Wendy at the Blue Lake Lookout (see below)

This article was inspired by a weekend visit by car to the South East of South Australia (State). In particular, we wanted to see the famous Coonawarra wine producing region and stay at Mt Gambier township located some 60 kms further south and within 30 kms of the south coast. Hence this is a very restricted account of the region's tourist attractions which extend to many seaside resort towns and the amazing Naracoorte Cave system. For travellers without a car the towns of Penola and Mt Gambier are accessible by Stateliner bus and the Tourist Offices have information on minibus tours to all the sights.

Penola and Coonawarra

Penola is a fascinating village (population 1200) located in the heart of Australia's premier wine district, the Coonawarra, which is developed on a narrow strip (15 kms long by ½ to 1½ kms wide) of terra rosa soils. Thanks to a strong community spirit there is much to see just roaming around town. First stop should be the excellent Tourist Office on Arthur Street, which is awash with brochures and maps with information on where to go and opening times. There is an historical display room and a Hydrocarbon Display devoted to the discovery and production of natural gas in the region. Being a geologist I found the latter very interesting.

The South East is a region where natural gas and condensate are derived from the decomposition of buried terrestrial organic matter. The first oil well (unsuccessful) was drilled at Salt Creek in 1866 as a consequence of finding a peculiar substance, Coorongite, thought to be evidence of petroleum seepages. Recent studies have shown it to be hardened hydrocarbon material derived from algal blooms that form on present-day coastal sea lagoons. It seems likely that ancient buried coorongite is now the source of natural gas.

Opposite the Tourist Office on Arthur Street is the Lawrence Victor Estate cellar door sales and tasting room. Both beer and wine can be tasted. They were selling off cheaply some 2000 vintage low alcohol reds (12%) as clean-skins, a result of that year being a difficult one weather-wise. However, I did like the Victor Shiraz 2000 (14%, A$21.60/bottle) and I am looking forward to further indulging in its bouquet (according to the label) of sweet fruit, licorice and intense cassis and chocolate balanced with spicy pepper. Also, it tastes great!

Looking into the Umpherston Sinkhole (see below)

Some 3 kms north of Penola is Balnaves of Coonawarra winery, described by Lonely Planet as having a friendly tasting area with a small art gallery and trout pond. Balnaves produces some of the finest reds and whites of the district. I resisted the temptation of extracting my fly rod from the car and settled for sampling their reds. Their cab-sauv was excellent but out of my price range (as usual). However, I did like, equally as well, "The Blend", Balnaves' answer to the 2000 vintage difficulties, described as a hot and dry season with very low crop levels due to poor weather during set. "The Blend" (13.5% alcohol) is composed of Cabernet Franc (35%), Merlot (32%), Cab. Sauv. (32%) and Petit Verdot (1%). The Blend was matured in French oak for 12 months prior to egg-white fining and bottling in March 2002. Top marks for explaining what you are buying and drinking! At A$19/bottle it is a steal.

Everybody has heard of Coonawarra but in reality it doesn't exist as a township! We found a general store and a restaurant, that's it. Population maybe 50 at most! In the distance you can see rows and rows of stainless steel wine storage tanks of Wynns Coonawarra Estate winery, established 1891, and the largest in the district. It is just 9 kms north of Penola and is well worth a visit. They have prize vintage reds on sale, nicely packaged in dozen and half dozen lots in wooden boxes. I was tempted but decided to explore Coonawarra more fully before committing myself.

Alternative tourist promotions of the area are Australia's best preserved Victorian mansion, Yallum Park, built in 1880 by the district's first pastoralist, John Riddoch, but on our visit unfortunately closed to the public due to illness of the owner. Also featuring prominently is the Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre, which is about the first development in the 1860's of a Catholic free school for the underprivileged children, well reported in the Lonely Planet Guide book. Mary MacKillop is at present under beatification by the Pope.

It is easy to get "wined-out" in the Coonawarra, there being 22 wineries offering great wines and free tastings. However, there are other things to see. Main street Penola has a large antique shop called "Never Too Old" where you can easily spend an hour browsing. You name it and they have it, including suits-of-armour and a replica ship's cannon. I liked the locally made wine bottle racks artistically crafted from welded steel rod.

Harvesting at Lavender Farm

Close by is Petticoat Lane having several well-preserved wooden slab cottages open to the public. Saturday morning we found Gammon Cottage to be the center of the Lavender Farm's Harvest Festival. All sorts of craft goods were for sale. Behind the cottage is a field with rows and rows of purple lavender bushes which were in the process of being cut by men with scythes. Locally they distil lavender oil and make dried lavender products such as sachets and pot-pourris.

