12-Dec-2004
| From Robe, we followed the coastline through the sleepy fishing ports of Beachport and Southend before heading inland to Mount Gambier. Mount Gambier is quite large compared to most of the towns we have visited recently, it is located on the side of an extinct volcano. The volcano has two large craters, both of which are flooded. | ||
| The water in one of the craters is green and the other is blue. The blue lake is very blue and crystal clear and is the main water source for the town. |  |
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The green lake is used for water sports and the surrounding area is parkland. You can just make out the rim of the crater containing the blue lake in the top right of the picture. There are several other craters in the district but all are extinct. The most recent activity occurred here 5000 years ago. |
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There are also several caves and sinkholes in the area. Two of the sinkholes have been made into public gardens. | |
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There are several very friendly possums who live in the sinkhole and who get fed by visitors on a regular basis especially at night when the gardens are lit up. |
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These are about the size of a small cat and have very thick soft fur. They are normally nocturnal creatures but this one must have had trouble sleeping. |
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We planned to drive to Port McDonnell for the afternoon but on the way out we noticed some archery targets set up in a park close to the craters. It was the local archery club 'Blue Lake Archers'. We were invited to join them and spent a very pleasant afternoon shooting. Port McDonnell will have to wait for another day. | |
| Next - Move on to Victoria > | ||