW Riverina.

The Murrumbidgee rises in the Snowy Mountains, the Snowys, deep within Mount Kosciuszko National Park. This small alpine stream makes it way past Canberra and down onto the Riverina. This lower section from Jugiong is the main navigatable section and the regulated releases from Burrinjuck ('bidgee) and Blowering (Tumut) Dams means that this can be tackled at almost any time of the year.

It is half the length and half the size of the Murray River, making an excellent shorter trip. It is comparable to the Murray in terms of difficulty, slightly more difficult in the top section between Jugiong and Gundagai.

Guides, Resources and References

This trip is difficult and potentially dangerous with some remote sections in the lower section and hard whitewater in the upper section.

While I am posting this information to assist fellow explorers, you should not rely on anything stated in this guide without first confirming it independently from more reliable sources. This guide is not a substitute for proper training from an accredited training provider.

General Overview and Location Guides

Cloudy day in the countryside

Tumut

Alternative starting point from Tumut on the Tumut River.

More Info

Gear

Refer to the Murray River Gear Section for a discussion about kayaking and camping gear.

Planning

Information to ensure an enjoyable and successful trip.

Additional Information

Second Longest River?

The Murrumbidgee River is usually considered to be the third longest river in Australia after the Murray and Darling rivers. GeoAustralia gives it a length of 1,485 km calculated from the 1:250,000 National Topographic Database, or 1,482.3 km to be precise from the BoM GeoFabric.

However, I think this should be considered the second longest river in Australia after I calculated that the Murrumbidgee River has a length of 1,598 km that is significantly longer than my calculated length of the Darling River at 1,547 km.

Slightly mute point for most paddlers that only paddle the lower 1,133 km that is significantly shorter than the Darling.

Once you have made it to the Murray River, you could organise a ride from the VIC reserve directly opposite the mouth (4wd or high clearance?) or continue on to Boundary Bend (15 km), Robinvale (VIC) / Euston (NSW) (108 km), or even continue down to the ocean (1,200 km).

My Personal Journey

What to do while waiting for a vaccine or rain? With VIC reentering a lockdown and a dry winter up north, the Murrumbidgee River provided a viable alternative to the Darling or Murray.

My rambling blog and trip table for the trip.