A good starting point to finding out what to do when you visit somewhere new is to go to the visitor centre. The Lady Nelson visitor centre in Mount Gambier has some great resources and very helpful staff. There are shelves of brochures and a walk through display at this centre. It’s all really well done.
We walked through and had a look at the displays before heading off to check out the sinkhole.
Umpherston Sinkhole swarming with bees.
A short walk through the beautifully maintained gardens brings you to the top of the Umpherston Sinkhole. We stood at the top and looked around and took it all in. There are steps leading down to the bottom which we would have loved to have gone down, however there were heaps of bees buzzing around the surface and down the walls of the sinkhole. David is allergic to bees and if bitten it wouldn’t be a good outcome.
The sinkhole is so pretty with really well maintained garden from the very top to the bottom.
The Blue Lake is really blue in Mount Gambier
As the Blue Lake lookout was across the road from the caravan park we had a quick look the night before. Because it was later in the afternoon the water wasn’t as blue. During the day however with the sun shining down and blue skies the Blue Lake was really really blue! It is mesmerizing standing at the top of the Blue Lake and looking at the lovely view.
The Blue Lake – What a pretty place! A must see if you ever visit Mount Gambier
A drive to the Coonawarra Region in South Australia
We had picked up a listing of wineries including those that served up food. There is a long stretch of road with wineries on either side. The first stop we made we thought we would do a wine tasting and get something to eat but unfortunately they weren’t serving food.
We kept on driving through this pretty stretch of road in search of food.
Ottelia and a late lunch Fodder
We had been searching for somewhere to eat and came across Ottelia and Fodder. David waited in the car while I checked if they were open and were serving up food. ( He was getting very Hangry at this stage). Luckily they were as we were starving. We chose to have a sharing plate and some Gnocchi. They also make pizzas there too. After a bit of a wait our food came out and it was delicious.
The ricotta gnocchi with sage and burnt butter sauce at Fodder was the best I have ever had. Light and fluffy – very yummy!
Wine tasting at Hollick
We had a wine tasting at Hollick and David bought a few bottles of wine. The restaurant ( was not open on the day we were there) has a beautiful outlook over the vineyards.
We also bought some Caramel sauce and Bacon jam ( Dickins’ Delights) from Hollick. Turned out to be a good find. The caramel sauce on ice-cream and the bacon jam on hamburgers.
The contents disappeared pretty quickly once the jars and bottles were open.
Dinner and Last night in a tent for this trip
All good things come to an end. For our last night we cooked up some dinner – steak and veges.
We packed all the gear up knowing that it might rain overnight.