The Coorong extends 110 kilometres along South Australia's southern coast, a saline lagoon system separated from the Southern Ocean by the Younghusband Peninsula's sand dunes. Its hypersaline waters, fed intermittently by the Murray River, support one of Australia's most significant waterbird habitats — more than 240 species pass through during migration seasons, with pelican colonies numbering in the thousands during breeding cycles. The lagoon's salinity varies dramatically by section, creating distinct ecological zones that Aboriginal Ngarrindjeri people have navigated for over 10,000 years using reed rafts and seasonal knowledge of fish runs. Coorong day cruises depart from Goolwa, the historic river port where the Murray meets Lake Alexandrina, 85 kilometres southeast of Adelaide. Vessels range from covered pontoon boats accommodating 40 passengers to smaller rigid inflatables that access shallow channels inaccessible to larger craft. Discovery itineraries focus on the northern lagoon near the Murray Mouth barrages, where engineered flows maintain navigable depth and freshwater mixing zones critical for threatened species like the Murray hardyhead and Yarra pygmy perch. Guides interpret the tension between agricultural water extraction upstream and the ecosystem's salinity balance — a contested management issue since the 1930s when barrage construction began. The landscape reads as horizontal minimalism: saltbush plains, skeletal Melaleuca stands, and mirror-flat water interrupted only by feeding birds. Pelicans form the visual anchor — congregations of 500 or more create distant white clusters against grey-green vegetation. Cormorants dry their wings on dead timber snags. Black swans paddle through reed beds that once provided fibre for Ngarrindjeri basket weaving, a craft tradition now practiced by fewer than a dozen master weavers. Cultural tour variants include stops at middens — shell deposits marking millennia of seasonal camps — and demonstrations of traditional fishing techniques using woven nets. Sunset kayak departures from designated launch points near Salt Creek offer quieter access to shallow coves where stingrays glide over sand flats at dusk. Paddlers navigate by the calls of red-necked avocets and the percussive splash of diving terns. The water temperature remains cold year-round, averaging 14–18°C, a thermal legacy of Southern Ocean currents that sweep northeast through Backstairs Passage. Evening light renders the dune line a burnt orange ribbon against indigo sky — a colour gradient that persists for approximately 40 minutes after official sunset, depending on cloud cover and atmospheric dust load from inland salt lakes.