Umpherston Sinkhole, Mt Gambier

Thousands of years ago, Umpherston Sinkhole, also known as The Sunken Garden was a cave. Water eventually dissolved enough of the limestone to cause the ceiling of the cave chamber to collapse creating a large open pit know as a sinkhole. James Umpherston purchased a farm property which just so happened included this amazing sinkhole. He then went on to established this amazing garden on the floor of the open cave. Being retired and having the time James Umpherston wanted to create  a pleasant garden for the people of Mt Gambier. After clearing the existing vegetation from within the sinkhole, he carved a path into the side of the rock, erected wooden steps so visitors could enter his garden. The garden was and still is filled with all kinds of ferns, shrubs and flowers. Even with quite a few other visitors in the sinkhole, sitting down in the bottom of this amazing creation is extremely peaceful.

Amazing view of Umpherston Sinkhole - TotalTravel

 



Da Vinci Machines Exhibition

Today I took myself off to the "Da Vinci Machines Exhibition" that has just started here in Mt Gambier. When it was on in Melbourne a while back I really wanted to go and see it but in my normal (past) style I put it off, and put it off and before I knew it had finished. I have always been quite a proscratinator but this past 12 months on our Aussie Adventure I have really tried to dissolve that trait from my life.

The Da Vinci Machines Exhibition was really interesting. It's amazing how he was not only a great artist but also just how many of our current day machinery and techniques were either drawn or designed by Da Vinci.

I love this famous drawing

This model was made from one of DaVinci's drawings

Carro Armato (Tank)
Leonardo Da Vinci designed this huge offensive weapon: An armored vehicle capable of moving in any direction and bristling with cannons on all sides. One soldier sat in the turret to give directions. To move it, eight men inside the tank turned cranks attached to trundle wheels which were in turn attached to the four large wheels.

Anyone for a cycle?

Mt. Gambier

Located on the slopes of a dormant volcano Mt Gambier with a population of around 30,000 people is one of the biggest cities we have been in for a while. Set amid an ancient landscape of volcanic craters, lakes, caves, sinkholes and mysterious underground waterways.
But yesterday we headed out of town to a tiny town called Penola for their annual Penola Cup. I don't usually enjoy going to the races, they are just not my thing. But this country race meeting was not just about the horse racing. Being Easter Sunday it was geared mostly as a family day and had a great atmosphere. I did have a couple of bets but did no good.

And the winner is........

Today we did a bit of exploring of the Mt Gambier area. First stop was the "Lady Nelson Discovery Centre". This centre gives you a glimpse into days gone by in this area.

The Lady Nelson

Then is was off to the "Cave Garden" sinkhole. How do sinkholes form I hear you ask? As water sinks through to the limestone beds below the surface, it slowly dissolves the rocks to form caves and caverns. The round sinkholes form when the limestone roof above the water filled cavern collapses, exposing the underground water. Because the water table has lowered over the hundreds of years most of the sinkholes are now dry. This sinkhole was the original water source for the early settlers.
 

Cave Garden

 Then we headed to Mt Gambier's most well known attraction the "Blue Lake". Each year in November the lake starts its colour change from winter steel blue to brilliant turquoise blue and then in March changes back to steel blue. Unfortunately we are here in April so we have missed the turquoise blue. With average depths of 70 metres, the lake contains 36,000 million litres. It is the current source of water to the Mt Gambier.

The Blue Lake

We then decided to go for a drive to Port McDonnell. This picturesque township, once a busy port, is now "Australia's Southern Rock Lobster Capital". If only I could afford to buy one - they sell for between $80 - $90 per kilo!! The coastline along this area is once again beautiful but really treacherous. On a plaque located on one of the lookouts 35 ship wrecks were listed.


Port MacDonnell rugged coast

In the waves rolled

Robe, South Australia

Robe is a charming seaside township with a population of around 1500. But due to it's popularity between South Australians and Victorians alike this number increases immensely during the holiday season. Located on Guichen Bay, Robe was first discovered by the french explorer Nicolas Baudin way back in 1802. With over 84 historic buildings and sites it's not hard to get a feel of what Robe was like in days gone by.

Just one of the 84 historic buildings/sights

The restored walls of the Old Goal which held prisoners from 1860 - 1881

 The Obelisk was erected in 1852 and was used to assist ships navigate the entrance to Guichen Bay. It was also used to store rocket lifesaving equipment. The firing of rockets, carrying baskets to distressed ships to bring passengers ashore, saved many lives. It later assisted passing ships with navigation because its height of 12m (40 ft) makes it visible 20km (12mles) out to sea

The Obelisk - The erosion of the land surrounding the
obelisk will mean it will eventually
fall away.

