Is this the best way to experience Australia's iconic Murray River?

An outback adventure in South Australia's Riverland region combines breathtaking hikes with a cruise aboard a luxury houseboat.

Slowly, cautiously, but keen to explore further, the family draws nearer. What's that they see? Why is it moving? How did it come to be here? The six emus don't quite know what to make of what's before them. Nor do we, crouched down watching our tour guide. Who knew lying on your back and pedalling your feet could attract these wild but inquisitive flightless birds?

It's one of the bigger surprises I encounter over four days and three nights near Renmark, South Australia, in June. The Murray River Walk combines the thrill of meandering through the Riverland region's stunning landscape with a luxury cruise aboard a state-of-the-art houseboat.

Run by Murray River Trails, an award-winning family business started by Tony and Susie Sharley in 2016, the walk aims to offer a world-class nature-based experience on the couple's home stretch of the Murray.

It features among the Great Walks of Australia, which comprises 13 guided, multi-day hikes across the country.

And while fun is an integral part, there is also an element of awareness and education, seeking to expand people's knowledge of the river system and its needs.

So our literal journey, which showcases the Riverland Ramsar Wetland of International Significance, is accompanied by a philosophical one of care for the environment and respecting the world around us.

Murray River Trails says it's a great privilege to provide guided tours of the Murray and equally, it's our privilege to take part.

We gather on Monday morning at Hotel Renmark to meet each other, look over maps and prepare our backpacks. The 8am start makes an overnight stay in Renmark beforehand practical, and I liked the comfort and convenience of our meeting place, particularly its little gem of a museum where mementos mix with vintage furniture and settings.

Our party of eight, three couples and two singles aged from 50s to 70s, will be led by lead guide Kym, assistant guide Max and boat host Sophie. Ah, I've barely mentioned the boat, just you wait and see.

Leaving our luggage in Sophie's care, we board a pontoon cruiser boat for a 14-kilometre cruise to the start of our walk at Woolenook Bend. It's a scenic ride, with frequent stops to spot koalas and the bird life, which includes pelicans, wood ducks and black swans.

Once ashore, Kym sets a sensible pace along the natural walking trails. He points out items of interest and tells stories as we go.

There's the site of a World War II internment camp, with its cricket pitch area still discernible, and various ring trees, where two river red gums were intertwined as saplings long ago and are now bonded together.

"These old trees, I'd love to hear its life story, who's been past, who's settled here, who's come to this tree and lit a fire or cooked dinner," Kym says. The morning cuppa and cake is carried by our guides, so it's only helpful of us to eat and drink to lighten their load. Always happy to oblige.

A hot lunch later takes us by surprise, with Sophie and a non-walking guest joining us for the meal. They had not long seen a family of emus swimming across the Murray and then clambering up on to the bank, a rare sight we all envied.

The afternoon's trek proves a little steeper leading to great views of the floodplain as we arrive at Headings Cliff.

Down below, we get the first glimpse of our accommodation, the High River, a modern luxury houseboat.

A short ride in the cruiser and we've arrived at our home away from home, featuring six ensuite bedrooms, large viewing windows, communal lounge areas inside and undercover on the top deck.

No diesel generator is needed, instead there are 52 solar panels and 50kwh of battery storage providing renewable energy. After a 14-kilometre walk each day, it's refreshing to dangle your feet in the Murray - perhaps not for too long - and sample the spa on the upper deck, where beautiful scenes can be observed in every direction.

Sophie, Max and Kym work as a team to prepare our evening meals: three courses with, as our boat host explains, an emphasis on local produce, paired with the region's wines.

The dinner conversation flows freely, our group is well travelled with many tales to tell. But on night one, we're aware of an early start ahead.

Come 6.10am Tuesday, we are ready to board the cruiser and chase the sunrise. Of course, it's pitch dark and I quickly realise my torch, which seemed fine at home, is nowhere near as powerful as all the others.

But there's enough joint illumination as we cross the river, disembark and climb up Headings Cliff. It really is quite magical when shades of pink, orange and blue gradually take over the horizon.

We can feel the morning stillness, even the birds are hushed for now, with the colours peeping through the clouds. We had feared overcast conditions might wreck the view - no way!

A warm cuppa and biscuits atop the Murtho Forest Lookout sustains us for the trek back, where a cooked breakfast awaits, along with the day's real walking.

The itinerary sees us exploring along Amazon Creek, finding dozens of pelicans, observing Indigenous canoe and shield trees, measuring the girth of the huge gums with our combined arms and finally cruising past Chowilla Station's historic shearing shed.

But there's no doubt today will be remembered by our group as the emu day. We are bemused when Kym spots a family of six emus in the distance and starts demonstrating the aforementioned lying-on-his-back-and-pedalling technique. But wouldn't you know, it works!

