Fifty years of word-of-mouth.

“A lovely afternoon on the river! Nathan gives a great commentary while Eathan serves delicious scones, jam & cream! Local wines were flowing. A great way to spend the day with friends & family! Highly recommend!”

“We had a wonderful time with our family and friends. The staff were very friendly and attentive, food was tasty and the running commentary very informative. We would recommend these cruises for anyone.”

“Thank you Eathan and Nathan for your hospitality — what wonderful hosts. Making all welcome with a smile is just needed for making this business grow. We had a good relaxing 2 hours through the river.”

“We enjoyed an amazing 2 hour cruise this afternoon through the Glenelg River Gorge with Glenelg River Cruises. Our hosts provided excellent service, information and commentary, and were so friendly and interesting to talk to. Our charcuterie board was delicious. Highly recommend and wish the guys plenty of success with this venture.”

“Very enjoyable short cruise on the Glenelg River. The operator/host Eathan and Nathan are very friendly and approachable. The services on board has been great. Highly recommended for all groups and ages.”

“All we can say is… WOW! Mother's Day weekend, we were able to take family members aboard the MV Mini Munya for a stunning cruise of the Glenelg River. My sister-in-law, Amy, is confined to her wheelchair, making outings often challenging. We contacted Eathan and Nathan, explained our situation, and in a refreshing approach, they could not have done more to accommodate us and make the cruise happen! We met up with them at the Nelson Pub the night before the cruise, so they could meet with Amy and chat with her about specific mobility and dietary needs. It was lovely to be welcomed and treated to freshly baked banana bread and Devonshire tea on the cruise — to the boys' credit, they were the best scones I had ever eaten in my life. Thanks to Eathan and Nathan, the weekend spent in Nelson, and cruising the stunning river, will be one of our family highlights to remember for the ages. Thank you — meant the world to us all. x”

“Thank you Eathan and Nathan for a very enjoyable afternoon. We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere — you made everyone feel welcome and included. I wish you all the very best for the future and I will be returning. PS: thank you Nathan for the adventurous parking, which made it extra special.”

“We enjoyed a wonderful dinner cruise on the river. An informative cruise with a lovely meal and delightful hosts. Whether you're a local, or visiting our beautiful part of the country, I highly recommend viewing it from one of the Glenelg River Cruises Nelson vessels.”

“Very enjoyable dinner cruise up the Lower Glenelg with a great staff to help make it worthwhile. Come along and enjoy a very charming river.”

“New owners… and they are very accommodating. Now called Glenelg River Cruises. Best to book in advance, especially if you want the evening dinner cruise, as you need to pre-order from their menu. We went Easter Saturday — their first 'Floating Restaurant' 7pm sunset cruise. Dinner was excellent.”

“My hubby had a massive stroke 19 months ago and is wheelchair bound. We had visitors from Queensland for a few days and I wanted to take them around our beautiful part of Australia. The team were more than happy to accommodate us and went out of their way to make it happen. Such an enjoyable and informative cruise. I'd most definitely recommend Glenelg River Cruises to anyone in the area, and to locals.”

“The cruise and commentary was fantastic and the lunch was delicious. I recommend everyone hop on board, sit back and relax on this wonderful cruise.”

“Lovely to cruise down the river. Very comfortable and good value for money.”

“A gentle cruise up the river with a good commentary of the local vegetation, history and things that have changed along the river. A beautiful area to see including the cliffs.”

“Wonderful experience. Amazing scenery and interesting tour. Very relaxing and enjoyable experience. Well worth the money.”

“Incredibly knowledgeable captain and beautiful cruise down the wonderful Glenelg River. Great bird life and stunning limestone cliffs.”

“It was a nice peaceful ride along the Glenelg River. We were provided home-made scones with jam, and tea and coffee. The scenery was nice to take in — what a marvellous place we live in. I was holidaying in Mount Gambier and went there.”

“Lovely cruise along the lower Glenelg. Our captain shared local information about the river as we cruised. The boat offered options to be outdoors or shelter indoors. Reasonably priced and friendly. Would recommend you take in the sights from this cruise on the river!”

“Easy way to travel the wonderful Glenelg River and see the Princess Margaret Caves. Good crew — very friendly and great knowledge of the river.”

“We recommend this leisurely river cruise that is very well priced for such a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. The scenery along the gorges is spectacular and the commentary interesting. The cruise takes about an hour to reach the Princess Margaret Rose Caves. There is then a stop for one and a half hours, before the one-hour return journey. The caves are well worth a visit. The path from the landing point to the top of the cliff is quite steep, but no one rushes you.”

