Mt Gambier South Australia

Our journey was then on to Mt Gambier in South Australia (another state).  The weather was overcast and the showers were still blowing through with gusty winds.  Quite cool and not inviting for you to be outside.  We spent the afternoon shopping and then huddled ourselves into the van with the heater on.   Lets hope the next few days start to give us some warmer weather.

Well our following 3 full days in Mt Gambier did not go as hoped.  I found a 24hr bug of some sort the next morning (Tues) and then spent the following 24hrs recovering with the only fortunate thing being that the weather remained cold, rainy and windy so we did not mind staying inside and warm.  Finally on our last day we took ourselves for a drive to the coast to Port MacDonnell where the ‘southernmost Rock Lobster fishing fleet’ abide.  There were quite a few boats moored in the harbour and the weather was clearly the reason why.  The white caps were running wild across the waves and the wind was very strong.  The hardest part was trying to hold the camera still in the buffeting wind and staying warm of course.  We drove out to Cape Northumberland where there is a lighthouse set up on the rocky dunes.   This replaces the original lighthouse which was built in the 1860’s on the limestone rock coastline that has now eroded back to make walking around these ruins dangerous.  The pounding of the seas from the Southern Ocean is relentless and the early lighthouse keepers reported feeling their buildings ‘shudder’ with the waves during heavy storms. 

cape northumberland rocks

looking west

On our return to Mt Gambier we called to visit ‘Dingley Dell’ a cottage that had been the home of the Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon.  It was not open for inspection today so we could only view from the outside.  He was another poet who unfortunately did not come to fame until after his untimely death.     

Dingley Dell

Back in the city we decided to dodge the continuing showers and visit the famous ‘sinkhole garden’.  Wow what a great place to see. 

This sinkhole was developed as a ‘place of cool refuge in the summer’ by the owner when he retired from work in 1880.  There was originally water in the bottom third of the sinkhole and they had a rowing boat they used.  This is all shown in the early photos of the garden on display at the sinkhole.  The owner died at the age of 80yrs with no children and the property passed through various hands and slowly became rundown.  The SA Wood and Timber industry finally purchased the land in the 1960’s with the house being demolished and the garden again suffering damage.  In the 1970’s the company’s staff social club decided to restore the garden in a voluntary capacity to its former glory and later the garden was taken over by the council and it is now heritage listed.  

The water level has dropped over the years and the base is now dry.  You can see the water (plenty from the rain) still seeping through the limestone walls and this would keep the ivy curtains well watered.

Of course everyone visiting Mt Gambier wants to see the Blue Lake.  We were no different. 

With the weather the way it was there was not a lot of ‘blueness’ however.  It seems that the colour does change through the year and of course we are not here at the right time for that.  The lake provides much of the local water supply and is so pure after filtering up through the limestone it only requires the addition of fluoride before being consumed.

Heading out of Mt Gambier on Friday morning (still cold, windy and wet) we head to Millicent and then out to the coast for our drive to our next planned stop at Robe.  The landscape is now becoming flatter however the green lushness continues.  Sheep with new lambs are appearing and the cattle of course continue to look in great condition.  More windmills (well there is plenty of wind) and we even spot a Kimberley Clark factory next to a woodchip mill (Kleenex anyone?)

Driving out to Southend we are awed by the colour of the ocean and the ferocity of the wind.  Another wow moment. 

This area was settled in 1846 and I would guess, as a safe haven for whalers of old.  Again there are lobster fishing boats sheltering in the bay and we are intrigued by the 5 rock ‘fingers’ built from the beach out into the water.  Our thought is that these help to prevent too much erosion of the sand from the beach.  With a population of under 300 but 2 caravan parks near the water you can imagine this is a popular spot in the summer holidays.

Southend Beach

We stopped in Beachport and treated ourselves to fish and chips for lunch.  With visiting many seaside towns since we left home we had been hoping to enjoy many a fish meal however, the selection of fish at many has left us changing our minds.  You can stop in a fishing town with a fleet and the only fish on offer is imported???  Well at least here we had some local Blue Grenadier on offer and it tasted great.  We are looking forward to some King George Whiting here in SA if we can find some.  Probably all shipped to restaurants etc.  One wall inside the shop is for signing and seeing that the first signature was in March this year and the amount of signatures on the wall, the menu must be pretty popular.  Needless to say I added our names (Lawrie held the chair so that I could climb up and reach a spare spot) so glad we visited when we did and not later in the year!! 

Arrived in Robe by mid afternoon and after some chores (washing etc) stayed in the warm again.  As the park is on the outskirts of town on the edge of a lake, tomorrow we will go off to explore.