Cockatoo, the Narrung ferry, carries about 120 vehicles a day across a 230-metre gap of open water between Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. Only two of the state's ferries carry less traffic, and none leaves you a longer drive when it stops.
Status read on 13 October 2026 from the South Australian government's ferry table, stamped 'Last updated: 8.56 am, 7 October 2026' Government of South Australia – Ferry locations and operational status · 2026-10-13
About 230 metres of open water separate the two ferry platforms at the Narrung Narrows, and about 120 vehicles a day cross them, according to the state's own figures. That small count belongs to a ferry with an outsized role. A 2014 engineering study for South Australia's environment department found that Narrung has the longest alternative route of any ferry crossing in the state, roughly 45 kilometres, and the state's table offers nothing closer than a run through Meningie.
The boat, Cockatoo (879-025), belongs to the department's 67-passenger class: eight sedan-sized units, combinations up to 42.5 tonnes, and 22.8 metres of deck between its gates. It is free, it works around the clock, and Little Ferry Services crews it for South Australia's transport department; that contractor also works Wellington, Cadell and several other Murray crossings.
Our 13 October 2026 reading of the government's list, revised on 7 October at 8.56 am, showed Cockatoo in normal service with nothing posted against it; the fallback it gave was downstream – via Meningie.
Like the eleven other state ferries, Cockatoo takes no fares. The limits that matter are physical: 42.5 tonnes for any one vehicle combination, 22.8 metres of roadway gate to gate and 5.48 metres kerb to kerb, narrowed to 5 metres at the landings.
| Car, 4WD or motorbike | Free |
| Caravan or camper trailer | Free |
| Truck or farm vehicle within 42.5 t | Free |
| Cyclist or walker | Free |
No charge, as published by the South Australian government and read on 13 October 2026 Government of South Australia – Ferry locations and operational status · 2026-10-13
Narrung is the odd one out on the Below lock 1 table: every other crossing there spans the Murray itself, while this one sits on the Narrows, the channel through which Lake Alexandrina feeds Lake Albert. The state lists its only alternative as downstream – via Meningie, which means driving round the far side of Lake Albert. The nearest crossing of the river proper is the Wellington ferry, where the Murray enters Lake Alexandrina, and above that the Tailem Bend ferry.
The Narrung side is the lakeside reserve, where the council lets campers stay up to 72 hours free of charge, with toilets, bins, water and a covered seat looking across at the lighthouse. Alexandrina Drive leads west from the ramp towards Raukkan.
The northern ramp lands beside Point Malcolm, whose small lighthouse the council bills as the only inland one in Australia. Poltalloch Road runs on past the back of the historic Poltalloch Station.
A 2014 state engineering study described Narrung as having the longest alternative route of any ferry in South Australia, about 45 kilometres. If a closure is posted, decide early rather than at the ramp.
The Narrows are a gap between two broad lakes, not a sheltered river reach. Even routine work here is scheduled weather permitting, and in 2019 the department cancelled a planned stoppage because of the forecast.
Beside the landing, the council's campground lets you stay up to 72 hours without charge, with toilets and bins on site; pets stay leashed. Drinking water is available in Narrung.
Heading west from the ramp takes you to Raukkan, the Ngarrindjeri community whose church appears on the Australian $50 note.
Because Narrung is a lake crossing, its pressures differ from those on the river ferries. Water quality and level in Lake Albert depend on what comes through the Narrows, and the ferry shares its alignment with the Narrung Causeway. When the state studied removing or altering that causeway to help the lake, its own fact sheet warned that the ferry would be affected, and the engineers' report recorded that taking out a temporary sand bund close to the crossing had already shown how awkward these soft lake sediments are to work in. Engineers modelling a permanent regulator even chose the causeway and ferry line as their test site, because it is the narrowest point to build across.
The flood of 2022–23 showed the other side of that geography. While rising water closed crossing after crossing upstream, the department reported on 9 January 2023 that the Narrung ferry, with Cadell, was still running. The landings themselves have a quieter appeal: the council describes the trip as a couple of minutes from the lakeside reserve to Point Malcolm, the jumping-off point for its lighthouse and for Poltalloch Station.
Yes, on our check of 13 October 2026, which found the 7 October edition of the state's table (time-stamped 8.56 am) reporting it in service and free of closures. Little Ferry Services takes calls about the day's conditions on 8542 1111.
Long. The state's only listed alternative is to go via Meningie, around Lake Albert, and a 2014 government engineering study put the alternative access route at about 45 kilometres, the longest for any South Australian ferry.
The department does not publish wind limits, but every maintenance closure it announced here in 2019 and 2020 was 'weather permitting', and one planned for 20 November 2019 was cancelled because of unfavourable forecast weather.
Strictly, on neither: it spans the Narrung Narrows, the channel between the two lakes, running from the Narrung lakeside reserve to Point Malcolm.
Most will. Length is capped at 22.8 metres and weight at 42.5 tonnes for the combination, and the ramps restrict width to 5 metres even though the deck is 5.48 metres between kerbs.
Yes. Coorong District Council's Narrung ferry campsite allows vehicles up to 72 hours at no cost, with toilets, bins, water and sheltered seating; pets are welcome if leashed.
It stayed open, as far as the record shows: the department's update of 9 January 2023 said Narrung was still running, alongside Cadell, while others were shut.