On the other side of Petticoat Lane is Sharum Cottage (1850), the first dwelling in Penola. It is backed by an extensive herb garden with a sign up saying "Come In" which we did. What a place! Every herb imaginable was labelled and available for picking, DIY fashion. What an asset for local gourmet cooks whom I imagine stop by and pick a handful and pay $1 into the honesty box!

The region's food producers have recently formed the "Limestone Coast Food Group Inc" which has a monthly newsletter called "Real Food", which includes herbs, honey, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish etc They promote awareness of local produce, marketing and distribution. Farmer's Markets and Festivals are held regularly in the district thus fostering a great rural tourist attraction.

Royal Oak Hotel at Penola

The Penola Tourist Office has information on accommodation available, which ranges from a caravan park, backpacker dorms, hotels and B&Bs. There are two pubs on Church Street. The Prince of Wales Hotel/Motel is a friendly pub with attached restaurant. They have economical bar meals and a Happy Hour when bubbly is $2/glass. The 10 motel units out the back cost A$65 double. Further down Church Street is the imposing and refurbished Heyward's Royal Oak Hotel, built in 1873, more upmarket with upstairs bedrooms having direct access to the balcony and costing A$77 double. Their restaurant is probably the best in town.

Mt Gambier and its Volcanoes

Mt Gambier township, population 23,000, is South Australia's third largest city (after Adelaide and Whyalla). It is unique in several ways: by being built around the slopes of an extinct volcano (Mt Gambier) and also, due to the underlying basement limestone beds, the area is honeycombed with caves and sinkholes, even in the city center!

The excellent Tourist Office (The Lady Nelson Visitor Information and Discovery Centre) on Jubilee Highway East is land marked by a replica sailing ship, the HMS Lady Nelson. We enjoyed an Historical Discovery display tour and after leaving with a handful of tourist brochures and maps felt more confident and were curious to tackle the local sights.

Sinkhole at Cave Gardens

Intriguing is the central Cave Garden planted with roses. A spiral path leads into the limestone depths where all the streets' surface water disappears into a cave system and percolates southward 25 kms to the ocean, taking (so is estimated) some 500 years to do so. Larger and more scenic, being spectacularly planted out with pink hydrangeas, is the Umpherston Sinkhole. It is a popular local and tourist site with barbecue areas at the bottom and is floodlit at nighttime.

The end of Bay Street leads up to the famous Blue Lake which fills the crater of Mt Gambier volcano, one of a three volcanic cone complex. A scenic drive of 4 kms goes around the crater rim which is 1 km across at the widest point. The lake averages 70 metres deep and the surface represents the water table in the underlying limestone. It is of intense blue colour in the summer months, December to February, changing to greyish-blue at other times. This is thought to be due to selective adsorption of light from a suspension of microscopic calcite crystals as the water is saturated with calcium carbonate. From the road side lookout point you can see, above the lake level, the limestone basement covered with a thin dark basalt lava flow and then volcanic debris making up the crater rim.

The two other craters are accessable by hiking trails and have lakes too but they periodically dry up when the water table drops. The Blue Lake is Mt Gambier's water supply and there is a large pumping station within the crater.

Commercial Hotel

Mt Gambier is promoted as the Blue Lake City. It is a tidy town with no high rise buildings. Strung out along Commercial Road are some delightful old hotels having balconies overlooking the street. We liked the Commercial Hotel which has live bands at the weekends and economical pub meals; accommodation costs A$30 to $40 a double. Similarly priced is Mac's Hotel and the Federal. More upmarket are the impressive Mt Gambier Hotel, and Jens Town Hall Hotel which we liked best for dinner after checking out the others.

Mt Schank is well worth a visit. It is an isolated volcanic cone rising about 150 metres above the plain located about 13 kms south of Mt Gambier. It was first sighted from the sea on 3rd December 1800 and named by Lieutenant James Grant, commander of the brig HMS Lady Nelson, while charting the southern coast.

This extinct volcano is one of the youngest in Australia, having erupted about 5000 years ago. The local Aboringines witnessing it must have thought the end of the world had come!

Volcanic crater at Mt Schank

Adjacent to the cone is a quarry in a small basalt flow. However, not much lava flowed from this vent through the underlying limestone because when the abundant groundwater mixed with the magma it caused an enormous steam explosion equivalent to several atom bombs going off! The explosion crater is perfectly preserved measuring about 600 metres across. A hiking trail has been stepped with informative notices leading to the crater rim from the car park at the base of the cone. Walking time is 1 hour return.

Next day we were sorry to head north on the long 500 km drive back to Adelaide with blue sky all the way. Our feeling was that we had only scratched the surface of the South East and Limestone Coast and its amazing scenic attractions. Now we know where to stay and explore in more detail!

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Pacific Insiders page.