Kings Around Oz: Hello South Australia!!!

From Hamilton we crossed the boarder into South Australia and our first stop was Mt Gambier. This was another town that we have found along the way that turned out to be a little gem. Mt Gambier is on the Limestone Coast and as the name would suggest it is rich in Limestone. This has created some very fascinating attractions around the city, mainly the sinkholes. The sinkholes start out as underground caves formed by the limestone dissolving in tunnels, the top of the chamber then falls to the floor of the cave leaving behind a huge hole in the ground, a sinkhole. The first sinkhole we visited was Umpherston Sinkhole, this sinkhole was named after James Umpherston who owned the land it was on and turned it into a beautiful garden for the public to enjoy around 1886. In more recent times the garden has been returned to it's former glory and again can be enjoyed by the public. Right in the middle of the city is the Cave Garden. This sinkhole originally supplied water the the town when it was first settled. Now in the winter months storm water is directed into it and the water rejoins the underground caves systems under the city. A garden has also been created around it and it makes a great little oasis in the middle of the city. As we were leaving this attraction there was a great big fire truck parked near our car so we asked if the kids could have a look at the truck. The next thing we know the kids have helmets on and are talking on the radio. They then got out some gadgets and went on a search to find electricity but the real winner was when they got out the hose and let the kids play with the fire hose. It was hard to tell who was having more fun, the kids or the adults!!!! Loaded up with stickers and colouring in books we then headed back to the caravan with 2 very hyped up kids!!!!! A definite highlight of the trip and one the kids wont forget!!!! Around Mt Gambier there has also been a lot of volcanic activity and Mt Schank is one of them. It rises very steeply to 158 metres above sea level. We climbed up the outside of the mountain to have a look inside a volcano crater. A dog called Hirdy met us in the carpark and came for the walk with us, the kids were most impressed. Always up for a challenge we then thought we would do the walk to the crater floor. Which meant climbing down into the cater. All started out fine, with our new adopted dog in toe, until we got to the sign that said the track was not maintained from that point on. However to be able to say we stood in a volcano was just too tempting so we pushed on. It was quite hard going but we made it to the bottom and again we are sure our super trooper Haydan is the youngest to have made it unassisted to the bottom. Hirdy followed us all the way down too but was rather tired when she got there. Unfortunately if you get down there you have to get back up too so we hiked out but lost Hirdy somewhere along the way when she went bush. Back up on top of the crater we were a bit worried about Hirdy, then out of nowhere she turned up again and stuck close by all the way back down the mountain to the carpark. After a big drink she went back home and I'm sure she slept the rest of the day. The last attraction we visited in Mt Gambier was certainly a case of save the best for last. It is called Blue Lake and as the name would suggest it is a blue lake but the colour is like nothing we have ever seen before. We saw it in the summer when it is an amazing bright turquoise blue but in the winter it changes to a dull steel blue. There are many theories as to why this happens an we could have absorbed more about the science but we just admired it's beauty. If you have a bucket list I would put to see Blue Lake in the summer on it.

From Mt Gambier we then headed to Victor Harbour. Here we did a walk over to Granite Island and walked around it. We then visited the Penguin Centre where they rehabilitate injured penguins. We got to see them being fed and swimming around in their little pond. There were also some reptiles there which the kids wanted to hold and pat. They are really enjoying the wildlife that we see. We also did a walk up The Bluff to get some great views of the town. We then spent the rest of the time catching up with friends that live there. It was then on to Adelaide but here we just did a bit of shopping and just relaxed. The weather has been great (everyone here is complaining about the heat) so the kids have just been swimming and loving it. We now head to the Yorke Peninsula to see what we can find down there.