Why would a crossing that carries about a hundred vehicles a day matter to anyone who does not live beside it? Because when the river rises at Morgan, the state sends the traffic to Cadell. On 1 October 2026 the ferry was running, free and around the clock, with nothing listed against it.
Operating status read from the South Australian government's ferry table on 1 October 2026; the table carried the stamp 'Last updated: 12.40 pm, 17 September 2026' Government of South Australia – Ferry locations and operational status · 2026-10-01
What happens at a small ferry when a bigger one downstream goes under? At Cadell, you find out. On Monday 5 December 2022, with the River Murray rising, South Australia announced through its Department for Infrastructure and Transport that the Morgan and Swan Reach ferries would close from 7pm the next day and stay shut while the flow past them exceeded 120 gigalitres a day. For Morgan, the department named two ways across instead: the Blanchetown Bridge downstream, and the Cadell ferry upstream. Five weeks later, on 9 January 2023, its flood update noted that Cadell and Narrung were the ferries still operating.
In an ordinary month Cadell is one of the least-used crossings the state runs. The department's technical table credits it with about 100 vehicles a day, against 440 at Morgan and 650 at Waikerie; only Purnong, further down, is quieter. The ferry doing the work is Albatross 2, numbered 873-022, crewed by Little Ferry Services under a state contract. Like every Murray ferry in South Australia it is free and works around the clock unless a closure is posted, and on 1 October 2026 there was none.
There is no fare at Cadell and no concession to claim. The state's status page says the public is not charged, and a Department for Infrastructure and Transport announcement of the current contracts, in September 2024, described all twelve of the state's Murray ferries as free and operated 24/7.
| Car, ute or four-wheel drive | Free |
| Caravan, horse float or trailer | Free |
| Truck or farm vehicle within 45.5 tonnes | Free |
| On foot or by bicycle | Free |
No charge, as published by the South Australian government and read on 1 October 2026 Government of South Australia – River Murray ferries · 2026-10-01
Cadell sits in the upper group of the state's table, the four ferries above Lock 1, and it is wired into its neighbours both ways. Waikerie's downstream alternative is Cadell; Cadell's downstream alternative is Morgan; and Morgan's upstream alternative is Cadell again. So when one of those three is shut, the table names at least one of the other two as a way across; the bridges only come into it at the ends of the chain, Kingston above Waikerie and Blanchetown below Morgan. The next crossing down, the Morgan ferry, is the one that has leaned on Cadell hardest. Further down the river, below the lock, the free crossings at Walker Flat and Purnong follow the same state rules with bigger or smaller boats.
The Commonwealth ferry terminals dataset records this as one of two landings of the Cadell Car Ferry, classed for passengers and vehicles. Neither bank has a ticket office, since the crossing is free. The state's technical table ties a 5-metre crossing width restriction to the ramps themselves, so it applies to anything wider than the deck allows, whichever bank you start from.
The southern ramp is the one Cadell Valley Road feeds. In early October 2026 that approach carried a works notice: South Australia's road-information feed, as republished on Live Traffic NSW on 1 October, listed maintenance with shuttle flow in both directions at the Kings Riverside Drive corner, a few hundred metres from the ramp, running until 9 October. Expect to wait your turn on a single lane, not to find the ferry closed.
Albatross 2 takes a single vehicle combination of up to 45.5 tonnes, more than the 42.5-tonne limit on several of the newer ferries downstream. The deck gives 22.3 metres of length inside the gates and 5.9 metres of width inside the kerbs, though the ramps themselves hold anything crossing to 5 metres wide.
The state counts capacity in units the size of an average family sedan, and Albatross 2 has eight of them. A ute towing a caravan uses more than one. The person limit of 67 includes drivers and passengers sitting in their vehicles.
8540 3203 and 0447 678 159 reach the crossing itself. The department's 0462 069 652 line is office hours only, so it is no help for a 9pm run to Morgan.
Until 9 October 2026 the road-information feed shows maintenance with shuttle flow on Cadell Valley Road at Kings Riverside Drive, close to the southern ramp. That is a traffic-control stop, not a ferry closure.
From 100 metres out, drop to 4 knots; never cut in front, and stay 30 metres clear while the ferry is moving: the guide cables are steel and can sit just below the surface. A flashing green light means it is resting against a bank.
The contract behind the crew is recent. In September 2024 the government put an extra $37.4 million over ten years into the river ferries, taking total investment past $110 million, and signed new agreements of up to ten years (five, plus a five-year option) that began on 1 November 2024. Cadell went to Little Ferry Services, while Morgan, Waikerie and Lyrup went to Kingfisher Ferry Services. The department was blunt about the alternative: without the money, river communities faced downgraded services with reduced operating hours. For a crossing with Cadell's traffic, that is the scenario the funding was meant to rule out.
Albatross 2 is also rated differently from several ferries further down. The table gives it a 45.5-tonne limit per vehicle combination and a 5.9-metre deck width, the same as its sister Kingfisher at Lyrup, where Walker Flat's Rosella or Tailem Bend's Dotterel are rated at 42.5 tonnes. If you move heavy machinery along the river, those three tonnes can decide which ramp you use.
Yes. The state's ferry table, whose own stamp reads 12.40pm, 17 September 2026, showed Cadell as currently operational and had nothing in the closures column. On the morning you go, ring the ramp on 8540 3203.
Nothing. There is no fare on any state-run River Murray crossing, and Cadell is among the twelve the state describes as free and operated 24/7.
Albatross 2, number 873-022 on the state's technical table. Its rating is eight sedan-sized units and 67 people, a figure that counts drivers and passengers inside their vehicles.
Up to 45.5 tonnes for a single vehicle combination. The deck measures 22.3 metres gate to gate and 5.9 metres kerb to kerb, but the ramps on each bank limit width to 5 metres.
The state's table sends you to the Waikerie ferry upstream or the Morgan ferry downstream. Ring 8540 3203 or 0447 678 159 to check before a long detour.
The department named Cadell as Morgan's upstream alternative when Morgan closed on 6 December 2022, and on 9 January 2023 listed Cadell and Narrung as the ferries still operating. No official record we have seen covers every day in between.
Little Ferry Services, on a Department for Infrastructure and Transport contract that started on 1 November 2024 and can run for up to ten years.