Next was onto Mount Gambier for five nights, staying right in town at an old caravan park but we had a large grassy site which was nice and even though the facilities were old they were clean.
On the way to Mount Gambier we stopped at Lake McIntyre on the outskirts of Millicent for morning tea. The lake is man made, an old quarry that is now a bird sanctuary, a very beautiful area with heaps of different type of birds and the usual ducks and pelicans everywhere.
Our first day in Mount Gambier was a big day.
First stop
Apex lookout for a view over Blue Lake
Blue Lake, a large volcano crater below sea level and full of the bluest water, then onwards to other spots for other views over this amazing lake. This volcanic crater was formed about 5000 years ago, it is 70 metres deep and the towns water supply. Blue lake and Valley lake were also visited.
In between Blue lake & Valley lake is Leg of mutton lake which is now dry as the current water table is now lower than when the lake was named. Overlooking all 3 lakes is Centenary tower but we didn’t go up the 900 m hill to see it up close as it was closed.
Later was
Englebrecht cave branches off a sinkhole that is filled with water and runs under the main streets of Mount Gambier. It is often accessed by professional divers but it would be scary as some areas they have to squeeze through 30 cm of fallen rock to access other areas. No thanks !!! The sink hole leading into the caves was used as Mt Gambier’s rubbish tip for over 100 years, before the rubbish was dug back out by volunteers to open the cave to the public.
Umpherston sinkhole
This sinkhole has been planted out and the gardens are pretty with ivy hanging everywhere and hydrangeas adding colour to this deep garden.
Then Cave Garden is another garden sinkhole in the middle of town, and we were lucky to see a small waterfall into the garden as it had just rained for a short time.
Then we saw a one hour cinema experience on the sinkholes in this area and how the craters and lakes were formed with the volcanic activity in this area 5000 years ago. This was at the Riddoch arts and cultural centre which also had an art display and video clips on the sinkholes further south and into Victoria.
Day 2/ a wasted day with Strata meetings on speaker phone and medical appts
Day 3
The next day we drove south , first to
Carpenter Rocks, a small town with a quiet sheltered bay
Cape Northumberland , this area is South Australia’s most southerly point and has an extended rocky coastline and satelitte rocks including Camel Rock
Then past the towns of Pelican point and Blackfellows cave …. see Johns video of the paronomic view
Lunch was at Port MacDonnell where we viewed its street art and jetty area. The area is big for Lobsters and we bought one, some prawns and fish from a local seafood shop. The man in the shop had a newly born baby which I got to hold while he was busy serving customers. So sweet and smaller than Sophia, my new granddaughter.
NEXT
East to Ewan’s Ponds , a series of Three lakes with amazing crystal clear water that is full of fish and plant life. We saw three divers that had just swam from the first pond then underwater to the end of the third pond, they said the water was so clear with lots to see but freezing cold even in their wet suits.
This water eventually drains onto the beach at Eight mile creek where we saw a huge number of black swans swimming in the waves, quiet an usual site to see swans in the surf.
Last but not least was another huge and clear lake with surrounding wetlands at Piccaninnie ponds which is just 3 or so kms from the Victorian border. In these clear ponds you aren’t allowed to swim unless you have a divers permit and appropriate wet suits is a must with the water being 12 degrees. In this pond there is a large deep chasm as seen in the picture below, it is called the Cathredral chasm.
We drove back to Mount Gambier via
Hells Hole , a deep sinkhole in the Caroline conservation Park.
Here we found the local SES members practising lowering people down a rope, 40 m to the water below and back up again. Poor people on the ropes as the guy being lowered up and down was about 140 kgs.
Day four
We drove south to Mount Shank , a dorment volcano
The 900 metre climb to the top was very steep but looking into the caldera was amazing, so see Johns video for track up and views into the caldera.
Next was Gouldens sinkhole and the Little Blue Lake, where we saw some youngens swimming, brr to cod for us
.
Facts about sinkholes
Sinkhole are formed when the top of the chamber of a cave falls to the floor creating either a environment for a garden or a water hole depending whether the floor of the crater is below or above the water table. The limestone is reduced by calcium carbonate leaching into the rock
Finally back to Mount Gambier and visited
Vansittant park
and The railway lands, a recreational park in the Inner city and created around an abandoned railway line.
After our fifth night we left Mount Gambier for a over night stay at Bordertown.
On the way we drove through the Coonawarra wine region and stopped at Penola to visit the Mary Mackillop information centre and old houses in Petticoat lane . Mary MacKillop and father Woods developed a catholic run school for children unable to afford an education in the 1860s here in Penola.
Bordertown has a free and small wildlife park in town which breeds white kangaroos
and a mother peacock with three of her five chicks were frantically trying to find a way back in through the fence to be reunited with her two others chicks inside the fence. Mum ending up flying over the fence leaving her chicks stranded on the outside. We helped them find the large holes in the the fence for them to squeeze through and join her.
Bordertown is also where Bob Hawke was born in 1929 and Tomler Park, in town was pretty with heaps of ducks.
Then went on a local drive to Mundalla and pasted more vineyards. The town had old historic buildings and lots of iron statues.
Next morning was back to Mount Barker for two nights for business, first a hair colour and cut and the next day a heart echo scan and then into RV Adelaide to finalise the new van purchase, delivery for Xmas.
As per our usual style we upgraded in size from our original choice of 17.5 feet but the new van will only be 18.5 feet as apposed to the 23 feet which we now have and it will be off road. Different trips to be ventured into in the future. The payload on the smaller van was just too little for us, as it is a single axle van and we found we would have to have ditched our generator, plus 100 kgs of stuff. We couldn’t achieve this and we want our generator when off road, so the 18.5feet Supreme Territory it is.
The following day we returned to finalise this transaction with our van in tow and left north Adelaide travelling via Gawler to Walkerie. We stopped at Hollow bend at a great free camp on the Murray and visited the silo art in Walkerie.
What wonderful weather today, finally, as we leave SA. We were able to sit outside till 8 at night. No wind , not cold and no flies.. perfect.
Summary of SA
We loved SA and found placing our selves in one or two spots on each peninsula allowed us to set up the van with sun and wind shields , be comfortable and do day trips in all directions from a central spot.
Unfortunately other than a few short patch’s of hot weather there was No Summer and most late afternoons and early mornings were cold spoiling the désirer to sit outside.
Some areas where very windy and this combined with pollens in the hills around Adelaide didnt agree with me and I was quiet sick with asthma coughs etc, while in SA requiring lots of medical appts and specialists appts.
We love the rugged coastlines and were surprised to find how many areas of SA have vineyards.
The Adelaide hills were so scenic, the peninsulas mostly farmlands denuded of trees & the coasts had rugged coastlines with great views.
We relaxed more than usual and got into catching blue swimmer crabs from the jetties with crab nets, a new activity for us.
Good bye South Australia. Here we come west NSW and Queensland.