“We had the best day on this cruise. Slow relaxing scenic tour. Only 6 fronted for our tour and 8 is the minimum to run the boat with its 2 staff, so we all dipped in and happily paid a little extra to make up the fare. After all, can't expect a business to run at a loss for our pleasure. And what a great time we all had. Well worth those extra few dollars. Thanks to the crew.”

“Beautiful river. Truly friendly locals eager for a chat. Fishing was a little ordinary though.”

“No trip to Nelson is complete without the cruise down memory lane along the Glenelg River to the Princess Margaret Rose Cave — a very cute and personable cave indeed! The Glenelg: a much-loved river for the locals for their water activities. Yes, I am ready to say goodbye to Nelson after this experience!”

“Stunning and beautiful views. Heaps of birdlife and humanlife to peruse during the trip. The captain is a wealth of knowledge and has a very strong commitment to the area and its flora and fauna. Heather is a delight and is also very passionate about the area. Well worth every cent. Do it if you are in the area.”

“Awesome day out.”

“A sensational location you relax and explore.”

“Relaxing trip from Nelson up river to Princess Margaret Rose Caves. Coffee and tea and some snacks available on the boat.”

“Decided to take the cruise boat from the small town of Nelson up to the Princess Margaret Rose Caves. The whole journey takes 3.5 hours along the lower sections of the Glenelg River. It is a very relaxing way to enjoy the river and its surrounds, including the numerous boat sheds and shacks along the way, as well as the cliffs along the shoreline. The commentary from the captain was interesting and very informative. An excellent and relaxing way to spend an afternoon on a beautiful spring day.”

“Went on the cruise and the scenery was magnificent. The captain is a wealth of knowledge, and food and drinks are available too. This trip stopped at the Princess Margaret Rose Caves and returned after viewing.”

“We felt a bit special as Captain Don has a soft spot for our home State of Tasmania. This meant we got to sit in his cab for a chat while he steered us through the river. River not overly exciting except for the quaint little waterline shacks and limestone cliffs, but quite relaxing all the same. Be aware that the ferry stops at the halfway mark for 1.5 hours to enable passengers to explore the Princess Margaret Rose Cave, which is small but interesting. So for 2 people the afternoon ends up costing around $100. These are small savings if you show your seniors card though. A nice relaxing day out.”

“Driver very knowledgeable about flora, bird life and history of the area — an excellent tour. Worth the extra money to do the cave tour too. An excellent afternoon on the beautiful river!”

“It was a warm sunny day cruising up the lower reaches of the Glenelg River. The Captain loves a chat and is very informative. There are snacks, drinks and icecream on board if you are feeling peckish. If you are energetic you can disembark and do the tour of the caves, I am told it is worthwhile.”

“If you have a few hours free and you're looking for something to do in Nelson… do yourself a favour and get on board the river cruise to Princess Margaret Rose caves. River cruise is a family operated business starting at the ticket office through to the final “tie down” when you dock at the end. Very low key atmosphere with genuinely friendly staff. River cruise takes one hour to get to the caves, the captain provides a great commentary on the local area, history, geography and politics, while drawing your attention to points of interest along the way. The walk up to the caves is a bit steep but very achievable and you don't have to do it at breakneck speed. Great park with picnic benches and toilets at the top of the climb where you can relax for the 1 1/2 hours till the return trip back to Nelson or you can tour the caves. The caves ticket office also has drinks, snacks and souvenirs for sale. Bonus for me was I got to use my seniors card for both the cruise and the caves… overall a fabulously relaxing afternoon. Don't forget a hat and sunscreen!”

“This was a lovely cruise along the Glenelg River and the captain and staff were very helpful and friendly, making the trip well-worth the price. My only criticism is that it wasn't made clear at the beginning or on the website that the cruise would pause for an hour at the Princess Margaret Rose Caves. This is obviously so that people on the cruise can stop and see the caves and it makes sense for both businesses to work in unison like that. However, it would have been nice for this to have been communicated at the beginning. My partner and I hadn't planned to visit the caves as we'd already been to Tantanoola Caves and were planning to visit Naracoorte Caves. But, when we found the boat would be stopping for an hour at the caves anyway, we had little to do but visit the caves. I don't begrudge this as the caves were well worth the visit and the tour guide was very entertaining and informative (far better than at Naracoorte Caves, as it turned out). However, as the cruise schedule/arrangement wasn't communicated early, we did sort of feel trapped into visiting the caves. All that aside, though, the cruise and the cave tour were both well worth the experience and I recommend it to others as money well-spent. Incidentally, the climb from the river to the caves is very steep. Be advised.”

