BANROCK STATION: In South Australia's Riverland Region

First light at Kingston on Murray and I set out with bird watcher Bob Goodfellow and Banrock Station Manager, Tony Sharley on the dawn patrol. The dead gums are a reminder of man's attempts to harness the Murray. These trees were drowned when the first locks went in to dam the river's flow back in the 1920's but today they provide a safe haven for birdlife.

"The whistling kite is common along inland rivers all over Australia and they build a large nest like that and they keep adding to it every year".

The mother is a bit wary of our presence and soon we spot another tending to her chicks. As the day begins, the river slowly comes to life and soon the ubiquitous pelicans are out looking for breakfast.

"The water is a lot shallower here Lisa, and it's where they have the best opportunity to get a feed. You can see them now developing into a raft. Several pelicans get together and they actually round up the fish to little areas that they can get at them together. They'll tip their beaks into the water together and feed".

Sadly the most common fish in these waters now is the introduced European Carp. The old timers remember well the days before its arrival when you could actually see to the bottom of the river. But now with the explosion in the number of carp, a bottom feeding pest has changed the river forever.

"In about 1969 farmers were sold carp to clean out all the weeds in the dams etc"

"But they were also muddying up the dams and making them unfit for the cattle and sheep to drink, so the farmers were getting rid of the carp. Rather than kill them they were tossing them into the rivers and so from about 1969 onwards it has gone downhill in that respect".

It's another sad example of what we've done to Australia's longest waterway. But here on the edge of Banrock Station nature is fighting back thanks to an enlightened approach to the often competing interests of business. Tony Sharley is the manager of the BRL Hardy's Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre, a brave move by one of Australia's biggest wine groups to create a winery and regenerate this part of the Murray at the same time.

"Since we've been doing the wetting and drying at Banrock, we've actually got a lot more aquatic plants in the wetland because the carp aren't there to uproot it. That's meant there's been a lot more nesting material for Black Swans as well, so we probably have 20 to 25 pairs of Black Swans breeding every year now on the lagoon".

A flat-bottomed tinnie provides the ideal platform for bird lovers like Bob and Tony to monitor the progress at Banrock. The local aboriginal people took a more leisurely approach to travel on the Murray; the old lithograph highlighting that trade has always been a feature of the Murray. Now it's the tourist trade as the houseboat swings around Ball Island and soon it will pass as a reminder of those who lived and fished here for generations.

"Aboriginal people lived along the river for thousands of years and there are many, many trees that you find along the river that show that a canoe had been cut from the tree".

Samuel and Nancy Pope established their homestead on the river bank and set about grazing sheep and cattle. But more than a hundred years on and this property, where the mallee meets the river valley; was in a sorry state. Overgrazing and the regulation of the Murray's flow had taken their toll. Just seven years ago, BRL purchased all that you see before you from the wine and wetland centre. But to fully appreciate the changes that have taken place here you need to head out on the wetland trail with its seven kilometres of pathway, bird hides and boardwalks. Gates at either end of the wetland help control the number of carp and each year, Tony and his team drain all of this and later pump water back onto this ancient flood plain providing nature with a fabulous scene for breeding.

"It's really about replicating what nature did. So the wetting really coincides with spring floods that occurred in the Murray in spring from September through to early December and then the drying phase coincides with late summer to autumn when levels in the Murray River were dry. Levels were low simply because all that water used to flow out to sea".

From the boardwalk and the wine and wetland centre you can sample nature at work, whether it's on the flood plain or the produce from the vines in the valley.

"As far as the wetlands and Murray Darling Basin are concerned you might describe this as the jewel in the crown for bird watchers. It's absolutely beautiful".

The Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre is off the Sturt Highway near Kingston-on-Murray. Allow 3 hours for a 7-kilometre walk. The cost is $5.00 per adult and $2.50 per child. Bookings are essential. Bob Goodfellow conducts a range of bird watching tours and can be contacted on 8583-5567. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au