SEIZE THE DAY

The Carpe Diem is the kind of vessel you’d trade your own house for.

A LACK OF SAILING experience and my love of creature comforts have always cast a feeling of trepidation over a particular dream of mine: that of slowly making my way down the Murray River’s serene, gum-lined shores by houseboat, mooring where I please, and taking in the surrounding beauty with the occasional flick of a wheel. It’s always seemed like a wild flight of fancy.

But there are houseboats, and then there are houseboats. Ultra-luxe, fully appointed and with thoughtful architectural details, the

Carpe Diem

, my home away from home for the next few nights, is the kind of vessel you’d trade your own house for. “The idea was to give it a yacht feel,” says Martin Altman, who, along with fellow