The younger emus come closer and closer, keen to find out what is going on, while an adult stays further away, as if overseeing their adventure. The big birds crane their necks towards this strange, pedalling sight, moving quite close before seeming ready to stroll on.

Kym's steady movements and emu-like grunts prove too interesting for the curious creatures, however, and they circle back for another extended look before finally running off. We spectators can only applaud.

Just before joining the cruiser, we all help pick some native saltbush leaves, which Sophie then uses in our cooked breakfast the following day. After dinner on Tuesday night, we watch a slide show of flood pictures from 2022, an event of significance that continues to impact the Riverland region.

Wednesday's program begins with a talk on the Murray-Darling Basin, an interconnected system of rivers across a one-million-square-kilometre area in the south east of Australia.

The Murray River itself comprises about 2500 kilometres and, according to Murray River SA, provides water to about 1.5 million households, as well as farms and other businesses along its length.

Our starting cruiser ride takes us past the Chowilla Creek Environmental Regulator, which is designed to raise water levels slowly and allow inundation of the floodplain and wetlands. Once we start walking, it's a solid 10-kilometre morning along Chowilla Creek, with gaiters necessary to protect our shoelaces and socks from burrs.

Max's fun facts about nature punctuate the journey, for example, certain bird species, while they have their own unique language, share a common alarm call that's quite complex to warn about approaching danger. "They're on Twitter all day long," one of the listeners can't resist saying.

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Our post-lunch travels are shorter but more elevated over Bunyip Reach Cliffs and then Queens Bend Cliffs - lacewings, lichen and layers of earth all feature in our conversation. Eventually, Kym and Max call us together to say congratulations on completing our 40-kilometre total and to send us off on our own to finish the last stretch.

But not for long; we soon come across a table spread with some celebratory nibbles and drink, where Sophie jumps out to surprise us. That night, a riverbank campfire proves another trip highlight, with many memories and stories recalled. It's agreed that what's said at the campfire stays at the campfire!

The next morning, some keen group members join Kym and Tony Sharley on an early-morning bird count, part of Murray River Trails' commitment to citizen science. But day four is more about cruising than walking, we experience High River in motion on the Murray, and a very comfortable ride she is too.

Following instructions, we gather on the upper deck - well away from the driver - while the houseboat navigates Lock 6, entering the gates, watching the water level fall and then exiting the other side.

While we take in the sights, our tireless crew prepares one last meal, a barbecue lunch that is enjoyed by all before final farewells and a mini-bus ride back to Hotel Renmark.

One of my journalism lecturers, way back when, always warned against ending any article with words to the effect of "then they all went home, tired but happy".

Please forgive me, just this once.

Here's what you can expect on the evening menu.

Day 1: Parker's Murray cod chowder with crusty bread roll; sous-vide kangaroo fillet with sweet potato mash and blanched asparagus; quandong pie with vanilla ice cream.

Day 2: Carrot and sweet potato soup with lemon myrtle and ginger; massaman beef curry with seasonal vegetables, jasmine rice and roti; Riverland orange pudding with cream.

Day 3: Parker's baked Murray cod with lemon myrtle panko crust, spring onion, mash potato and wild lime beurre blanc; duck with pearl couscous and steamed broccolini; trio of South Australian cheeses.

Getting there: Murray River Trails experiences begin in the river town of Renmark, South Australia, which is a three-hour drive from Adelaide or a 1.5-hour drive from Mildura. Adelaide has an international airport with direct flights daily to all other Australian capital cities while Mildura's regional airport offers direct flights daily from Melbourne and Sydney.

Tour options: Murray River Walk tours, four easy days of hiking "our greatest river", are available from May to September. Murray River Safari tours (available in March, April, October and November) include guided walks, canoeing, outback driving and open boat cruising over four days. Murray River Escapes (tailored houseboat holidays) and Safari to River's End, a five-day journey through the Australian outback to the Murray Mouth at the Coorong, are also available.

Rates: Murray River Walk and Murray River Safari are from $3300 per person, twin share (single supplement available). Murray River Escapes (private houseboat hire with optional extras) is from $8000.

Need to know: Murray River Walk became a member of Great Walks of Australia in 2016, the year it was launched. Great Walks of Australia is a collection of 13 guided, multi-day hike experiences, designed to actively immerse hikers in Australia's most iconic landscapes. Murray River Walk, rated easy and completed at a relaxed pace, is 12 to 14 kilometres a day and 40 kilometres in total. It suits most levels of fitness and the trip can also accommodate non-walking guests. Accommodation is a luxury houseboat and meals are fully catered.

Explore more: greatwalksofaustralia.com.au; murrayrivertrails.com.au

The writer travelled as a guest of Murray River Trails and Great Walks of Australia.