“A beautiful cruise up the river. Funny cruising into Vic then SA then back to Vic for the caves. A pleasant journey that everyone would enjoy. Try n get a seat up the top under the cover just to be out of the sun with a good view. Kids will love sitting at the very front of the boat n the driver points out some things to look at. The kids will love waving at all the canoes, boats, skiers n people in their water sheds!!!”

“Glenelg River Cruises from Nelson are a great way to reach Princess Margaret Rose caves, or enjoy a river cruise. I think that the Glenelg River cruises shows you areas of the river that are majestic. Huge sandstone and granite cliffs along the river. The river actually starts in the Grampians and winds down to the estuary at Nelson, where cruises start and finish. The cruise takes a few hours of relaxing time. Groups can book, or couples and families can just rock up most of the time.”

“Very nice and relaxing time in this cruise. Very nice way to travel to Princess Margaret cave while enjoying the Nelson river on this, they got a little drink bar as well so can enjoy with some drink and snack on the way. Worth trying this.”

“We had 38 tourists enjoy a leisurely cruise along the Glenelg River viewing bird life, towering cliffs, boat houses and calm waters. We had a most enjoyable smorgasbord lunch, great commentary and hospitality. Well worth it.”

“What a wonderful way to get to visit the Princess Margaret Rose caves — cruising gently (8 knot maximum on the Glenelg River) through the Lower Glenelg National Park to the caves. The captain, Donald, gave a running commentary on the flora and fauna (well, birdlife) of the region in a manner that was both knowledgeable and humorous. A relatively old vessel, The Nelson Explorer, remains stable and even stately as we slowly meandered down the river. A top trip with return journey taking about 4 hours including a stop over at the caves in time for a tour.”

“Absolutely fabulous host! Great night had by all! Thank you so much for an awesome night on your boat. Much appreciated for all your extra help.”

“It's a great place to go with friends and families… even little children love to just hang out there… The view is pretty relaxing…”

“An informative and relaxing cruise up the river marvelling at the high cliffs with intricate erosion patterns. What a wide river, dotted with quaint and curious riverside dwellings.”

“The actual cruise is 2 hours and the stop is 1.5 hours, where you can choose between walks, the cave tour or hanging out in the coffee shop. Very friendly staff and well priced eats on board. The commentary was excellent and the pilot threw bread to encourage the ducks. Great scenery and a good photo opportunity when we cross the border into South Australia.”

“We took the Saturday river cruise up the Glenelg River from Nelson to the Princess Margaret Rose caves. The family run river cruise boat left on time, had an informative commentary and ran to timetable. The destination was Princess Margaret Rose Cave and the boat waited while we took the cave tour. An afternoon with a difference, capped off with a fur seal following us along in the cruise vessel.”

“Departing Nelson in the early afternoon, this cruise is a leisurely trip on the Glenelg River through the beautiful Lower Glenelg National Park. Magnificent limestone cliffs and abundant bird-life make for unlimited photo opportunities — in fact it is difficult to put the camera down. The Glenelg winds its way briefly into South Australia with signs along the river noting the border crossing. The trip includes a stop at the Princess Margaret Rose Caves with an optional 40–45 minute cave tour which is absolutely recommended. We commenced the trip on the upper deck undercover, but soon migrated down to the open seating on the bow, where we enjoyed several glasses of very reasonably priced white. An absolutely fantastic afternoon on the water with wonderful hosts, and a journey we look forward to doing again.”

“A great boat trip up the Glenelg River to Donovan's Landing from Nelson. They can take you along the river to the Princess Margaret Rose Caves or just on a jaunt up river. A licensed boat, they can cater for parties or tourists. The boat has two decks, both undercover, or you can sit up front and let the wind give you a new hairstyle. They do prefer to travel with a minimum of 10 people, which is understandable if you take costs into account.”

“We stopped in Nelson on the way along the coast towards South Australia from Victoria for this very pleasant trip. The boat is dated but solid, comfortable and clean. The captain and staff were hospitable, the commentary interesting but thankfully not overdone or obtrusive — just a few interesting tidbits of information. The river is just beautiful, with bushland and birdlife and interesting cliff formations; a river cruise is just the way to see it. Light bar service, so for us the return journey provided alcoholic drinks and cheese to make the trip very pleasant.”