Your favourite people in the same spot, year after year
The Wells family’s Bundalong tradition started before there was even a house to stay in.
In the early 1960s, Gertrude “Ma” Cottam camped on the banks of the Murray with family and friends. She built a home there in 1963, and before long it became the place everyone gathered for weekends, school holidays and summers after harvest.
There’s never quite enough room in the house when the whole crew arrives, so caravans, tents and swags sprawl over the grass like a mini summer camp.
Generations of kids have learnt to water ski here, hearing the same instructions shouted from the boat: “Knees bent! Arms straight! Lean back!” And no matter how long they stayed, it was never quite long enough. When it was time to leave, Bridget, Catherine and their sneaky siblings used to hide their parents’ car keys.
The hairstyles and boats may look different, and the kids who once watched the grown-ups dancing on tables are now the ones doing the dancing. But Bundalong is still where the family comes together.
With thanks to the Wells family
For Alana and Cory Hay, getting everyone together means hiring a houseboat in Mildura and heading upriver to their usual mooring spot near Red Cliffs with their daughters, extended family and friends.
What began as a family holiday when the girls were young has become a decade-long tradition.
Days start with an early ski on calm water, followed by a big breakfast and plenty more wakeboarding, surfing, foiling and swimming. If the weather turns, everyone might head into town for a game of ten-pin bowling instead. Dinner duties are shared among the adults and kids, and evenings often end with everyone piling into the boat for a sunset cruise followed by someone calling for “just one more ski” before the light fades.
The appeal hasn’t changed much, waking up with nowhere else to be and spending the day together. Once you’re all set up, there’s really no reason to go anywhere else.
With thanks to the Hay family
You don’t need a family holiday house with generations of history to start a gathering of your own. Hire a houseboat in Mildura, spread out with a few sites at a riverside holiday park or just pick a place with room for everyone. Then see if it’s the kind of trip everyone wants to do again.