Even the Lakeside Tourist Park where we are staying has an interesting history. Both the Lakeside House and Stables are State Heritage Listed. The stables which is the tourist park office and owners residence have the original timbers which were once used as ballast in a ship which bought over other building materials from England. By far the most interesting aspect of the building is the "Pug and Post" floor. This unique floor is made from local hardwood timbers which apparently go down one metre into the ground. The floor is purposely built to wear unevenly, which encouraged the horses to move around preventing poor circulation. (Doesn't work on humans!)

Historic Lakeside House

The amazing "Pug and Post" floor

Kingston SE

We arrived in the pretty little village of Robe late yesterday, but more about Robe tomorrow. Today we went for a drive to Kingston SE which is about 44kms from where we are staying. Kingston SE has a population of around 1500. The extension of SE on it's name is to distinguish Kingston in the South East (of South Australia) from another Kingston in the state which has also changed it's name to Kingston on Murray.
Kingston SE is another location in Australia that has one of our iconic "Big Things". The "Big Lobster" was originally conceived in the mid 1970's by a local lobster fisherman. It is said that the final size of the structure was the result of an accident. The plans for the Big Lobster were provided to the builder in feet, but he misread the measurements and used metres instead, resulting in a three-fold increase in size. The Big Lobster is 17 metres high, 15.2 metres long and 13.7 metres wide, with an approximate weight of 4 tonnes.

The Big Lobster

 Then it was across the road to the "Sundial of Human Involvement". The Human Sundial is only one of a few in the world that are truly interactive with people. By reading the directions and standing in the correct place, the time of day can be determined. Each piece of granite represents an hour marker.

The Human Sundial

From time to time Kingston SE has the pleasure of a visit from sea lions. It is believed they come ashore to rest up after being involved in a storm. These amazing granite sculptures were created by the world renowned artist Silvio Apponyi.

Seal Lion and her baby

The Cape Jaffa lighthouse was built in 1868-1872 on Margaret Brock Reef, 8 km from shore and 19 km south from it's current location.  The lighthouse, which has an unusual steel frame, also included an eight bedroom house. One of the magnifying lens weighs 2 tonnes. It was the first lighthouse on the Australian coast to be dismantled and brought to the mainland.

Cape Jaffa Lighthouse

Victoria Fossil Cave

Today I took myself off on a tour of the World Heritage listed Victoria Fossil Cave. The tour started with a 30 step journey down below the earths surface into a beautifully decorated chamber and then wound through about 250 metres of passages and chambers to a large fossil bed display area.

I find there's something spiritual when you enter a cave....

the lights help....

but Mother Nature sure can put on a good show.

It was hard to get a clear photo, but the amount of fossils blew my mind a bit.
See the ribcage in the foreground of the shot.

This guy once roamed the earth until the cave claimed him

In 1994, the significance of Naracoorte's Caves 500,000 year old fossil record was recognised by UNESCO and co-listed with Riversleigh in North Queensland as the Australian Fossil Mammals Sites. Together they tell the story of Australia's ancient animal heritage.

Naracoorte, South Australia

From Berri we headed to the tiny settlement of Wellington, located on the Murray River just upstream to where it empties into Lake Alexandrina. 

"The Narrows" where Lake Alexandrina meets Lake Albert

After a few relaxing days there, we set off for our little home now - Naracoorte. Along the journey we stopped off at the township of "Keith". There is nothing really special about Keith, some nice little shops, but it tugs at my heart strings a bit when I drive through as Keith was my Dad's name. My Dad never travelled much and never visited this township. I remember when I first visited here I took a photo of the town sign to show him and he was pretty chuffed to have a town with his name. Once again I took a photo of the town sign and I could just feel that

Dad was at last visiting the town with me.

Keith - this town tugs at my heart strings xx

Now we are in Naracoorte for a while. We are actually staying in the local showgrounds. It's pretty good here, clean toilets and showers, cheaper than the caravan park, nice people, and best of all beautiful green grass surrounding us.

 

Nature gave us a beautiful welcome on our first night

 Naracoorte with a population of approx. 5000 people is situated on the beginning of the Limestone Coast. and was formed from the merger of two towns, Kincraig, founded in 1845 by Scottish explorer William Macintosh, and Naracoorte, established as a government settlement in 1847. The name has gone through a number of spellings, and is believed to be derived from the Aboriginal words for "place of running water" or "large waterhole". It grew during the 1950's as a survive town for people going to and from the Victorian Gold rush.

This is definitely the most colourful Police Station and Courthouse I have ever seen

 

This area was also built on the sheep's back -
if only this shearing shed could talk, imagine the stories!!

Probably the main tourist attraction in the area are the Naracoorte Caves. Yesterday we visited the Wonambi Fossil Centre and delved into the history of Australia's mega-fauna. We also visited one of the caves "Wet Cave". This wasn't the best cave I have ever been in but still interesting. Next week we are intending on visiting the "Victoria Fossil Cave" that has the privilege of being classed as a World Heritage Area.

