Owner Story
After hiring houseboats over many years, Aggie & Ken purchased 3-year-old Orlando at Murray Bridge in 2006. The idea was for a big upstream journey – sometime. However, the GFC kept us both at work and the boat in hire for a few years longer.
Then, following retirement from midwifery and mining respectively, we made the dream trip to Yarrawonga and back, from May 2012. As far as we could go, for as long as it took but in stages to accommodate Aggie’s charity interests. It was a fabulous 18-month experience, albeit not for the overly faint-hearted. The boat, if not the crew, performed admirably throughout. You can view/download Ken’s log of the trip on the Information page or there is a hardcopy on board, if of interest when cruising on Orlando in the benign Riverland. It only starts getting hairy from 60 km upstream of Mildura.
We really liked Wentworth NSW, at the Darling River junction and thus put Orlando back into hire there for two years. We finally brought her home to South Australia to commence operation with River Murray Houseboats at Renmark early in 2016.
Refurbishment
Since purchase, we have made regular incremental improvements to Orlando such as twin motors, solar panels, larger batteries and inverter. Nevertheless, a step upgrade was due and was implemented (ensuite bathrooms, dishwasher, spiral stair, spa, ++) with SA Tourism Industry Development Fund assistance in 2022. Major electrical upgrade to 48V lithium batteries and redoubling solar followed in 2024. Most recently, Starlink wi-fi has been added and reverse cycle air conditioning with independent outlets in the main cabin and each bedroom, replaced the single-outlet evaporative unit.
Statutory
ABN 62 452 850 481, trading as Orlando Houseboat
PO Box 54 Modbury North SA 5092, +618 8264 7745, ken@orlandohouseboat.com.au