The entrance of "Wet Cave"

I don't think I would have liked to run into this guy back then!!

Berri on the River Murray

We have just left our lovely stay in Berri. We stayed at a free camp called "Martins Bend" right on the River Murray. Seeing we didn't have electricity it wasn't possible to update my blog so now I will do a bit of a catch up.

Our Martins Bend campsite

The area is known as "The Riverland" probably because it's where the cool waters of the Murray feed the wetlands and floodplain forest. The result being some very productive land that consists of vineyards and citrus and almond groves. The town of "Berri" was a really nice little river township. The name Berri is taken from the Aboriginal word "Beri Beri", meaning "bend in the river". It is the commercial hub of the Riverland, with lots of fresh produce stalls on the outskirts of town.

Our first visit was out to Loxton to have a look at the "Tree of Knowledge". The Tree of Knowledge is a weather chart with a difference. This magnificent old river red gum provides historical dates of the high river levels over the years.

The Tree of Knowledge - get a look at the 1956 flood level!!

Then it was off to the historic pub the "Overland Corner Hotel" built in 1859.

Due to it's historic significance it is now owned by the South Australian National Trust.

Historic Overland Corner Hotel

We have done quite a bit of fishing in this beautiful river and I was lucky enough to catch a good size "Yellow Belly". We were also treated to some beautiful skies at sunset.

Sunset in the bush

One morning we woke up to an amazing sunrise over the river.

Good Morning beautiful Murray

Under the bridge in Berri is a mural that depicts the Aboriginal heritage of the area and is a tribute to Australia's famous Aboriginal tracker, Jimmy James.

Berri's Mural

One of the totems surrounding the mural

Today we drove through the tiny township of Karoonda, which is an important cereal and sheep farming district, hence the big Merino ram that sits in the towns railway reserve.

Yep he's a RAM!!

Saturday Night on the Murray

I think most people that live in the southern mainland states of Australia eg. New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria have a bit of a soft spot for the Murray River. At a total length of 2520 kms it is Australia's longest river. The Murray is also the third navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and Nile. It is continuously navigable for 1986 kms and as it leaves South Australia it becomes the border between South Australia and Victoria. For half a century from 1853, the Murray was a virtual highway with paddle steamers carrying wool, wheat and other goods up and down the river. Yesterday we went for a drive to the location where this beautiful river meets the ocean in Goolwa, South Australia. Goolwa is a historic port on the Murray near the Murray Mouth. The name "Goolwa" means "elbow" in Ngarrindjeri, the local Aboriginal language, and the area was known as "The Elbow" to the early settlers.

The Mighty Murray finally meets the ocean

Jessica enjoyed the Murray too.

Barge Dart built in 1912 under the Hindmarsh Bridge

We are now staying in the small riverside township of Mannum. Mannum was born out of the business bought to this area by the Paddle steamers travelling along the Murray, but declined when the railways were constructed. Today, Mannum is a busy township and a popular tourist destination, particularly during the summer months. To get across the Murray in Mannum you have to jump on the free ferry, which is one of around nine ferries that cross the full length of the Murray. As in other Murray towns there are still some paddle steamers giving tourists a feel of the past.

The only way to cross the Murray in Mannum

As we sat beside the river we were lucky enough to have the beautiful "Murray Princess" paddle up the river on one of it's 3, 4 or 7 night cruises. What a beautifully romantic site it was.

The magnificent Murray Princess

A perfect farewell to the day from the Murray

Victor Harbour

We are currently staying in Victor Harbour for a few days. We are camped in the driveway of Shane's Auntie Jean and her hubby John. It's a bit weird being set up in a driveway! Victor Harbour is a said to be one of South Australia's premium seaside cities. The cities economy is based on agriculture and fisheries, but tourism is possibly the main economy. With an out of holiday season population of around 14,500 it is a very pretty city with lots of beautiful bays.

Very pretty Victor Harbour

Today we went for a drive to the historic town of Strathalbyn for lunch with Jean and John. With a population of only around 4,000 Strathalbyn still has four pubs, The Victoria, The Robin Hood, The Terminus and The Commercial. Its funny no matter how small a town is they always have a pub (or two).

The Robin Hood Hotel - one of the four pubs in town

I won't ever get sick of taking photos of the old buildings.

The town is also host to an annual collectors, hobbies and antique fair held on the third weekend of August every year, hence the numerous antique stores in town. As with most of South Australian towns you also have a collection of beautifully restored historic buildings.

This porcelain Laurel and Hardy set grabbed my attention.
But at $75 I left them alone.

Shane was happy when he found the local Lolly Shop!